Quotes for forgiveness
page 11

“The resumption of peace means all sides must grant forgiveness – without bias or emotion – and be open-minded to allow the airing of dissenting opinions. I understand this is difficult to do, but we have to put the greater good before personal interest.”

Yingluck Shinawatra (1967) Thai businesswoman and politician

"Speech on the Amnesty bill" https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30218796 (5 November 2013)

Peace, Understanding, Personality

“O Beloved, in your mercy forgive me my sins
and accept my night-long weeping.
I live in bewilderment, full of transgressions–
Only your grace will bring me release.”

Sarmad Kashani (1590–1661) Persian mystic, poet and saint

Source: Sarmad, Martyr to Love Divine, p. 240 (2005)

Night

“How many times since have I asked God to forgive me for my ignorance? I didn't see then that the democratic mandate for Pakistan had been grossly violated.”

Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007) 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan

Source: Daughter of the East : an autobiography

God, Time

“All of us have done things that we’re not proud of. But we serve a big, forgiving, almighty God.”

Melissa Lackey Oremus (1978) American politician

Source: ‘You realize that you have a life inside of you’: SC state rep chose life at age 16 https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/you-realize-that-you-have-a-life-inside-of-you-sc-state-rep-chose-life-at-age-16 (8 April 2021)

God

“We are a sovereign country so we must get out from this crisis by ourselves. We must draw away danger with our own hands. History would never forgive the present generation for wasting this chance.”

Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) Polish military officer and politician

Source: Excerpts of Martial law speech (14 December 1981)

History, Chance, Drawing, Country

“May God have mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou knowest that I am innocent! With all my heart I forgive my enemies! Long live Christ the King!”

Miguel Pro (1891–1927) Mexican Jesuit priest and martyr

Source: Blessed Miguel Pro Juarez https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-miguel-pro-juarez-397 (November 23, 1927)

God, Heart, Christ

“I hold teamwork in high esteem. Teamwork, forgiveness, treating more people with respect and equality, doing good to all, especially those who are against you, are some positive actions to heal our wounds and seek the mercy and love of Jesus.”

Benny Mario Travas (1966)

Source: Benny Mario Travas installed as new Bishop of Karachi https://www.dawn.com/news/1617694/benny-mario-travas-installed-as-new-bishop-of-karachi (12 April 2021)

Love, People

“One ought to have the moral character and tolerance to forgive people’s weaknesses.”

Bo Xilai (1949) former Politburo member of the Communist Party of China

Source: Excerpts of letter to his first wife (14 July 1975)

People

“Life is short, be grateful, be kind, be happy. Forgive and forget ... Love and peace.”

Wu Chun (1979) Bruneian actor and singer

Source: Wu Chun (2021) cited in " Singer-actor Wu Chun apologises after old photo of him and his wife sparks criticism, allegations https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/singer-actor-wu-chun-apologises-after-old-photo-of-him-and-his-wife-sparks" on The Straits Times, 9 March 2020.

Love, Life, Happiness, Peace

“Forgiveness is one of the key ideas in this world. Forgiveness is not just some nebulous, vague idea that one can easily dismiss. It has to do with uniting people through practical politics. Without forgiveness there is no future.”

Desmond Tutu (1931) South African churchman, politician, archbishop, Nobel Prize winner

Without Forgiveness There Is No Future (1998)

People, World, Idea, Future

“Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

book Bible

Source: 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, NKJV

Christ

“It has brought me the greatest sorrow you can imagine, because he was the most handsome little boy for his age that you could find. I feel his death even more than the loss of my own son [Fernando] because he was older and I knew him better and treated him as my own son. Nevertheless we must accept the will of God. May God forgive me, but I wish He had taken Christian instead of his son.”

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) Holy Roman Emperor

Death, God, Age, Feeling

“We find ourselves in a time of global uncertainty and in such a time are called to offer the common man Christian hope, perspective for the future and faith in eternity. The people of today actually hunger the most for God. They seek solace in various surrogates and, therefore, experience disappointment. Nothing can give man meaning and peace except God. The Church should open its doors to all people. We Greek Catholics, with our mystical spirituality, ecclesiastical tradition and the wealth of our liturgy, can and should offer the living Christ, his joy, love, forgiveness and hope to the people around us in our own characteristic way. With great hope, I look toward the future of our Eparchy of Križevci and anticipate days of spiritual revival. Whoever truly wants to follow Christ will inevitably encounter resistance and persecution from the world. However, let us not lose hope. With God we are always in the majority and always on the winning side. May our many holy ancestors be our role models and support us on this path.”

