The News Letter Belfast

“Candice, a heroine of compassion, adds: “I have a relationship with God, and I strongly believe that it is my purpose to be doing this work and that his guidance has led me to where I am.”

I had the honor of speaking to The Newsletter Belfast’s Joanne Savage about my Tedx Stormont talk and my journey towards forgiveness

A short excerpt below and full interview: CLICK HERE

The 18th century English poet Alexander Pope summed up some of the wonder of reconciliation when he wrote that ‘to err is human; to forgive, divine’. Belfast poet Michael Longley is perhaps best known for his poem ‘Ceasefire’ on the subject, which revisits The Iliad to contextualise the herculean feat of forgiveness that has been central to Northern Ireland being able to move beyond the bloody impasse of the Troubles. He has king Priam, whose son Hector has been murdered by the mighty warrior Achilles at the end of the Trojan War sum up the gigantic benevolence of making peace with an enemy: “I get down on my knees and do what must be done, / And kiss Achilles’ hand, the killer of my son.” This seems to require a superhuman effort, and for many who have lost loved ones to terrorists during Northern Ireland’s decades of conflict, forgiveness of the perpetrators is often a step too far, their hurt being too raw and all-consuming, their feelings of injustice and rage holding sway.

Some of us baulk at the idea of forgiveness altogether, especially when the stakes are high; isn’t this to let those who have committed heinous crimes off the hook?

But there is another way of looking at it currently being popularised by ‘forgiveness advocate’ Candice Mama, a South African author and inspirational speaker who gave a talk at Stormont on the subject at Stormont several weeks ago.