Leviticus 19:17-18

Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Matthew 5:7, 9

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.... Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Matthew 18:15-16

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Galatians 6:1a

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.

Reflection on encounter

As we have seen, a restorative justice understanding of crime focuses on the people and relationships involved in and affected by criminal wrong-doing. Crime is more than breaking a law or laws. It also harms people and relationships.

It follows then that a restorative justice response to crime focuses on people and relationships. Such a response seeks to provide opportunities for offenders, victims, families, friends, and community members to meet – to encounter each other to discuss and deal with crime and its effects on them and their relationships.

All of this is deeply consistent with Biblical principles and practices for responding to wrongdoing. Compare the passages from Leviticus 19, Matthew 5 and 18, and Galatians 6. God acknowledges the harmful reality and power of wrongdoing. The texts show that God cares about victims and offenders – both parties in conflict. God wants people in conflict to do what they can to recognize the harm and its consequences and then to seek restoration and reconciliation. The texts from Leviticus, Matthew, and Galatians suggest that this should be done through personal engagement between people who are set against each other because of wrong-doing or conflict.

Encounter, then, is one of the key principles or values in restorative justice practice. An encounter can occur directly in a meeting between the involved parties. Alternatively, it can occur indirectly through a sequence of separate meetings with the parties involved, or through letters, videos, and the like.

Whatever the means, a restorative encounter process aims to accomplish the following objectives:

  • Bring the parties in conflict together in an interactive process (e.g., mediation, conferencing, circles, exchange of letters or messages)

  • Provide a venue for victims to tell their story to others, particularly to the offender

  • Give offenders an opportunity to acknowledge their actions and to understand the harm they have caused

  • Make space for communication and truth-telling, leading to the sharing of emotion and to understanding and empathy, and even to confession and repentance

  • Come to an agreement about how to deal with the effects of the crime, especially through actions the offender will undertake

  • Create the potential for rebuilding or transforming relationships

    In short, the appropriate and effective way to pursue justice and shalom after a crime is to bring together those who are involved in and affected by it in direct or indirect personal encounter.

    Through encounter with each other, the parties can take ownership of their actions and their reactions. They can exercise responsibility and compassion, and seek restoration and transformation for themselves and their relationships, by dealing personally and positively with crime and its effects.

    Used by permission - www.restorativejustice.org - a ministry of Prison Fellowship International


Última modificación: martes, 14 de agosto de 2018, 11:18