Forgiveness: a gift that gives nothing but returns everything

Forgiveness is one of the thorniest dilemmas of contemporary ethics. It is invoked with regard to offences, wrongs, individual misdeed, but often also to the evil perpetrated in the name of an idea of civilization, of a totalitarian ideology, of a religious faith, and even in legal matters. The etymology of the word ‘forgiveness’ in Italian is connected with the idea of renouncing, for instance one’s rights, or excusing something. But the term is also associated to the notion of disinterested, unconditional giving—a giving which gives nothing but returns or restores everything. The essence of forgiveness is restoring the ability to act to someone who would otherwise remain forever entrapped in the deed performed: this someone is thus offered a chance to become something different from his past misdeed. So forgiveness really means that no-one can even be reduced to the sum of his or her failures. Forgiving thus not only means rebuilding a relationship that the offense destroyed, but also restarting life’s game for the other.