APRIL 21, 2003

WAR
Postwar ethics: facing forgiveness, reconciliation

War and its aftermath forcefully raise the moral issue of forgiveness for wrongs done. Once hostilities cease, living together in peace follows abruptly, bringing potent questions of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation among survivors and among groups that fought as enemies. In the last five years a throng of ethicists and psychologists have studied forgiveness and its physical, emotional and spiritual benefits. War, they say, provides critical tests.

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Questions for reporters
• How will families of the war dead - both here and abroad - confront the question of forgiveness as they adjust to loss?
• Many war casualties are due to friendly fire. How do soldiers and families forgive those on their own side? How do soldiers forgive themselves?
• The Iraq war set nations against nations, both militarily and diplomatically. What lessons can be learned from the role of forgiveness in past conflicts?
• Americans were divided over the war. Most Americans supported it, though thousands of others joined peace rallies. Many clergy and religious groups condemned the war, while many of the people in the pews supported it. What role will forgiveness play in helping individuals, families and communities heal rifts?
• How will the social acceptance of American Muslims be affected by this war against a Middle Eastern Muslim nation?
• The citizens of Iraq, a predominantly Muslim nation, have endured violence inflicted by both their own ruler and by invading military forces. What does Islam say about how and when to forgive?
• Soldiers bear the immediate brunt of war, but veterans also may experience emotional upheaval because of it. The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder came about because of the experience of Vietnam veterans. Will the return of American soldiers to this country, and their re-integration into society, raise issues of acceptance or forgiveness?
• Should people forgive - and forget? Some believe that if you dwell on past injustices, you haven't truly forgiven and may be prone to seek vengeance. That quest for "getting even," they say, leads to the vicious cycle of violence seen in places such as Israel. Others emphasize the importance of recalling history so it won't be repeated. Jews, for example, vow that the Holocaust must never be forgotten. What's the proper balance for the sake of history - and the future?
• Can forgiveness go too far? Can - or should - Saddam Hussein be forgiven?

Why it matters
What to do after a wrong is done matters between neighbors as well as nations. Many psychologists and ethicists believe that forgiveness and reconciliation are good things, yet others caution against ignoring the claims of those who have been aggrieved. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which addressed human rights violations under apartheid, said forgiveness is necessary for human survival. Where does the balance lie between justice and forgiveness?

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National sources
• Frederic Luskin, a psychologist who directed the Stanford Forgiveness Project, the largest research project on forgiveness, is now co-director of the Stanford/Northern Ireland Healing Our Past Experiences Project. Contact 650-723-6460, learningtoforgive@attbi.com.
• Everett L. Worthington Jr. is chairman of the psychology department at Virginia Commonwealth University, author of books on forgiveness and executive director of A Campaign for Forgiveness Research, a clearinghouse for research about forgiveness. Contact 804-828-8089, eworth@vcu.edu.
• Robert D. Enright is an educational psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin. The International Forgiveness Institute was set up to disseminate the results of his research on forgiveness. Contact 608-262-0835, renright@facstaff.wisc.edu.
• L. Gregory Jones is dean of Duke Divinity School and author of Embodying Forgiveness: A Theological Analysis (Eerdsmans, 1995). Contact 919-660-3434, gjones@div.duke.edu.
• Solomon Schimmel, professor of education and psychology at Hebrew College in Newton, Mass., researched post-apartheid South Africa to write the award-winning Wounds Not Healed by Time: The Power of Repentance and Forgiveness (Oxford, 2002). Contact 617-559-8621, sschimmel@hebrewcollege.edu.
• Raymond Helmick, S.J., teaches conflict resolution in the theology department of Boston College and has mediated conflict in the Middle East. He is co-editor of Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Religion, Public Policy and Conflict Transformation (Templeton Foundation, 2002). Contact 617-552-8215, raymond.helmick@bc.edu.
• Muzammil H. Siddiqi, chairman of the Executive Council of the Shura Council of Southern California and director of the Islamic Center of Orange County, has written about the need for forgiveness from an Islamic perspective and led Muslim-Catholic dialogues. Contact 714-531-1722, ext. 102.
• Stephen Angell, who teaches at the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Ind., can address how Quakers have historically dealt with the issue of forgiveness. Contact 765-983-1496, angelst@earlham.edu.

Background
• ForgivenessNet offers links to passages about forgiveness in the scriptures of different religions. It also offers abundant links to other sites dedicated to forgiveness.
• Researcher and psychologist Frederic Luskin offers "Nine Steps to Forgiveness" in his book Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness (Harper SanFrancisco, 2003).
• The International Forgiveness Institute offers a definition of forgiveness that is based on traditional religious and philosophical ideas.
• South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission examined questions of reconciliation and forgiveness after the abuses of apartheid.
• The John Templeton Foundation is the source of funding for many scientific studies on forgiveness, which it lists on its web site.
• The magazine Spirituality & Health provides a page of links to writers and writings about forgiveness.
• The Institute of Islamic Information and Education cites and explains teachings about forgiveness in the Quran.