IJHC (The International Journal of Healing and Caring) - Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Religion, Public Policy, and Conflict Transformation

Philadelphia/London: Templeton Foundation Press 2001 450 pp 21pp resources $34.95

This is a book of major importance in this time of soul-searching and groping for immediate solutions following the events of 9-11. An extraordinary spectrum of authors share their experiences of mediation and advocation for peace in many of the most difficult situations in chronically conflict-ridden countries.

The contributors to this collection of essays have broad experiences in mediating and helping to transform relationships between warring parties in chronic conflict situations, as in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, South Africa, and in other countries where tensions have escalated to genocide proportions. They bring to their discussions the wisdom of religious teachings, psychology, mediation, pattern recognition that transcends the immediate conflict situation and plain old common sense.

Some of their observations and suggestions:
Victimization naturally generates anger, hatreds, feelings of loss of control, and the desire for revenge. When the original traumas occur on national or racial levels, there are cultural as well as personal wounds that fester – sometimes over generations; even over hundreds of years. It then becomes a way of life to hate an enemy and seek revenge – which only generates further cycles of hurts and further vengeance. Hatreds lead to distancing of the conflicted parties, so that neither side has an experience of the actual reality of its opponents. Each relates to the other side through traditional, culturally accepted stereotypes and myths of the opponent as the nasty enemy – without the opportunity of learning whether these are accurate beliefs because of lack of contact with the enemy.

Leaders within each group may use the conflicts to their own advantages, distracting their constituents from domestic problems, using the enemy as scapegoats for angers that would otherwise be directed at the administration for unresolved social problems, fueling a war economy, and riding a wave of patriotism. Such politics may impede the progress of reconciliation.

This is not a new observation, as witnessed in the writings of Shakespeare:

In reconciliation in couples therapy, working on the positives in the relationship and on the feelings can be effective, but it takes much more work on the positives to overcome the negatives. Working on the negatives alone is less likely to be effective.

Working with people in cultural and national conflicts is much more challenging and difficult than working with individual couples. First there have to be preparatory sessions with each side. Victims have to begin to explore their angers, hatreds, wishes for vengeance and feelings of not being in control. They must begin to relinquish holding onto the advantage of perceived righteousness of victimhood. The aggressors have a harder time at this stage – needing to acknowledge and address moral wrongs of having been oppressors. Each side must begin to see and acknowledge the hurts and injuries of the other side.

Next, the two sides have to get together to explore how to initiate dialogue between them. The presence of a respected third party as advisor is helpful.

Reconciliation work may be done best in teams, where the team members model the openness and honesty that is needed for bridging grudges that have built up over tragic, years of horrendous, bloody conflicts.

Encouraging the development of human connections is essential to success. The oppressed side needs to feel that its hurts and suffering have been heard and acknowledged by the oppressors. The oppressors need to come to a place of acknowledging that they did hurtful things and to ask for forgiveness.

The mediators must realize that it is not their place to come up with the solutions to the problems, and that resolution of differences may be a task that takes many years. The goal must be to establish an atmosphere of mutual respect and forgiveness, leaving the conflicted parties to sort out for themselves the specifics of how they do this.

A brief review is inadequate acknowledgement of the profound wisdom that is shared in this outstanding book.

A major gap in this anthology is the omission of capitalism/scientism as the most prevalent and conflict-promoting modern religion, with its trinity of money, fame and power/control.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Religion, Public Policy, and Conflict Transformation

by Raymond G. Helmick, SJ and Rodney L Petersen (eds)