How Do You Begin to Forgive? A Reflection on Reconciliation

“How can forgiveness begin when those who are responsible for these crimes have been granted impunity by the Amnesty Law? Bishop Chavez said that in order for peace to come, the Salvadoran people should seek truth and justice with the intention of purifying the memory of those who were killed or disappeared.”

“Bishop Rosa Chávez also told us that in order to bring about change in El Salvador, we must change our own reality, and first bring about change in our own country. Near the end of the meeting, he left us with some powerful words: “We are one human family. We are saved or lost together, that is the only path.”

The following reflection on meeting Monseñor Rosa Chavez was written by Anna Kincaid, a member of Good Shepard Parish in Shawnee, KS, who participated in a SHARE delegation this June.

While in El Salvador, the Good Shepherd delegation from Shawnee, Kansas had the opportunity to meet with the Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador, Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chávez.  Just before meeting with him, our delegation had visited the Monument to Memory and Truth.  We heard the stories of two women who had several family members’ names on the wall who were killed during the civil conflict.  Again, in the meeting with the bishop, the pain from the war that the Salvadoran people still feel was reinforced because he mainly spoke about the process of reconciliation following the war. 

He told us that in 1992, peace accords were signed, but the country is not experiencing peace.  We learned that because of the Amnesty Law, justice has not been brought to those who are responsible for the tens of thousands of deaths that occurred during the war.  This includes the intellectual authors of the assassination of Monseñor Romero, the six Jesuit priests, the victims of the El Mozote massacre, among the thousands and thousands of other deaths and disappearances.  Bishop Rosa Chavez told us that Salvadorans should strive to create and follow a formula of reconciliation, based on offering forgiveness, and receiving peace.  But how can forgiveness begin when those who are responsible for these crimes have been granted impunity by the Amnesty Law?  He said that in order for peace to come, the Salvadoran people should seek truth and justice with the intention of purifying the memory of those who were killed or disappeared.

Bishop Rosa Chávez gave us an example of the type of reconciliation that the Salvadoran people seek.  He told us that he was in the sacristy after a confirmation when a retired military person approached and knelt before him saying, “I come to ask you for forgiveness.  I have wished for you to be killed.”  Bishop Rosa Chávez told us he simply lifted the man and hugged him.  This is a powerful example that showed us how reconciliation can bring about peace.

Another powerful topic that Bishop Rosa Chávez spoke with us about is the spirit of Monseñor Romero.  He said that Oscar Romero is the most well-known Salvadoran.  He is the most well-known martyr of the 20th century, and the law of forgetting does not work with him. As more time passes, the more people come to know about him.  Bishop Rosa Chávez told us that this is a work of God, and that was evident to our delegation when we could see Romero’s spirit come alive in the many Salvadorans we met when they spoke about injustice.

Our meeting with Bishop Rosa Chávez gave us a strong dose of the Salvadoran reality. It is hard to imagine ourselves living in a country that is only twenty years removed from a civil war, but this is the situation in El Salvador.  That morning, we began to understand that the pain from the war is something that affects each and every Salvadoran, and that they are still in the process of achieving peace in their country. 

Bishop Rosa Chávez also told us that in order to bring about change in El Salvador, we must change our own reality, and first bring about change in our own country.  Near the end of the meeting, he left us with some powerful words: “We are one human family.  We are saved or lost together, that is the only path.”  Our meeting with Bishop Rosa Chávez left us renewed in our desire to continue to hear the stories of the people we met, knowing that we would share them with others for the purpose of continuing to work towards peace for our brothers and sisters in El Salvador.

If you are interested in learning more about reconciliation in El Salvador please consider joining SHARE this December as part of the El Mozote Commemoration Delegation