Post by StellaMaris on Jun 27, 2022 3:19:12 GMT
This family from Sydney who lost 3 of their children and a niece to a drink and drugged driver were invited the the Vatican this week to witness to the power of forgiveness.
catholicnews.com/families-and-forgiveness-australian-family-shares-their-tragic-story/
At 8 years old, Alex Abdallah knows that some people need more time than others to forgive someone.
“When I heard my brother and sisters died, my mum and dad told me they forgave the driver, but I wasn’t that happy because I was like, ‘Too quick.’ People don’t forgive that quickly. Like, I had to wait,” Alex told Catholic News Service June 24.
In February 2020, as four of his siblings and three of his cousins were walking to the store to get ice cream in Sydney, a driver who was drunk and on drugs drove up on the sidewalk, striking all seven children. Four of them died.
Leila and Danny Abdallah lost their children Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 8, and their niece, Veronique Sakr, 11.
Two days after the horrible accident, Leila returned to the scene, which was covered in flowers, candles, notes, balloons and stuffed toys. She prayed there.
Then television reporters put a microphone in front of her and she told them: “I don’t hate him. I think in my heart I forgive him, but I want the court to be fair.”
In 2021, the driver was sentenced to between 21 years and 28 years in prison.
But what has dominated the Abdallahs’ life — and hours of television coverage about it — is their focus on the power of forgiveness.
They have received government, ecumenical and interreligious support for “i4Give Day,” each year on the Feb. 1 anniversary of the children’s death.
With their surviving children — Liana, Alex, Michael and newborn Selina — the Abdallahs were invited by the Vatican to share their story at the World Meeting of Families in Rome June 22-26.
catholicnews.com/families-and-forgiveness-australian-family-shares-their-tragic-story/
At 8 years old, Alex Abdallah knows that some people need more time than others to forgive someone.
“When I heard my brother and sisters died, my mum and dad told me they forgave the driver, but I wasn’t that happy because I was like, ‘Too quick.’ People don’t forgive that quickly. Like, I had to wait,” Alex told Catholic News Service June 24.
In February 2020, as four of his siblings and three of his cousins were walking to the store to get ice cream in Sydney, a driver who was drunk and on drugs drove up on the sidewalk, striking all seven children. Four of them died.
Leila and Danny Abdallah lost their children Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 8, and their niece, Veronique Sakr, 11.
Two days after the horrible accident, Leila returned to the scene, which was covered in flowers, candles, notes, balloons and stuffed toys. She prayed there.
Then television reporters put a microphone in front of her and she told them: “I don’t hate him. I think in my heart I forgive him, but I want the court to be fair.”
In 2021, the driver was sentenced to between 21 years and 28 years in prison.
But what has dominated the Abdallahs’ life — and hours of television coverage about it — is their focus on the power of forgiveness.
They have received government, ecumenical and interreligious support for “i4Give Day,” each year on the Feb. 1 anniversary of the children’s death.
With their surviving children — Liana, Alex, Michael and newborn Selina — the Abdallahs were invited by the Vatican to share their story at the World Meeting of Families in Rome June 22-26.