News
Acceptance/Forgiveness and Reconciliation/Restorative Justice
PsychCentral blog – An interesting post today at this website discusses acceptance and forgiveness, reconciliation and restorative justice. Full blog post here.
Forgiveness as Freedom
Black Hills Pioneer newspaper, Spearfish, South Dakota – Holocaust survivor, Eva Mozes Kor, addressed a beyond-capacity crowd at Black Hills State University this week. Her message was forgiveness of the Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele, who experimented on her twin sister and her at Auschwitz. She told the audience that she thought, as a young child, everyone lived as she did—without parents, in horrid conditions. Despite the atrocity, she has found it in her heart to forgive him. A central message to the audience was this: Everything we do in daily life touches other people, she said. Do not forget that.
Kor was 10 years old when she and her family were brought to Auschwitz by train in a cattle car in 1944. She and her twin sister Miriam were separated from the rest of their family by a Nazi guard searching for twins for the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele to experiment on. Mengele performed many horrific experiments on inmates at Auschwitz, but he was particularly interested in twins. Kor feels that being selected for Mengele’s twin experimentations contributed greatly to her and Miriam’s survival.
Forgiveness Is a Choice: As a Way to Goodness and Happiness
On March 3, Dr. Bob gave a presentation to a group at Blackhawk Church in Madison, Wis.?? The talk focused on forgiveness as a way to goodness and happiness and was framed by the following questions or key points:
How can we set up Forgiving Communities?To order an audio cd of this presentation, please contact Kevin Randall, Clinical Director of “The Center for Christian Counseling, Consultation and Training, Inc.”??at 608.274.8294
How, Why and When to Forgive a Transgression
Dick Goldberg, veteran talk show host, produces “psychology podcasts to help, motivate, and inspire you.” He interviewed Dr. Robert Enright on Tuesday, March 6 on the subject of “How, Why and When to Forgive a Transgression.
Dick Goldberg hosted “For Love or Money” for 8 years on Wisconsin Public Radio and produced and hosted over 150 programs on PBS on the series “Insights” and “Inside Business Today,” which were broadcast on over 200 PBS-TV stations. He is a practicing therapist in Madison, Wisconsin for the past 30 years, as well as the author of 4 books. Dick has a passion for helping shape interviews into clear and useful information for his listeners, and making his guests, not himself, the “star” of the program.
His 30-minute podcast with Dr. Enright is available here.
Mother Forgives Her Daughter’s Attacker
Manawatu Standard, New Zealand. A partner of the Cheryl Thompson’s daughter attacked the daughter with a knife last September. She survived the attack. He was sentenced yesterday to five years and five months in jail. ??At the hearing, Mrs. Thompson said, “I’m not too sure how people feel about forgiveness, but for myself, I know it heals the heart and soothes the soul. I chose today to let [the attacker] know face to face that we forgive him.” The judge described the forgiveness as “remarkable compassion.”
A man who repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend while on a paranoid religious rampage has been forgiven by her family, which a judge described as “remarkable compassion”.
In the High Court at Palmerston North yesterday, Elim Tekotahi Emery, 21, was jailed for five years and five months on two charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
On September 3, at a Feilding house, he stabbed his 18-year-old partner and his uncle with a boning knife.
His girlfriend was rushed to hospital for life-saving surgery and originally Emery faced an attempted murder charge, but this was later downgraded.
Yesterday his partner’s mother, Cheryl Thompson, told the court about her feelings of forgiveness toward Emery.
“I’m sad it had to end this way for two young people who were supposed to start their lives together,” Ms Thompson said.
“I’m not too sure how people feel about forgiveness, but for myself, I know it heals the heart and soothes the soul.
“I chose today to let Elim know face to face that we forgive him …”??Read the full story.
