{"id":3650,"date":"2005-08-18T22:05:26","date_gmt":"2005-08-18T22:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2005\/08\/grace-and-a-frozen-turkey.html"},"modified":"2005-08-18T22:05:26","modified_gmt":"2005-08-18T22:05:26","slug":"grace-and-a-frozen-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2005\/08\/grace-and-a-frozen-turkey.html","title":{"rendered":"Grace and a Frozen Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

A different sort of New York story:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

In an incredible act of forgiveness, the Long Island woman whose face was shattered when a 20-pound turkey was thrown through her windshield came face-to-face yesterday with the prankster who did it \u2014 and hugged him tightly as they both broke down in sobs. <\/p>\n

Minutes earlier, Ryan Cushing, 18, had pleaded guilty to the Nov. 13 nightmare stunt that left Victoria Ruvolo, 44, critically injured. His plea was part of a deal that the big-hearted Ruvolo engineered, sparing the teen a possible 25 years in prison and instead landing the boy only six months in a local jail. <\/p>\n

As the lanky teen started to leave the court- room, he hesitantly stepped toward Ruvolo, who was sitting in the second row, and tearfully apologized. <\/p>\n

"I’m so sorry for what I did to you," he whispered, weeping. "I’m so happy you’re doing well." <\/p>\n

His emotional mea culpa prompted Ruvolo to get to her feet and wrap her arms around him, softly assuring him, "It’s OK. It’s OK."<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The NYtimes editorializes, admitting that this is a good thing, but:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Many have assumed that Ms. Ruvolo’s motivation is religious. But while we can estimate the size of her heart, we can’t peer into it. Her impulse may have been entirely secular.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A letter writer is astonished…at the Times<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Has the concept that a civic act could possibly spring from a "religious motivation" become so d\u00e9class\u00e9 or so politically incorrect that your readers need to be protected from drawing their own conclusions about it?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Well, whatever the Times thinks of it…God bless her. And pray that those of us hurt in far less dramatic and searing ways can hold onto the grace God offers us, and offer forgiveness in turn, as well.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A different sort of New York story: In an incredible act of forgiveness, the Long Island woman whose face was shattered when a 20-pound turkey was thrown through her windshield came face-to-face yesterday with the prankster who did it \u2014 and hugged him tightly as they both broke down in sobs. 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The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. 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