Forgiveness 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.
Forgive and Strive for Justice
Detroit Free Press.?? An 86-year-old man, Aaron Brantley, in Detroit was hit from behind and his car stolen. In the attack, his leg was broken.?? The man accused of these actions wrote to to Mr. Brantley from prison and asked for forgiveness.????Brantley forgave the imprisoned man, saying that he still wants to see him serve some time.?? In other words, one can forgive and seek justice at the same time.
The suspect, Paris Gomillion, 20, of Detroit never looked at Aaron Brantley as the elderly man testified from his wheelchair today in 36th District Court in Detroit. Brantley said he was hit from behind before the keys were snatched out of his hand. He then crawled with a broken leg into the gas station when no one came to his aid.
Brantley said he received a letter from Gomillion sent from jail after the Feb. 22 carjacking at the BP on West McNichols at Fairfield.
???The dude wanted me to forgive him,??? Brantley said today. ???The letter said he wanted me to pray for him, and he was sorry for what he had done. But I did pray for him and so forth and forgive him for what he had done.???
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.
Poem on Forgiveness
Be inspired by Robert Muller, former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations, and his poem on forgiveness.?? Then put your inspiration into action using this “daily forgiveness schedule” from advice columnist “Dear Abby.”
Click??here??to read more from The Houston Chronicle.
For more specific details on how to forgive, see??Dr. Bob’s phases of forgiveness.
