Forgiveness Education in the Ignatian Pedagogy

Abstract

The authors of the article explain how the Ignatian pedagogy supports the students in solving problems related to forgiveness and reconciliation. They point out that it does not provide rules leading automatically to the reconciliation of the feuding parties. Instead, one might speak of the process, which is contingent on a variety of human circumstances. The authors indicate that the Ignatian spirituality understood as a manner of human conduct can help the person understand the nature and basis of forgiveness. The source of this support, which is also called the formation of man, is the Christian faith, and the method of transmitting it is a spiritual retreat. In the course of the retreat, the person realizes the truth about himself and about what God has done for him. The gradual weighing of both of these realities leads the person to recognize the disproportion between the forgiveness received and the one expected of him/her. The Ignatian pedagogy taps into this line of thinking and acting. It is about providing the student with the conditions to understand the meaning of forgiveness and triggering the readiness for such action. This kind of reflection is coupled with religious knowledge, which, apart from natural cognition, is an important point of reference for the Ignatian pedagogy.