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RTÉ Radio 1 Extra | Heart and Soul

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Thursday 26th November at 8am –

The Power of Forgiveness – Jane Little explores the role of forgiveness in Christianity following the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, USA.

In the hours after Dylann Roof shot dead nine members of the congregation of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, the family members of those he murdered sat down and offered him their forgiveness.

Jane Little travels to South Carolina to explore how the families were able to forgive Dylann Roof so quickly after their family members had been killed, and what it is within their deep Christian faith which compelled them to offer him mercy. But Jane also explores how many African-Americans were critical of their words, suggesting that offering forgiveness was nothing more than ‘a free pass’ for racists to inflict more pain on black Americans.

By exploring the roots of forgiveness in Christianity, Jane attempts to understand how the families were able to forgive Roof.