In today’s edition of Auspice Maria, The Power of Noticing, Bishop Ruggieri reflects on the anniversary of the mass shooting in Lewiston, a recent execution in Alabama and the recovery of a victim of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting – and the common threads.
“Two years ago, on October 25, 2023, the people of Maine were shaken to the core by the tragedy in Lewiston. Eighteen of our brothers and sisters were killed, and thirteen others were wounded when a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and a local bar. Their names, faces, and stories remain etched into our collective hearts. They were parents, children, friends, members of our deaf community, human beings made in the image of God. Even as time passes, the pain lingers. But so does the call that arises from tragedy: to see one another more clearly.
In recent days, our national attention has again been drawn to questions about life, dignity, and human suffering. On October 23, 2025, the State of Alabama executed by nitrogen gas, a method widely condemned as inhumane and deeply troubling. The man executed, Anthony Boyd, was not a saint. But neither was he beyond the mercy of God. Whenever the state takes a human life, even in the name of justice, the Gospel compels us to look again and to see not simply the crime, but the person. Each life, even a life marred by grave sin, retains an inviolable dignity that no other human being or government can erase.
There are also moments of real grace that pierce the darkness. This past week, in Minneapolis, a young girl named Sophia Forchas, who had been critically wounded in a shooting at her school, Annunciation Catholic School, returned home after fifty-seven days in the hospital. The community prayed, supported her family, and refused to lose hope. Her medical care was extraordinary. Sophia is alive. She has a long road ahead, but her homecoming reminds us that humans have extraordinary God-given power to heal, love never fails, faith sustains hope, and that God works through those who notice and care.
At first glance, these three events, a mass shooting in Maine, an execution in Alabama, and a girl’s recovery in Minnesota, may seem unrelated. Yet they are bound by a commonality: each involves human beings who were seen or unseen, noticed or ignored. Each invites us to reflect on the sacred responsibility of paying attention: truly seeing the person before us as God sees.”
To read the full message, visit https://portlanddiocese.org/news/power-noticing
