Once burned by napalm, now she's on fire for Christ Religion Today Thursday, October 7, 1999 The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph captured the horror of the Vietnam War, depicting 9-year-old Kim Phuc running naked down a road, screaming as napalm burns into her flesh. After the photo was published worldwide, Phuc suffered even more as the Communist government of Vietnam pulled her out of school and used her for 10 years as a propaganda tool. Later she was sent to Cuba, then defected to Switzerland, and now is living in Canada with her husband. If Phuc knows what it means to be harmed and misused, she also knows what it means to forgive. Life changed radically Her life changed radically when she became a Christian. Phuc's mission now is one of forgiveness and healing of the decades-old wounds remaining from America's longest, most divisive war. She tells her story, including the experience of reconciliation with the U.S. commander who ordered the napalm strike that almost killed her. Often she brings her audiences to tears. Phuc spoke recently at a Prison Fellowship International meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, where volunteers from 83 countries attended the Quadrennial Convocation of the ministry, started by Charles Colson 20 years ago. Todor Kavaldjiev, vice president of the Republic of Bulgaria, who spent nine years in prison during by the Communist era, also spoke of the need to forgive and be reconciled with those who hurt you. The need for reconciliation between offenders and victims was the conference's focus. Merely punishing criminals won't make them productive members of society, speakers said. Offenders must also find forgiveness from God and from those they have harmed in order to lead a truly free life after being released from prison, speakers said. 'Restorative justice' Prison Fellowship promotes "restorative justice," which means not only punishing criminals, but helping them reconcile with their local communities and their victims, PFI president Ron Nikkel told Religion Today. "It's obvious that prisons don't rehabilitate. There has to be more than punishment. People have to be restored to right relationships." Restoring relationships sometimes involves meetings between victims and offenders, and repayment to the communities. Restoration is the key to breaking the cycle of crime, anger, and guilt, Nikkel said. Merely being locked up in the unhealthy atmosphere of prison will not break the cycle, but Jesus Christ offers the way, Nikkel said. Prison Fellowship helps offenders, victims, and corrections and justice officials discover a personal relationship with Christ so they can forgive each other as Christians, he said. For the offender, it is like the story of the tax collector Zaccheus, who stole money, but "had an encounter with Jesus and then offered to repair the damage he did to his victims," Nikkel said. The Sycamore Tree, a Prison Fellowship program, encourages reconciliation between victims and offenders. It brings the two together to talk to and get to know each other, and the experience "breaks down barriers of hostility and fear." Victims can see those who hurt them as real people, and offenders realize their need for forgiveness when they see the harm done to their victims. Work in community A program in Zimbabwe allows offenders to work off their sentences in their communities. "They are giving back to their community in a real and symbolic way," Nikkel said. "It's still punishment, but it's productive punishment." Similar programs are under way in other African nations. Merely punitive attitudes toward criminal offenders present barriers. A "lock 'em up and throw away the key" mentality is the predominant attitude, Nikkel said. Politicians who employ tough rhetoric without compassion don't help, he said. "All they can think to do is enact tougher legislation." Some of the greatest opposition comes from those in the Christian community who believe "justice equals punishment." Old Testament-type vengeance is not the justice demonstrated by Jesus, Nikkel said. "With Jesus, there is forgiveness and reconciliation." Forgiveness does not absolve lawbreakers of responsibility or the consequences of their actions, he stressed. "Punishment is a necessary part of restoration." Reconciliation among Christian denominations can offer a model for others, Nikkel said. The ministry encourages evangelical Protestant, Catholic, charismatic, mainline Protestant, and Orthodox Christians to cooperate. "We encourage Christians of all traditions and persuasions to come together and talk about how to be reconciled and to work together in terms of practical service," Nikkel said. "If we can't be reconciled with our brothers, how can we tell others to do it?" Christians from several traditions took part in an Orthodox service at the conference. The ancient "Breaking of the Bread" is not communion, but a liturgical service that demonstrates fellowship. The priest blesses bread, then everyone partakes of the loaf. "It was very moving and very gratifying for us to see [different traditions] responding to this invitation to break bread together," Nikkel said.

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