Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

VII practice systems. While mercy was not necessarily inter- preted the same way by each dignitary, it is clear that there was an important degree of overlap in meaning, and more significantly, a complete consensus on the importance of mercy in each religion. Chapter 2 includes all of these official remarks. The second day featured two consecutive morning sessions during which four concomitant circles met to study specific case studies of mercy for peace and rec- onciliation. The composition of each group was mixed by gender, religion, age, and level of seniority, and the members of each circle remained the same for both ses- sions. Each circle included a facilitator and rapporteur. The twelve multi-generational exemplars of mercy pro- vided the thematic content and led the dialogue by first sharing their personal story of how their lived practice of mercy contributed to peace and reconciliation. The facilitators of each group – Dr. Nayla Tabbara, Rev. INTRODUCT ION – WITNESSES OF MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION Prof. Patrice Brodeur moderating the second panel on the first day of the symposium