Filmmaker Hunter Johnson took on a commission of a lifetime when he agreed to make a documentary about restorative justice for clergy abuse …
Restorative justice film promotes healing, honors role of late ombudsperson
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Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation
From the Center for Action and Contemplation
Week Thirty-six
Restorative Justice
Restoring Relationships
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced. —James Baldwin (1924–1987)
Almost all religions and cultures that I know of have believed in one way or another that sin and evil are to be punished and that retribution is to be demanded of the sinner—in this world and usually the next world, too. Such retributive justice promotes a dualistic system of reward and punishment, good people and bad people, and makes perfect sense to the ego. I call it the economy of merit or “meritocracy.” This system seems to be the best that prisons, courtrooms, wars, and even most of the church are equipped to do. The trouble is that we defined God as “punisher in chief” instead of Healer, Forgiver, and Reconciler; thus, the retribution model was legitimized all the way down!
However, Jesus, many mystics, Indigenous cultures, and other wisdom traditions show an alternative path toward healing. In these traditions, sin and failure are an opportunity for the transformation of the person harmed, the person causing harm, and the community. Mere counting and ledger-keeping are not the way of the Gospel. Our best self wants to restore relationships, and not just blame or punish. This is the “economy of grace” and an operative idea of restorative justice.
After being wronged, few human beings can move ahead with dignity without a full and honest exposure of the truth, as well as accountability. You cannot heal what you do not acknowledge. Hurt does not just go away on its own; it needs to be spoken and heard. Only then is there a possibility of “restorative justice,” which is what the prophets invariably promise to the people of Israel (as in Ezekiel 16:53-63; Isaiah 57:17‒19) and Jesus illustrates in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11‒32) and throughout his healing ministry.
While I can talk about restorative justice from the framework of Scripture and theology, this week I will rely on experts in the field. Teachers and practitioners Elaine Enns and Ched Myers define restorative justice and peacemaking as “a range of nonviolent responses to injustice, violation, and/or violence with the aim of
- reducing or halting the presenting violence in order that
- victims and offenders (as well as their communities and other stakeholders) can collectively identify harms, needs, and responsibilities so that
- they can determine how to make things as right as possible, which can include covenants of accountability, restitution, reparations and (ideally) reconciliation.” [1]
We all need to apologize, and we all need to forgive, for humanity to have a sustainable future. Otherwise, we are controlled by the past, individually and corporately. History easily devolves into taking sides, bitterness, holding grudges, and the violence that inevitably follows. No wonder that almost two-thirds of Jesus’ teaching is directly or indirectly about forgiveness. As others have said, “Forgiveness is to let go of our hope for a different past.” Reality is what it is, and such acceptance leads to great freedom, and the possibility of healing forgiveness.
[1] Elaine Enns and Ched Myers, Ambassadors of Reconciliation, Volume 2: Diverse Christian Practices of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking (Orbis Books: 2009), xiii.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, A Spring Within Us: A Book of Daily Meditations (CAC Publishing: 2016), 194; and
Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps (Franciscan Media: 2011), 38, 39.
Epigraph: “As Much Truth as One Can Bear,” (1962) in The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings, ed. Randall Kenan (Pantheon Books: 2010), 34.
Image credit: What is Ubuntu 01 (detail), Gretchen Andrew, 2018.
Preview: ‘The Prison Within,’ A Documentary Exploring Restorative Justice
During meetings of the San Quentin Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG), prisoners and survivors come together in a restorative justice program …
Remembering without Revenge
Podcast link
In this episode, Dr. Carl Stauffer, professor of Restorative and Transitional Justice here at CJP, and an engaging storyteller, reflects on his childhood in Vietnam and the way that war shaped his outlook on life; his early adulthood with a young family in South Africa during a time when the nation was experiencing rapid transition away from decades of apartheid rule. He talks passionately about how central his Anabaptist faith has been pivotal in his work and how it continues to shape the way he shows up and teaches in the classroom.
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Restorative Justice Week 2019
Restorative Justice Week will be held in Canada, and throughout the world, from November 17-23, 2019. The theme for #RJWeek is Inspiring Innovation.
Discover the many uses of restorative justice (RJ). Explore how RJ can deal with harm in different situations: families, neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces, etc. Think about how RJ values and principles can be applied to every day challenges.
Involvement in Restorative Justice
Knowledge Exchange on Victims’ Involvement in Restorative Justice:
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/news-bulit/iss19-bul19/index.html
Community reconciliation forum 2019
(sorry for the French only)
Video summarizing the Community Reconciliation Forum hosted by The Restorative Justice Center of Quebec. This Forum was held at the Cultural Center Le Montmartre Canadien on May 31 and June 1, 2019.
“The power of collaboration to create new relations with First Nations, a challenge for the future” was the theme of this event that took place during the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, in Quebec, Canada.
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Welcome to the Restorative justice center of Quebec
The Restorative Justice Centre of Quebec (RJC-QC) was created in order promote an understanding of the concepts of restorative justice and to implement restorative justice programs within the province of Quebec. Restorative justice focuses on a reconciliation and healing process between offender and victim, where both take an active role in a process wherein offenders take direct responsibility for their acts and attempt reparation and victims can express how they have been affected by the wrongdoing. Restorative justice recognizes that crime is an offense against individuals rather than the State and emphasizes reconciliation and catharsis rather than punishment as in our modern criminal justice system. Thus, our mandate is based on respecting the fundamental dignity of human beings and the need for societal harmony.
Restorative Justice is a process of empowerment that allows restoration of self-esteem and self-confidence. It aims to summon understanding from confusion and hope from despair. It involves reconciliation with oneself and the “other” resulting in inner healing.
Gov. Tim Walz throws support behind developing veteran restorative justice push
He assured an audience of veterans and officials from across the state’s criminal justice system that the measure would be a priority.
Elizabeth Flores – Star Tribune file
Gov. Tim Walz, shown in November at a Veterans Day event in Richfield, pledged to back a developing effort to create a statewide restorative justice program for veterans charged with certain crimes.
What are Restorative Practices?
A mini-Video about What are Restorative Practices.
In a nutshell: ‘More Voices in the issues that matter to us folks’.
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