GRAVE ROBBERS

The story of the grave robbers in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip continues to grow more grisly with each passing hour. The remains of hundreds of deceased people were dug out of their graves and thrown aside to make room for a few sick demented fools to make a quick buck.

Now comes word that a section of the cemetery called "Baby Land", where departed infants and small children were to rest in peace was violated. There are dusty remains lying all over the cemetery grounds, as if in a spooky Lon Chaney or Bela Lugosi movie. Or Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.

But this isn't a 1930s horror movie. And MJ can't conjure zombies out of graves anymore. This is horror come alive in 2009. This is real.

All the sane, rational people will ask sane rational questions, such as, "How could anyone do this? What were they thinking? Where's their humanity? How could this have gone undetected for so long?"

These are all fair questions, and the people assigned to investigate this case of the macabre will never find all the answers. They'll never be the same, either.

The 4 men in custody in connection to this despicable case are being held in isolation for their own safety; even the most hardened convicts have dear departed loved ones in cemeteries.

No amount of psychoanalysis or any other rational approach will ever explain how these 4 men and their accomplices/enablers could perform such unspeakable evil. The need for money to feed addictions is nearly certain to come up. No sober person could perform the filthy physical labor required to carry out this horrible scheme. No person grounded in any faith or sense of decency could possibly do this. Only an insatiable hunger for some soul-stealing drug could possibly bring someone to do this. Only an empty, desperate soul could perform these inhuman acts of desecration.

People of compassion on the periphery of this unfolding story are now charged with comforting those whose departed loved ones were defiled. Those who care the most will be the ones with the lowest profiles; the quiet angels who do the quiet work will be the ones looked most favorably upon in the hereafter.

Those who seek to exploit this unspeakable crime will be dealt with severely long after the TV cameras are gone. The likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et al, had better be very careful and tread very lightly. If their profession of faith in a Christian God is indeed sincere, they had both better remember that their own day of judgement is coming closer with every tick of the clock. And they both have alot to answer for already.

Those of us who are not involved should stay that way. If any of us feel the need to do something, it won't take long to identify someone to pray for. In the face of unspeakable evil, prayer sometimes is the only weapon that peaceful people have.

Jesus prayed for the people who nailed him to a cross and gutted him with a sword. He also prayed that we all give each other the gift of peace.

Let us all pray for the souls of everyone involved, including the grave robbers.