Can a society ever recover from the wounds of imperial power that have created deep bitterness and resentment? Can a community torn in two by national and religious differences ever be made whole, where both sides feel accepted, valued and equal? What role does justice and the pursuit and punishment of the guilty have to play in ensuring this wholeness? These are the deeper questions raised and as yet unanswered following the Saville Report into the events of Bloody Sunday.

The Report, of course, only deals with one incident – the terrible events of 30 January 1972 when 13 people were killed by the British Army on the streets of Londonderry/Derry. It declares that those 13 people and the others who were wounded were wholly innocent and posed no threat whatsoever to the soldiers. It also declares that while some senior officers made poor decisions it is the individual soldiers themselves who were responsible for the killing by becoming ill disciplined and indiscriminate in their shooting on the day. The government had no shoot to kill policy nor did it have a policy to shoot at protesting marchers. It also reports that there were members of the IRA in the area that day and that shots were fired by them, though the British Army probably fired first.

This report and its vindication of the families of those killed and wounded will go some way to addressing the grievances felt by one section of the community in Northern Ireland. The events of Bloody Sunday itself and the subsequent whitewash by the Widgery Inquiry deepened the sense of injustice felt by the Catholic community and although lethal violence was already being perpetrated by the IRA before 1972 there is little doubt that the actions of the British Army contributed to a worsening situation. But as I say – and as some from the Protestant community have said in response to Saville – this Report deals with one incident only. There were many other incidents where many innocent lives were lost. Even if one could accept the IRA position that the British Army was a legitimate target, over 600 other, ‘civilian’ lives were killed by this terrorist organisation, most of them innocent of any involvement in the Troubles. Of course most, if not all, of these killings were investigated by the police and many will have faced justice in a court of law – a fact that should not be ignored by those who claim a lack of balance by Saville.

But can a report like this – detailed in its accounting of events, though very narrow in its scope – make a real difference in that divided society? It will surely be helpful to those families who have had to carry the sense of injustice of their loved ones being blamed somehow for their own deaths, while the Army was almost totally exonerated. The shifting of blame away from those who don’t deserve it to those who do can have a powerful and positive effect. Bringing the truth to the light is also an essential element of justice. Indeed without truth there can be no justice. But is securing that justice going to be enough for these families and the wider community to ‘move on’?

The publication of the Report was quickly followed by a fulsome apology by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, on behalf of the British State. His acceptance of responsibility was refreshing – though he naturally bears no personal liability, which no doubt made it easier for him. But for him to stand and accept that the British Army can and do make mistakes from time to time is to be welcomed. Like the Report, Cameron’s apology covered the one incident and had nothing to say about other events or the wider and very pertinent question of British imperialism. Nevertheless he struck the right tone and the reaction of an on-looking crowd in Londonderry/Derry suggests that his words were acceptable to them. But will they be enough? Will they bring the much needed healing that is required?

The answer to these questions is of course, no – by themselves they will not be enough. For individuals and a community to be healed and made whole after such an incident, truth uncovered and apologies made will not suffice on their own. They are essential ingredients by the perpetrators or their representatives but they are only one step in a process. For that process to be completed there must be another ingredient – this time from those who have been wronged. It is forgiveness. For any holding on to bitterness, resentment and anger will mean that the uncovering of truth, the right apportioning of blame, and an apology will be a wasted opportunity. In order to be healed of past pain, in order to move on without bitterness festering in the heart, forgiveness is a must.

And forgiveness is a key to this society – and the many others wrecked by imperial power in the past. Forgiveness is not justifying your enemy’s actions, it is not ‘letting them off the hook’. Neither does it stop you from pursuing justice for wrongs done or from seeking different solutions to the political status quo. Forgiveness is the releasing of bitterness and resentment – two cancerous emotions of the heart. It is a gift you give to your enemy – and a gift you give to yourself.

Justice is essential in any civil society and the Saville Report represents a significant act of justice for one community in Northern Ireland. It will strengthen the feeling that this community is being treated with the respect they deserve. But justice cannot free the heart from bitterness; only forgiveness can do that. And for a divided community to be healed and made whole this will be the crucial step.

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