Hannah Arendt
"Forgiving… is the only reaction which does not merely re-act but acts anew and unexpectedly, unconditioned by the act which provoked it and therefore freeing from its consequences both the one who forgives and the one who is forgiven."
Donald W. Shriver Jr.
"Forgiveness in a political context is action that joins moral truth, forbearance, empathy and commitment to repair a fractured human relation. Such a combination calls for collective turning from the past that neither ignores past evil nor excuses it, that neither overlooks justice nor reduces justice to revenge that insists on the humanity of enemies even in their commission of dehumanizing deeds and that values the justice that restores political community above a justice that destroys it."
Geraldine Smyth
"Hope is the horizon of forgiveness and reconciliation, for it is grounded in making the impossible possible real – that the human person is capable of change and of being changed in the very place where the hurt or sin imprisons all concerned – in the relationship of enmity. Under the horizon of hope memories of enmity can find econciliation. The hope within forgiveness does not presume prior repentance, but in its gratuitousness, it makes healing and new beginnings possible even though the pain and the wounds remain."
Rasha El-Fangry
"The extent and frequency with which forgiveness is called for has depleted its value and has made it a mere slogan repeated here and there. This is manifest in incidents of conflict restarting even after calls for forgiveness has been accepted. However experiences elsewhere in the continent show how effective forgiveness actually is."
Izzeldin Abuelaish
"Most people assume that forgiveness is difficult, but in the long run it is easier to forgive than to live with hatred or be consumed with revenge, with all the medical consequences. Forgiveness will help you move forward, away from the pain of the past and to be focused on the future, with all its brightness. Indeed, forgiveness opens the door to a future that will not repeat the old tragedies. Sometimes the beauty in forgiveness is to forgive when you do not know whom to forgive, when no one asks you for forgiveness. But whatever the situation, to err is human but to forgive is truly divine"
Riccardo Di Segni
“Forgiveness is a moral repairing of identity, it’s the water erasing the stain of guilt and dousing the fire of resentment.”
Enzo Bianchi
“Forgiveness is not a failure, it is not a defeat, but rather a great victory over oneself, it is a journey of humanization of oneself and the enemy. Forgiveness is not “just letting it go” by someone who is unconscious of the wrong done, nor is it the wise calculation of a just philanthropist: it is a conscious and responsible choice which states that love is stronger than hate so as to break the chain of animosity and vengeance.”
Edith Bruck
“I am a writer-witness who sings about life and peace, who searches and believes in the good of every human being, perhaps buried by layers of sick ideologies of stratified hatred. Good that is unveiled to man himself who transforms it into evil in order to become one of the club, as is done by today’s youth. The only possible instrument is dialogue, removed from politics. Love from human to human which has real and profound civil and spiritual meaning, which is capable of capturing and fertilizing pacifism between individuals, groups, ethnicities and religions.”
Letlapa Mphahlele
“Forgiveness is both conditional and unconditional, depending on the circumstances. If a person slaps you in the face, you may forgive them unconditionally. However, if a person occupies your house, and he pleads with you to forgive him, while making no effort to vacate the house, then forgiveness becomes conditional on him leaving the house. Forgiveness should never be used as a synonym of surrender.”
Fabiola Perdomo
“In my opinion reconciliation does not mean trying to make friends out of victims and perpetrators. Reconciliation means repairing, healing, and freeing the victims from their burden. But it needs to be done from the heart, it cannot be something only for the spotlight, it must be something felt deeply, that comes from the heart otherwise no reconciliation process can work, and incomplete reconciliation can be very dangerous as painful wounds are reopened.”
