Pardon as the only path to national reconciliation

8. The request for pardon concerns the life of the Church first of all. It is still legitimate however to "hope that political leaders and peoples, especially those involved in tragic conflicts, fuelled by hatred and the memory of often ancient wounds, will be guided by the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation exemplified by the Church and will make every effort to resolve their differences through open and honest dialogue" (John Paul II, Address to the participants in the International Symposium on the Inquisition [31 October 1998], 5:  L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 11 November 1998, p. 3). In fact, in recent years, in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe or Asia, at the end of international, inter-ethnic or civil wars, or with the fall of military or communist dictatorships, legislation has been passed in order to seek the truth and identify those responsible.

These laws have sought to re-establish national peace by offering amnesty under certain conditions. Thus "truth and reconciliation commissions" (as in South Africa) were established. As non-juridical institutions, their mandate is to cast light upon these troubled periods and to identify the people responsible for them, without however condemning them to penal sanctions. Experience shows that such institutions cannot succeed on their own; beyond the laws of amnesty, countries that have been destroyed and divided by serious conflicts must engage in a process of reconciliation.

Reconciliation has further demands:  "No process of peace can ever begin unless an attitude of sincere forgiveness takes root in human hearts. When such forgiveness is lacking, wounds continue to fester, fuelling in the younger generation endless resentment, producing a desire for revenge and causing fresh destruction" (John Paul II, Message for World Day of Peace 1997, n. 1). The Church is aware of the difficulty, the "folly" of this forgiveness, but does not see it as either a sign of weakness or cowardliness. Quite the contrary. The Church proclaims the way of pardon because of her unshakeable confidence in the infinite forgiveness of God.