Forgiveness in Conflict
Resolution: Reality and Utility
Forgiveness in Conflict
Resolution: Copyright © 1998 by the Woodstock Theological Center
Copies may be ordered from the Woodstock Theological Center.
The Woodstock Theological Center has issued the first volume of proceedings in a series of colloquia on the notion of Forgiveness in Conflict Resolution: Reality and Utility. This colloquium, inspired by two recent studies: An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics (Donald W. Shriver, Jr., Oxford University Press, 1995), and Religion: The Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Douglas M. Johnston, Jr., and Cynthia Sampson, Oxford University Press, 1994), was held in order to test the applicability and the helpfulness of "forgiveness" as a public concept in peacemaking and conflict resolution. Conflict situations chosen for discussion were Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and race relations in the United States.
At the outset of the December 9, 1996, colloquium, James L. Connor, S.J., Woodstock Center director, posed two substantive questions to presenters and participants in the colloquium: 1) "What does 'forgiveness' mean in the public forum? and 2) How can forgiveness be used, or how can it be made useful, in a public conflict resolution situation?" Participants were diplomats, conflict resolution specialists, academics, association executives, and church, government, and NGO officials.
In the first chapter, Forgiveness in Conflict Resolution: A Theological Reflection, Andrew J. Christiansen, S.J., director of the Office of International Justice and Peace at the United States Catholic Conference, addresses how Catholic social teaching influences a way of thinking about "forgiveness" in politics, how the civic sector-- culture and society--is key to creating the political possibility of "forgiveness," and, finally, how "forgiveness" relates to morality in contemporary American politics. Father Christiansen concludes that "forgiveness is not just a matter for a private ethic or personal vocation, but a virtue or practice that needs to be encouraged in public life."
In the second chapter, Forgiveness in Race Relations, Rev. Dr. Paige Chargois, Hope in the Cities, Richard W. B. Ruffin, executive director of Moral Re-Armament, Inc. (MRA), and Donald W. Shriver, Jr., president emeritus, Union Theological Seminary, describe MRA-sponsored Hope in the Cities' efforts to bring about racial healing. One of their programs was "The Richmond Unity Walk," a dramatic walk through Richmond's history by nearly 1,000 individuals from 50 cities. The walk's purpose was to recognize the previously unacknowledged sites and events in Richmond's 370-year history of black/white relations. "Through this 'Unity Walk,' a process of healing was set in motion, which included many specific, personal acts of contrition and forgiveness, some of which had political significance." In describing the Walk and other efforts to encourage reconciliation between blacks and whites, Rev. Chargois said: "For me personally, it's been quite a journey--from hatred of the Confederate flag to seeing it as a mere symbol of someone else's pain."
In the third chapter, Bosnia: Grassroots Participation in Conflict Resolution, Douglas M. Johnston, Jr., executive vice president, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), describes CSIS' grassroots efforts to bring about reconciliation in Bosnia. CSIS employs conflict resolution teams who conduct conflict resolution training workshops in Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia for middle-level religious leaders and lay representatives of the Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, Protestant, and Jewish faiths. "At the first level, no attempt is made to convey conflict resolution skills. This time is devoted instead to helping the participants overcome their sense of victimhood. One technique that we use, which has been very helpful, is what we call storytelling. . . . These stories are too tragic to bear repeating . . . . But they evoke compassion and tears."
Olga Botcharova, visiting fellow at CSIS, traces the process from the typical cycle of victimhood/aggression to a break-through that allows one to pass through a closed circle toward forgiveness. "Through processing our own suffering we are able to discover the fears and suffering of the other side. The victim pushed to the 'edge' and trying to heal his own wound, reveals anew the meaning of the old biblical truth of loving one's enemy. The first signs of forgiveness . . . may develop into a kind of tranquility where we feel more and more united with our own souls and with everything and everybody in the universe. The deep inner transformation intensified the healing process and culminates in full forgiveness."
In the fourth chapter, The Northern Ireland Conflict: The Forgiveness Factor, Rev. Brian D. Lennon, S.J., a founding member of the Interchurch Group on Faith and Politics in Portadown, Northern Ireland, and a visiting fellow at the Woodstock Center, begins with the question "what role can forgiveness play?" He contends that in order to answer the question, one needs to spell out what we mean by forgiveness. Father Lennon offered his definition: human forgiveness always presupposes a judgment by the victim that an objectively moral wrong has been committed knowingly and freely against oneself or one's group by a responsible agent. Moreover, it must always also involve a judgement by the victim that a bad act does not define the perpetrator as a person; you should not be governed by revenge; and/or there is a need to seek reconciliation. Father Lennon points out that "it is possible to forgive, to love, and to be angry at the same time. A person who is never angry is a person who is not a lover because nothing is precious to her or him."
Gerard F. Powers, Esq., foreign policy advisor for the United States Catholic Conference, concludes the chapter describing recent acts of "forgiveness" in the Northern Ireland conflict, most notably public statements of forgiveness by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, and Cardinal Cahal Daly, recently retired Archbishop of Armagh, Northern Ireland. He cautions that "reconciliation is not built on repentance and forgiveness alone . . . . Specific acts of forgiveness easily become victims of sectarian politics if they are not part of a wider effort to end violence, to address injustices even-handedly, to find a political solution that respects the rights and aspirations of both communities. . . .
In the final chapter, Concluding Observations, Father Connor states that based on what had been heard and recommendations of the participants, Woodstock would proceed with a series of colloquia in which it would seek the experience of people involved in grass roots or middle-range conflict resolution activities, seeking to understand the meaning of forgiveness in politics, and seeking ways in which these lessons can be useful to conflict resolution practitioners, diplomats, the military, and others.
Subsequently the Woodstock Center received partial funding from the United States Institute of Peace to explore the international aspects of the notion of "forgiveness" in more depth. Colloquia have been held on Northern Ireland and Bosnia. A forthcoming colloquium will address the effectiveness of truth commissions in bringing about "forgiveness." The proceedings of these colloquia will be made available as subsequent volumes in this series. Woodstock is seeking funding to explore, as part of this project, the role of "forgiveness" in black/white relations in the United States.
Copies of the proceedings of the December 1996 colloquium (described above) are available from the Woodstock Center for $8.00 plus $2.00 for postage and handling.
