The Bible says “we should forgive others”. Then why do people seek the law for punishment against crime?

Punishment is not to be recognised as vengeance. Vengeance is an act devoid of love but punishment by the authority is an act of love. It is a prudent measure to prevent the person from harming others and also self by repeating the same offence or similar offences in the future. The offender is quarantined, stripped of privileges for a stipulated period of time. This allows the person ample time and the necessary ground for self-reflection and self-correction. 

When a person commits an offence, the immediate impact may be borne by a single person or a few more depending on the nature of the offence. But the act indirectly impacts a larger society and it becomes the duty of the civil authorities to take adequate measures to ensure safety and security of the people. This is an act of justice and an act of charity – willing the greater good of the offender as a person and most especially others.

On the other hand, forgiveness is a process that begins privately in the heart of the victim. It is an act of love that steps beyond what justice demands or offers. Forgiveness is an act of mercy. When justice offers the victim, power to demand reparation, compensation and just punishment, he chooses to free the offender of all such requirements. Forgiveness attempts to reconcile and restore the personal relationship. Any intent of retaliation or desire to inflict harm is thoroughly removed. The victim then communicates his forgiveness to the offender so that he/she is now free from negative emotions, thus creating an environment conducive for inner transformation for his own good and the good of the other.

If we seek punishment as a way of indirect retaliation it falls short of love. We may recall St. John Paul II visiting Ali Ağca in prison, the person who shot him fatally. Other christian examples are Gladys Stein, the wife of Graham Stein and the family of Sr. Saint Rani Maria. In all these cases, the offenders served a term in prison. But the act of forgiveness offered by the victim and victims family members impacted not only the life of the offenders but the whole humanity itself. When the prevailing legal system of the nation takes appropriate steps in the case of an offence against us it is our duty as a chirstian to offer love and forgiveness – willing the good of that person which in turn becomes the greater good of all.