No easy answer: reconciliation requires justice

The need to keep justice included in efforts for reconciliation has been raised in Bible Studies, lectures and forums during the Assembly.

In the Bible study on Monday, April 19, Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, said there was a dangerous trend in some quarters to de-link justice from the discourse on reconciliation and healing.

In the new globalised world it was claimed not all issues were justice related, but Metropolitan Coorilos said economic globalisation had made global problems worse. It had broken down some walls, but still others remained and new walls were being erected; new barriers of exclusion, exploitation and domination.

The “no entry” signs in the global south could be seen in such things as special economic zones and intellectual property rights.
Metropolitan Coorilos was preaching on Paul’s first epistle to the Ephesians, which he said was distinctive because of its perspective on the gentiles, the loathed, the underdogs: in Christ the gentiles had a new identity; discrimination had been overcome.

But Paul’s act of breaking the partition in the temple by bringing in a gentile eventually led to Paul’s torture, imprisonment and death.
Metropolitan Coorilos said, “All this suggests that the risk of reconciliation is indeed a costly one.” He said, “I have always held that ecumenism — one form of a reconciled community —in its perfect form is encountered in a house where someone has died.”
That was unlike a house where a wedding takes place and people must be invited, he said. In a house where someone has died people gather naturally, irrespective of their class, caste, race, gender or religion.

They all gather in solidarity and to share the pain and loss of the family. Sadly, for this vision of ecumenism and reconciliation to be actualised, someone needs to die.

It was death on a Cross that brought Christians together, he said. It had dismantled all walls of hostility and discrimination.
Metropolitan Coorilos said, “In the midst of old and new forms of division that perpetuate enmity, discrimination, domination and exploitation, we are called to prophesy, to reconcile and to heal.”
Reconciliation in the modern globalised context was more than mere conciliation. It was more than reconciling with the status quo; it was not about reconciling with the normative and dominant in an unjust society.

Reconciliation was a Trinitarian state of being; a perfect relationship between God, humanity and nature. “It is about restoring and reinstating just values and relationships. It is about reclaiming justice, peace and integrity of creation.

Discussions in the forum on a culture of violence and impunity touched on how attempts at reconciliation without justice resulted in impunity and the perpetuation of violent cultures.

For instance, Timorese who fought with the Indonesians and
No easy answer: reconciliation requires justice committed offences in the struggle for independence had been freed. That might have appeased Indonesia, but it did not build reconciliation among the Timorese. Justice was not seen to happen.

The healing of memories forum said healing involved forgiveness, acceptance, repentance, and a safe space to share of pain and suffering. There were two aspects of memories, it said: collective and individual memories of healing.

It said there was no healing without forgiveness from the oppressed and repentance for oppressor. “Healing is restoration of justice. It is a process of liberation and transformation between the oppressed and oppressors.”

In her D. T. Niles Lecture “Reconciliation and Healing in the Midst of Conflict and Brokenness”, Dr Ruth Manorama focused on the experiences of her struggles for the rights of India’s Dalits. She said true reconciliation meant recognising the root cause of a problem and having the courage to say things that the state would not entertain.

Reconciliation, she said, entailed justice and even reparation. She was critical of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which she said led to no action.

She spoke of the influence the early ecumenical movement had on her as an Indian, Dalit, Christian; how it provided a forum for other movements to network; and how it gave her courage and confidence.

Dr Manorama compared empires of state with the empires of the church and said Asian churches should not settle into the stereotypical styles of the empire.

She said state militarisation was occurring throughout Asia while poverty persisted in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. In Asia, she said, pain was immense. And pain destroyed life. But she still had not seen Christ’s promise of abundant life.

The church still had not denounced the caste system, she said. Christian missionaries criticised idol worship but not the caste system. If theology spoke of washing away all sins, how could Christians still talk about untouchables or polluted people, she asked.
The church must stand up and talk, she said, and casteism needed to be addressed at the Asian level. “Reconciliation and healing can happen in Asia when you get involved.”

Dr Manorama said building movements was a witness to Christ and that the church needed to recognise that God used other people.
She said, “The best of the missionary enterprise is solidarity with the poor … The church must recognise those at the forefront of the struggle and give up its status of empire.”

“Bishops, pastors, leaders,” she said, “you must be with the people. But you are sitting and building and protecting the empires.”
Dr Manorama said the healing process was very risky work and that reconciliation needed a bold and courageous stand by believers.

Stephen Webb

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 20