09-04-2025

Captura-de-pantalla-2025-03-24-a-las-16.38.22-1 UFV is hosting the 2025 International Conference on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, featuring an interdisciplinary exploration of forgiveness as a force for transformation | UFV Study at the Universidad Privada Madrid

Introduction

More than a hundred attendees gathered at the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV) for the opening of the 2025 International Congress on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, which brought together experts from Europe and the Americas to explore forgiveness from the perspectives of philosophy, theology, justice, and victim support.

The conference, held in a hybrid format, was organized by the UFV Institute of Forgiveness, the research group “First Philosophy and Metaphysics of the Person,” and the Razón Abierta Institute, in collaboration with the Pro+Tejer Chair at the Complutense University of Madrid and the Institut Catholique de Toulouse, with support from the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

A conference designed to encourage reflection

Francesco de Nigris, director of the Congress, expressed his gratitude for the hospitality of the participating institutions and stated that “thinking and giving thanks are intrinsically linked,” inviting those present to “create together” a reflection on forgiveness and reconciliation. For her part, Clara Molinero, director of the Institute of Forgiveness, emphasized that “forgiveness is not an evasion of justice, but the only possibility for restoring humanity when the harm has been extreme.”

Both reiterated their hope that the conference would serve as a forum for fostering a shared, interdisciplinary discussion on forgiveness and reconciliation in a world plagued by conflict, violence, and exclusion.

Captura-de-pantalla-2025-03-24-a-las-16.38.22-1-300x201 UFV is hosting the 2025 International Conference on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, featuring an interdisciplinary exploration of forgiveness as a force for transformation | UFV Study at the Universidad Privada Madrid

Francisco de Nigris, Josep Cohen, and Clara Molinero at the opening of the conference

Forgiveness as excess and gift

The opening lecture was delivered by French philosopher Joseph Cohen, who stated that “forgiveness can never be a normalization.” As he explained, forgiveness lies outside the normative conditions of law or politics: “it is always an excess, a gift that cannot be calculated or demanded.” He added that forgiving is a gesture directed toward the absolute victim, “the one who has lost the power of speech.”

During the subsequent discussion with the audience, Cohen explored the relationship between forgiveness, sacrifice, and substitution, and introduced hope as a way to offer others words of healing.

ENTREVISTA-1-300x202 UFV is hosting the 2025 International Conference on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, featuring an interdisciplinary exploration of forgiveness as a force for transformation | UFV Study at the Universidad Privada Madrid

Joseph Cohen during his speech at the conference

Daily forgiveness and the restoration of bonds

The philosopher Carla Canullo (Universidad de Macerata) gave a presentation focused on the thought of Jean Nabert. She explained that evil severs the bond between the self and the Absolute, and that forgiveness can become “a plea to be freed from the obstacle of division.” She advocated for a daily practice of forgiveness, capable of building community even before responding to evil.

For his part, Mátyás Szalay addressed the question of whether it is possible to forgive the unforgivable. He argued that forgiveness is a narrative act that allows us to rewrite the history of the harm, and that it reveals a freedom capable of confronting evil without replicating it.

Repentance and the Experience of Forgiveness

Professor Mariano Crespo presented a middle-of-the-road view on the connection between forgiveness and repentance. Drawing on Adolf Reinach’s theory of social acts, he argued that forgiveness can be valid even if the perpetrator does not explicitly perceive it.

The Swedish philosopher Hugo Strandberg noted that forgiveness is not a unilateral act, but a relational process. He stated that “what dispels my guilty conscience is their joy at our reunion” and that forgiveness involves a moral transformation in the bond with the other person.

Ontological Reflection and Support for Victims

At a roundtable hosted by the Pro+Tejer Chair at the Complutense University of Madrid, moderated by the chair’s director, Professor María del Rosario González Martín, Miguel García-Baró and Mariéle Wulf offered a philosophical and theological perspective on forgiveness. García-Baró argued that “forgiveness is the ultimate event of being,” while Wulf insisted that “reconciliation can only arise from a path of truth, justice, and freedom.”

Forgiveness in the Face of Mimetic Violence

UFV professor and philosopher Ángel Barahona offered a profound reflection on forgiveness from the perspective of biblical anthropology and René Girard’s mimetic theory. He stated that “only those who have first experienced forgiveness can forgive,” warned that “the alternative to forgiveness is not justice, but revenge,” and that reconciliation requires an inner journey through the face of God.

For her part, philosopher Eleanor Stump, a professor at Saint Louis University (EE. UU.), linked forgiveness to authentic love. She noted that forgiveness “is not optional for those who truly love” and that it does not depend on forgetting, but rather on a desire for restoration based on compassion and a bond with the other person. Drawing on the Thomist tradition, she explained that forgiveness restores the inner unity fractured by harm, even if reconciliation with the aggressor is neither immediate nor guaranteed.

Sorrow, Hope, and Eschatology

Réne Dentz, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, presented an analysis of Psalm 22 through the lens of Paul Ricoeur, highlighting the eschatological dimension of forgiveness as a source of hope in the midst of abandonment. He stated that “lamentation does not become a sign of defeat, but rather a harbinger of freedom.”

ETA, Memory, and Reconciliation in Literature

Professor Álvaro Abellán analyzed the novel Patria by Fernando Aramburu to reflect on forgiveness in the context of ETA’s victims. He argued that “no one can be forced to forgive,” that the harm must be acknowledged from the victims’ perspective, and that reconciliation is possible through a hermeneutic understanding of the conflict.

Remembering without ceasing to forgive

The philosopher Paula Satne explored the complex relationship between forgiveness and memory. She argued that forgiveness does not require forgetting, and that memory can have moral value when accompanied by acknowledgment. In personal contexts, she proposed striking a balance between remembering and not using the harm as a weapon.

Redefining Time Through Forgiveness

The closing lecture was delivered by Andrea Bellantone, who argued that forgiveness allows us to “reset time.” Drawing inspiration from Levinas, Derrida, and Jankélévitch, he asserted that forgiveness is “an experience that breaks the logic of repetition” and opens the door to a shared new beginning. He concluded that forgiveness cannot be institutionalized without betraying its essence: it is a gesture outside of historical time, yet one that allows history—and relationships—to begin anew, time and again, from the mystery of the unexpected.

Francisco de Vitoria University organized this conference as an expression of its commitment to human dignity and the ethical renewal of society. In this way, UFV promotes an interdisciplinary reflection on forgiveness as both a personal experience and a social good, convinced that only through truth, justice, and reconciliation is it possible to rebuild broken bonds. In a context of growing polarization, this conference sought to create a space for thought and dialogue aimed at reconciliation, drawing on philosophy, theology, and the humanities.