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Mission and Goals

Mission and Goals

A student planting in the Garden of Forgiveness
A student planting in the Garden of Forgiveness

Mission

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.

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