By Rosie Paone-Bruni, 17, USA.
(Second-generation member of the Family International.)

I heard the news a little while ago. How are you? I hope you’re doing okay and are happy where you are now. I’m praying for you, I hope you know.

I feel the need to write you a personal note and express to you my sentiments on the recent course of events. First I want to tell you how much I love you. How much I always looked up to you and appreciated all the good in you. For so long you were an example to me of what I wanted to be. Thank you for that. I know you’re in a good place now where you’ll be in good Hands, but I still do pray for you. No matter what you’ve done in the past, you’ll never lose the love of at least one Person. The Lord will never forsake you. But I wanted you to know that none of us have forsaken you either. We will always still love you and care about you. You’ll never stop being a part of us.

However, though you may be sorry now, nothing will change what has been done. Choices will always be met with consequences. This is not just penned to you because I know you’ve seen from Up There the effects your choices have had, but I am also writing to those who will read this. Those who don’t perhaps understand why this happened. I feel they need to see the far-reaching effects of your choices and the lives that will forever be changed by your decisions.

Firstly, you took her with you. She had a life to live, people to love, and the world to change. She’s gone now. Happy, I’m sure, but gone nonetheless. That can never change and her family, friends, and loved ones can never see her again on this Earth. There’s a handful of people that your decisions reached and whose lives will never be the same again. No man is an island and the choices you make will affect others. I’m sure they can attest to that.

What about me? How have I been? Well, because of your decisions, I’ve been on my prayer bones an awful lot. The life I’ve chosen (chosen, mind you), is jeopardized by those who’d seek to “free” me from living a life I’ve chosen. Which in reality would be taking away my freedom; taking away my choice to live a peaceful life and love my God and others. If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be. My parents would gladly set me up with a comfy cozy life in the system. So, even though you didn’t personally know me, you’ve affected my life, my security.

What other lives have you touched through your choices, Ricky? How about the rest of the Family young people? The 200 something posts on this website alone show just a portion of the lives you affected by what you did. Are they cheering you on? Honoring you? Praising you for your wonderful choices? Not hardly. I’m sorry, but you affected and jeopardized their lives, security, and choice as well. And most of them aren’t too awfully happy with you. Forgiven you, yes, but still didn’t appreciate what you did and how you affected their lives.

What about those that you influenced with your wrong choices? Those supposed “followers” of yours that are so engrossed in ruining others lives that they can’t stop and make a life of their own. I’m sure they must be quite miserable. How have you affected their lives? What if they do as you did? Take someone else’s life and their own? Well, then that would start a whole new chain of lives that would be detrimented.

How far will this go, Ricky? How far will your choices reach? What about all those that have been influenced by the media’s coverage of your choices? How will you affect their lives? Will they be changed for the better? Who are you saving? How many people are you helping?…More importantly, how many people are you hurting? Did you “free” the Family youth? Is freedom being taken away from those that you once called your family and loved ones as their children are thrown in social security? Interrogated, inspected, dare I say, abused by those who are just trying to “free” them from a life they love? What will it accomplish, Ricky? Will the children be taken away again because of you? They didn’t find any fault in us last time. They couldn’t find any signs of abuse before. We’ve won every court case. Will it needlessly happen again? What have you done, Ricky? What innocents have you endangered? Remember what Jesus said, I know you remember what He said about those who offend His little ones. That it would be better that a millstone be hung around his neck and he be cast into the depths of the sea. Ricky, what have you done?

I’m quite sure you’re sorry now. I’m sure you’ve wept tears of regret and the Lord has wiped them away. You’re forgiven. That’s the beauty of it. You’ll always be forgiven…but only if you choose to be forgiven. If you choose to love rather than hate. If you choose to help rather than hurt. You’ll always have a place here in our hearts. We’ll always love you and always forgive you because that’s our commission. That’s our moral code. We’ve been asked to forsake anger, revenge, and hatred towards our enemies (or those who make themselves our enemies) and instead love them. To love everyone. That’s how we live. That’s our choice.

And to you who read this. What’s your choice? Will you hate us? Is your hatred ever justified? Will you hate Ricky? Is that hatred justified? Hatred is never justified save the hatred of evil and if you can’t see that through all the lives that Ricky’s hatred affected for the worse, then you’ll just have to learn the hard way and maybe ruin countless other lives through your choices. What will you choose? Love or hate? Joy or anger? Good or evil? Peace or war? Think about the choices you make. Remember that no man is an island. Your choices will always reach others. We believe in Love. Plain and simple, love. What do you believe?

You’re in my thoughts and prayers, Ricky. I love you.

Love,
Rosie Paone-Bruni (17), USA, full-time member of the Family International.