This panel features three people and their personal stories of forgiveness in very difficult circumstances.
These testimonials are taken from The Forgiveness Project, a British organization that offers opportunities and resources to explore the complexity of forgiveness.
You can find a more complete version of their story, as well as dozens of other stories of forgiveness from around the world, here
Rosalyn
A few years ago, her life was thrown into a downward spiral when she was raped by a man who broke into her home. In 2014, after a very long process, she decided to meet her attacker in prison and told him she had chosen to forgive him.
“I began to realize that as long as I still harbored feelings of revenge and hatred, I was locking myself in a prison cell deep within my mind. Forgiveness seemed to offer me freedom. However, I learned that it was a fluctuating process: one day, I might start to forgive him, and the next day, it was as if everything was back to square one. But I made the decision that the rape was one of many things that needed to be integrated into who I am. It wasn’t the be-all and end-all of who I was. I still had my identity. The path to forgiveness required vigilance and patience, but on good days, when the choice to forgive was strong, I felt my inner peace and well-being return”
Bud
His daughter, Julie Marie, 23, was killed in a terrorist attack along with 167 other people. In the months following her death, Bud went from supporting the death penalty for the perpetrators of the attack to publicly opposing it. After the trial, one of the perpetrators was executed for his role in the attack.
“About a year before the execution, I finally managed to forgive him. It was a relief for me.”
Anne Marie
Her father was 56 years old when he was murdered. The 30-year-old man who committed the crime was her neighbor. He suffered from a serious mental illness.
“Forgiveness means recognizing that the offender is a human being who deserves kindness, compassion, and love despite the harm he has caused.”