Doesn't calling suffering a punishment for sin strike the victim twice?

🔥The question: “When I get sick or something fails, is it a punishment for having wronged God?”

🛡️The Church's answer: Some suffering does come from people's wrong choices, but not every illness, disaster, or poverty can be read as the direct punishment of an individual's sin. Jesus himself refused to trace the suffering of the man born blind to that man's sin or his parents'. Faith is not a contract guaranteeing success; it is the hope that Christ, crucified and risen, is present within suffering and does not let evil have the last word.

🧐If they press further: “So suffering has no meaning at all?” — suffering itself is never praised as a good thing. But God can bring good even out of the place where we walk with one another in love, correct injustice, and endure. No one may force a victim to find meaning in it or to put up with it.

✨In one sentence: “Not all suffering is punishment for sin, and faith isn't a guarantee of success. We care for the person who is hurting first, and look for the hope of overcoming evil with Christ.”