During a recent symposium at Vassar College titled “Why Forgive?” Philip Carr-Harris, director of the Dutchess County Interfaith Council, spoke of the school shooting in Pennsylvania earlier this month to illustrate the admirable grace and faith of the Amish people in Paradise, Pa., as the community immediately offered forgiveness to shooter Charles Carl Roberts. According to reports, Roberts had sexually assaulted and then shot and killed five young girls at the West Nickel Mines Elementary School before killing himself.
The panel discussion was sponsored by the Garden of Forgiveness and the Poughkeepsie Forgiveness Project. The Garden of Forgiveness is an international project to spread the word about the benefits of forgiveness on both a personal and global scale. Organizers are working to bring gardens to communities across the U.S. Plans for a Garden of Forgiveness in Poughkeepsie could make it among the first such sites in the country.
The ideal of forgiveness for terrorists who perpetrate heinous acts against our country or for citizens who do so against their neighbors is a fascinating exploration for those of us who are indirectly affected by news coverage. The reality of its execution may seem impossible for those of us who can only imagine what we would do if we were ravaged directly by these sorts of events. This is what made the recent coverage of the unsolicited forgiveness of the Amish community of Paradise so poignant.
People of faith often espouse the tenet, “hate the sin; love the sinner.” And at the very core of this principle is a willingness to see the less savory deeds of neighbors in vacuums, while possessing the imagination to see someone worthy of compassion in spite of tragedies performed at their hands.
One of the panelists at the “Why Forgive?” discussion, the Rev. Lyndon Harris, was the priest in charge of the relief operation at St. Paul’s Chapel, a church adjacent to the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Having seen the horrors and aftermath of that day, Harris readily points out that to forgive does not mean to exonerate. To questions regarding forgiveness – even in the face of such evil – he is ready with, “Forgiveness does not mean that we let anybody off the hook … It doesn’t mean we can’t defend ourselves. Forgiveness means we let go of that horror and embrace the future,” he said.
And therein lies the clarification that we all can comprehend. Sometimes our individual faith or our human instinct draws us to forgive, and thus toward a cleansing for our own good when faced with catastrophes in our lives caused by others. Those involved in the Poughkeepsie Forgiveness Project have been clear that their mission is not about reducing anyone else’s accountability, but rather reclaiming one’s own peace of mind. And they are banking on the theory that the more people are willing to embrace the concept globally, the quicker the world will be able to begin healing itself.
To the cynics among us, this is a far-fetched global mandate. But we support the movement and hope others will do the same. Go to www.forgiveforgood.org to learn more about the Poughkeepsie Forgiveness Project.
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