Is there justice in restorative?
Following the recent 2nd Annual Conference of Restorative Justice Practices International I had the privilege of spending several days on Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, with three experienced restorative justice practitioners who are former students of mine – Catherine Bargen, Aaron Lyons and Matthew Hartman. Our conversations were wide-ranging while....
Good intentions aren’t enough
Recently my daughter Nicole and I walked through the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, now a museum. I had been there before for an opening – in fact, my exhibit of lifers has been shown there – but had never been through this historic prison. I have posted a few photos of the prison on....
Restorative justice and peacebuilding
As my colleague Lisa Schirch suggests in The Little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding, here at CJP we use the term peacebuilding as an umbrella concept to include many fields of activity that contribute to just and peaceful societies. Colleague Barry Hart uses a wheel diagram to illustrate this. Each segment or spoke is a way....
God’s justice – punishment or restoration?
“My soul cries out, let the fires of your justice burn,” the congregation sings on this Sunday. I lean over to my wife: “What does that mean?” “Maybe it means God is passionate about justice,” she whispers with a twinkle in her eye. True enough, but she knows that I think there’s more to it.....