Milan Stipić (1978) Croatian Greek-Catholic bishop

Source: The Episcopal Ordination of Msgr. Milan Stipić as the Bishop of Križevci https://ika.hkm.hr/english/the-episcopal-ordination-of-msgr-milan-stipic-as-the-bishop-of-krizevci/ (October 2020)

Love, Hunger, God, People

“Forgiveness is taking seriously the awfulness of what has happened when you are treated unfairly. It is opening the door for the other person to have a chance to begin again. Without forgiveness, resentment builds in us, a resentment which turns into hostility and anger. Hatred eats away at our well-being.”

Desmond Tutu (1931) South African churchman, politician, archbishop, Nobel Prize winner

Without Forgiveness There Is No Future (1998)

Hostility, Chance, Personality, Anger

“O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me and join me to the higher companions...”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Al-Bukhaari (5674) and Muslim (2191)
Reported to be Muhammed's last words
Sunni Hadith

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.”

Josh Billings (1818–1885) American humorist

Source: Josh Billings: His Works, Complete (1873), p. 235 https://books.google.com/books?id=HJUIXmDzqPcC&pg=PA235

Revenge

“There is too much attention
paid to him who shot at he
and to how he got away
but didn't quite.
Yes there's too much attention
So much so that we'll believe
he's not guilty of the crime which he's being tried
So forgive me when I tell you
I ain't got no place to go
I ain't got no one to talk to
got no one left to say hello”

Gilbert O'Sullivan (1946) Irish singer-songwriter

"Too Much Attention" (song) <br class="br">Song lyrics <br class="br">Source: Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Too Much Attention" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR47R4uWdDo (song on YouTube)

“Compassion for other human beings has to extend to the society that’s been grinding the powerless under its heel. The more civilized the society becomes, the more humane it becomes; the more it can see its own humanity, the more it sees the ways in which its humanity has been behaving inhumanly. This injustice of the world inspires a rage so intense that to express it fully would require homicidal action; it’s self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage. Simply put, I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness.”

Sidney Poitier (1927) American-born Bahamian actor, film director, author, and diplomat

Variant: I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. There is a certain anger; it reaches such intensity that to express it fully would require homicidal rage — self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage — and its flame burns because the world is so unjust. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness.
Source: The Measure of a Man (2000)

World, Way, Learning, Rage

“In trying to work for you, we might have failed to take good care of your souls as expected. We ask for your forgiveness in this Year of Mercy. We ask a bit a bit of amnesty from you. We should humbly acknowledge before God and his people the fact that in the history of our priesthood, the dark presence of sin is also found, so there is the need for us in this Year of Mercy to commit ourselves fully to the search for holiness.”

Robert Ndlovu (1955) Archbishop of Harare

Source: Archbishop of Harare celebrates Chrism Mass http://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2016/03/24/archbishop_of_harare_celebrates_chrism_mass/en-1217797 (24 March 2016)

God, People, Soul, History

“Forgiveness of the sin of abortion does not mean the Church condones abortion, neither does it minimise its grave effects.”

Smaragde Mbonyintege (1947) Rwandan Catholic bishop (born 1947)

Source: Catholic Church maintains its stand on abortion, says Bishop Mbonyintege https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/192233 (5 September 2015)

“Forgiveness is one thing, and no one is opposed to forgiving him, but he must also realize that actions have consequences, and one of those consequences is that the people have lost trust in him. This is what the people are asking. How are they going to be governed by someone whom they can't trust?”

Rubén González Medina (1949) Roman Catholic bishop

Source: Puerto Rican governor resigns amid massive protests https://www.catholicnews.com/update-puerto-rican-governor-resigns-amid-massive-protests/ (July 25, 2019)

People

“When you forgive, somewhere you sacrifice a part of your own existence, your respect, your dignity, yourself.”

Om Swami (1979) Indian mystic

A Million Thoughts (2016)

Parting

“Forgiveness without justice is capitulation and weakness.”

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow (1946) primate of the Russian Orthodox Church

"Распятие Кирилла на кресте" (In Russian. "Crucifixion of Kirill on the cross") https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2022/03/18/raspiatie-kirilla-na-kreste, Novaya Gazeta, 18 March 2022

Justice

“You know we are all responsible for building peace in the world. Respond to blind violence and inhuman hatred with the extraordinary power of love. Forgive those who offend you. Do not let yourselves be dragged into manifestations of nationalism, racism and intolerance.”

Pedro López Quintana (1953) Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See

Dialogue and the extraordinary power of love, antidote to violence and hatred: Papal Nuncio visiting conflict torn states in north east India reminds Christians to be builders of peace (7 November 2005) Fides News Agency http://fides.org/en/news/6082-ASIA_INDIA_Dialogue_and_the_extraordinary_power_of_love_antidote_to_violence_and_hatred_Papal_Nuncio_visiting_conflict_torn_states_in_north_east_India_reminds_Christians_to_be_builders_of_peace

Love, World, Peace