Who We Are
Rooted in SSJ Legacy
Chestnut Hill College is grounded in the mission of the Sisters of St Joseph who “live and work that all may be one.” As a college community, we understand our spiritual heritage as one that impels us to foster a culture of active, inclusive love, where all are welcomed, respected and valued.
An Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation is a natural outgrowth of our SSJ legacy and a communal commitment to respond to the needs of our day.
Oneness Overcomes Division
We seek to nurture an institutional culture where oneness overcomes divisions, where grudges and wrongs give way to forgiveness and reparation and people suffering from broken relationships walk the road to reconciliation together. From our own lived experience comes the responsibility to share with others what we are discovering as gift for ourselves.
Alternative to Dominant Culture of Violence
We need to foster a culture, locally and globally, that is an alternative to the dominant culture of violence, divisions and retaliation that threatens the very well-being of our children and our planet. The Institute at Chestnut Hill College seeks to create a “life-long learning laboratory” where we come to recognize and resist the culture of death. We humbly seek to partner with others on the path of forgiveness and reconciliation as faithful followers of the God of life. The gift of life becomes our responsibility and our mandate. We are here and the time is now to help heal our wounded world. We hope to do so by our multi-disciplined commitment to scholarship, formation and outreach to the local and global community in the personal and societal work of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Our Mission and Goals
The mission of the Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation at Chestnut Hill College grows out of the legacy of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and their mission of unity and love for all without distinction. This leads the Chestnut Hill College community to work for the healing of divisions within and among human persons and communities by promoting forgiveness and reconciliation at every level of life together. The work of the Institute utilizes an inclusive, collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach through lenses of:
- Research and Scholarship
- Networking, Outreach and Service
- Formation, Education and Skill Development
Through these distinct and yet interrelated avenues, the Institute works for the common good by teaching, advocating for and witnessing to peace-building alternatives to violence and retaliation.
Strategic Goals
1. To create and foster a college-wide alternative culture where attitudes and dispositions to forgive and reconcile are stronger than the dominant culture of violence and retaliation.
2. To nurture and promote persons and communities whose commitment to forgive and reconcile is rooted in a personal awareness of their own need for and reception of forgiveness as a gift.
3. To serve the wider community by offering the spiritual and intellectual formation needed and by promoting the change of heart and attitudes of mind necessary to help heal broken relationships at the personal, social and global level.
Components of the Institute
The interconnected component areas of the Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation are:
- Research and Scholarship
- Networking, Outreach and Service
- Formation, Education and Skill Development
Contact Us
Catherine Nerney, SSJ, Ph.D.
Director of the Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Chestnut Hill College
9601 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
ifr@chc.edu