Reading Erin's troubles with the presence of evil in the world, I thought
that the answer given by GROW (the Australian 12-step group network,
started by a Catholic priest) was worth repeating:

Most of us stopped asking that question long ago.  It stops us from getting
better.  It shifts the blame to God, and absolves us of the responsibility
of developing our characters to deal with it.

No answer.  Just don't ask the question.  Taoism as expressed in "The Tao of
Poh" is full of the same theme:  Don't ask unnecessary questions.  Don't
waste government money on research which increases knowledge with no
practical application.  Don't worry about "the world" being evil, because
the world is something you can't change.  Yourself, you can change (within
limits, but pessimism isn't one of them.)

Doug L.