Forgiveness

Forgiveness Does Not Mean Surrender to Evil.

The father of a 14-year-old was on trial for raping his daughter. He had pleaded not guilty, then unexpectedly, the judge asked the child: “Do you forgive your father”?

The judge thereby judged that the father was guilty. Caught unawares, the child said she forgave him. The judge then asked the man if he accepted the forgiveness and he said he did. Thereby admitting his guilt.

Then the judge dismissed the charge and said the child could make another complaint if she was abused again. Much has to be done to improve the quality of justice in Philippine courts.

It turns out that some religious sisters had councelled the child and advised her that the holy thing was to forgive the sinner and not to bring him to trial. This of course was very misguided advice indeed.

It raises the serious question for many Christians whether justice and repentance must come before the criminal can be forgiven and if that forgiveness is effective without repentance and admission of guilt.

God demands that there be acceptance of guilt for wrongdoing and repentance, acts of atonement and an acceptance of penance. That is what we were taught from childhood and that is what we did when we went to confession. How many times I felt embarrassed to enter the confessional and admit that I had said bad words and hit brother. Was confession really necessary for such sins?”

On the Cross, Jesus recognized the repentance of the thief, but he did not work a miracle to save him from punishment. He said he would be rewarded in paradise. He had to endure this punishment on the cross.

Likewise the child rapist must accept his wrong doing and repent, confess his crime and do penance. To think that by granting forgiveness, all responsibility for committing crime is taken away is nonsense.

Forgiving others for minor acts without seeking punishment or recompose is a good thing to do, but for serious crime, divine justice calls for admission of guilt and a change of heart and mind.

The power of forgiveness is effective when it invokes in the wrong doer true repentance and sorrow. It is a positive and powerful way to bring an offender to the truth and a transformation in the spirit. But that does not then banish the need for penance. This is not seeking revenge or vengeance but simple justice and a chance for the offender to reform.

God does not want us to have a total blind belief that forgiveness means surrender and appeasement to evil. Also, the act of free will to accept and change has to be there before forgiveness is meaningful.

Fr. Shay Cullen is a Columban missionary: PREDA Centre, Kalaklan, Olongapo City.