Why do people forgive Lesson 2 Can compassion

Why do people forgive? Lesson 2 Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? Mary Foley – Part 2

Recap • Read through your notes from the last lesson to recap on the story of Mary Foley and her relationship with forgiveness. • Has anyone thought about the film since last week? Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 2

Recap on ground rules when exploring personal stories 1. Do respect the fact that your opinion is personal to you and may be different to your classmates. 2. Do take part in open discussions and value this as a positive activity, however refrain from making personal remarks which are negative. 3. Do be patient and wait until another student has finished before offering your opinion, idea or question. Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 3

Review • As a class discuss why Mary chose to forgive. What was her motivation? • Individually write five reasons why in your student booklet. • Discuss as a class the definitions of compassion and empathy. Click here to reveal the dictionary definitions… • Empathy: the ability to understand someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation. • Compassion: a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them. Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 4

Explore In small groups or pairs discuss the questions on page 3 of your student booklet. Answer the questions in your own words. • What do we know about Beatriz’s life? • How might Beatriz’s childhood and home life have affected her actions? • What support could have been offered to Beatriz to enable her to have a better childhood? And what impact may this support have had? • Why might knowledge of Beatriz’s childhood have affected Mary’s thinking? (Please give reasons for your answers. ) Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 5

What happened next? Individually read the statement about Mary and Beatriz’s next steps. Discuss the letter as a class and respond to the questions below. • Do any parts of this letter surprise you? • Why did Beatriz’s letter affect Mary so much? • How do you think Mary’s communication has affected Beatriz? • Do you think a meeting between Mary and Beatriz would be a good idea or not? Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 6

Dear Mary… • Write a letter to Mary telling her how her story has impacted you. • Has it made you feel differently about forgiveness, friendships, empathy, relationships with your parents? • How has it affected your thinking and what do you feel about her and her actions? Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 7

Next Lesson Ø In the next lesson we will hear the story of Barry Mizen and explore further the cycles of revenge and forgiveness. Lesson 2 | Can compassion for an offender influence your decision to forgive? | 8