Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Raymond G. Helmick, SJ, taught conflict resolution in the Department of Theology at Boston College. He has mediated in a number of conflicts in Northern Ireland, various Middle Eastern conflicts, and the Balkan countries, among many others. He is on the executive board of the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East and served as senior associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2000–2004. He is the author of numerous monographs and articles.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation explores how ideas like forgiveness and reconciliation are moving from the seminary and the academy into the world of public policy; addresses forgiveness and public policy; draws readers to a more particular analysis of the relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation; and highlights the work of practitioners currently working with religion, public policy, and conflict transformation.

Foreword / ix Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu Acknowledgments / xv Introduction / xvii Raymond G. Helmick, S.J., & Rodney L. Petersen Part I. The Theology of Forgiveness 1. A Theology of Forgiveness: Terminology, Rhetoric, and the Dialectic of Interfaith Relationships / 3 Rodney L. Petersen 2. Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Justice: A Christian Contribution to a More Peaceful Social Environment / 27 Miroslav Volf 3. Forgiveness and Reconciliation: An Orthodox Perspective / 51 Stanley S. Harakas Part II. Forgiveness and Public Policy 4. Does Religion Fuel or Heal in Conflicts? / 81 Raymond G. Helmick, S.J. 5. Religion and Peacemaking / 97 Joseph V. Montville 6. Religion and Foreign Policy / 117 Douglas M. Johnston Jr. 7. The Role of Identity Reconstruction in Promoting Reconciliation / 129 Donna Hicks 8. Forgiveness: A Bridge Across Abysses of Revenge / 151 Donald W. Shriver Jr. Part III. Forgiveness and Reconciliation 9. Unforgiveness, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation and Their Implications for Societal Interventions / 171 Everett L. Worthington Jr. 10. Five Qualities of Practice in Support of Reconciliation Processes / 193 John Paul Lederach 11. Healing, Reconciliation, and Forgiving after Genocide and Other Collective Violence / 205 Ervin Staub and Laurie Anne Pearlman 12. Hatred’s End: A Christian Proposal to Peacemaking in a New Century / 229 John Dawson Part IV. Seeking Forgiveness after Tragedy 13. Truth Commissions as Instruments of Forgiveness and Reconciliation / 257 Audrey R. Chapman 14. Implementation of Track Two Diplomacy: Developing a Model of Forgiveness / 279 Olga Botcharova 15. Through Nonviolence to Truth: Gandhi’s Vision of Reconciliation / 305 Anthony da Silva, S.J. 16. Brokenness, Forgiveness, Healing, and Peace in Ireland / 329 Geraldine Smyth, O.P. 17. Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Mozambique Peace Process / 361 Andrea Bartoli 18. Conversion as a Way of Life in Cultures of Violence / 383 Ofelia Ortega Afterword: Exploring the Unique Role of Forgiveness / 395 George F. R. Ellis Appendix / 411 List of Contributors / 433 Index / 441