Reconciliation: Restoring Justice
By John W. de Gruchy
Fortress. 2002. 255 pp. Pb. $29.95.
ISBN 0800636007
— Review by Aurelia T. Fule, Santa Fe, N.M.
John W. de Gruchy, professor of Christian studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is known and esteemed by many Western readers because of his earlier works. In Reconciliation he writes: The relatively peaceful ending of apartheid and the transition to democratic rule in South Africa did . . . take the world by surprise. It also set in motion . . . the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established to seek the truth about the past in order to facilitate national reconciliation (p. 10).
The transition was indeed dramatic, and the TRC had a significant role in this radical change. The reader is introduced to the history, vision and process of the TRC. Victims and perpetrators faced each other at the TRC table, where truth telling and listening took place. The past must not be buried. Guilt must be owned; hurt and fury need to be expressed. Excuses and denials were voiced, but most people tried to speak what they perceived to be true. The pain of truth telling, forgiveness, restoration and the pain of victims telling their stories and hearing the perpetrators is described with feeling and careful reflection.
Reconciliation is God’s gift in Christ. It inevitably includes justice and peace. This is the Christian tradition that addresses both interpersonal and social relations — and was the formative influence on the vision of the TRC. In chs. 2 and 3, De Gruchy considers the Christian tradition.
Then, in ch. 4, he shows the broader implications well beyond south Africa, writing on “Reconciliation and the Household of Abraham.” At a time when “homeland security” may lead us to disregard our own principles and law — the arrest and lawyer-less seclusion of Arabs and Pakistanis — we owe it to ourselves to read and ponder this book, especially ch. 4, in order that we may become more aware of our ties both to Judaism and Islam.
Reconciliation is written with passion — and also with nuanced analysis of South Africa’s past and present. But it covers far more, since its analysis reflects on the human and social conditions of a world in desperate need of reconciliation. Who can counsel us, convict and convince us? Who can speak to our issues? De Gruchy can and does.
Desmond Tutu, former Archbishop of Cape Town and TRC chair, wrote: “I warmly recommend this timely book.” There is no better recommendation.
Reconciliation is God’s gift in Christ. It inevitably includes justice and peace. This is the Christian tradition that addresses both interpersonal and social relations — and was the formative influence on the vision of the TRC. In chs. 2 and 3, De Gruchy considers the Christian tradition.
Then, in ch. 4, he shows the broader implications well beyond south Africa, writing on “Reconciliation and the Household of Abraham.” At a time when “homeland security” may lead us to disregard our own principles and law — the arrest and lawyer-less seclusion of Arabs and Pakistanis — we owe it to ourselves to read and ponder this book, especially ch. 4, in order that we may become more aware of our ties both to Judaism and Islam.
Reconciliation is written with passion — and also with nuanced analysis of South Africa’s past and present. But it covers far more, since its analysis reflects on the human and social conditions of a world in desperate need of reconciliation. Who can counsel us, convict and convince us? Who can speak to our issues? De Gruchy can and does.
Desmond Tutu, former Archbishop of Cape Town and TRC chair, wrote: “I warmly recommend this timely book.” There is no better recommendation.
