BREWERVILLE — The former president of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), Bishop Dr. Kortu K. Brown, has described Liberia’s older generation of leaders as “hateful and selfish,” arguing that their attitudes continue to hinder the country’s progress and development.
Bishop Brown, who is also General Overseer of the New Water in the Desert Assembly Apostolic Pentecostal International Church, made the statement over the weekend during a one-day training and awareness workshop promoting forgiveness education in Liberia.
The event, held at the Mother Tegeste Stewart Apostolic Pentecostal School in Brewerville, was themed, “The Place of Forgiveness Education in Renewing Communities and Promoting Reconciliation in Liberia.” The keynote address was delivered by Sen. Nathaniel F. McGill, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education.
The workshop brought together students and teachers from 25 primary and secondary schools in rural Montserrado County. Organizers said it aimed to introduce students to the concepts of forgiveness education as a tool for renewing communities, promoting reconciliation, and sustaining peace in Liberia.
According to Bishop Brown, the initiative seeks to establish Forgiveness Education Clubs (FECs) in schools across the country to foster reconciliation and peaceful coexistence among young Liberians.
“There’s a need for this country to prioritize the teaching of forgiveness education in schools,” Bishop Brown said, citing the biblical text of 2 Kings 22:1-2, which tells the story of King Josiah, who began ruling at age eight and “did what was right in the sight of the Lord.”
He told the students that for Liberia to truly achieve reconciliation and peace, political leaders must promote righteousness in governance, follow good examples, and demonstrate consistency in their actions.
Bishop Brown reminded the students that they live in a country struggling to do the “right thing” — including fostering reconciliation, strengthening the rule of law, practicing good governance, and ensuring fiscal discipline.
“Maybe it will be your generation that will change this country because the way we see our leaders fighting amongst themselves all the time, we don’t think they can make it,” Bishop Brown told the students.
He lamented that the older generation of Liberians, particularly political leaders, continues to exhibit hatred and selfishness, which he said has paralyzed the country’s progress.
As an example, he cited the recent dispute within the House of Representatives over the Speakership, saying the confusion disregarded the rule of law and the Constitution.
The Forgiveness Education program being promoted in Liberia was developed by the International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, after more than 25 years of research into the moral virtue of forgiveness.
Scientific studies conducted by the IFI indicate that forgiveness reduces anger, depression, and anxiety in individuals while fostering hope for the future — conditions the institute believes are essential for building peaceful communities, especially in post-conflict societies like Liberia.
“It is the contention of the IFI that if we can educate a majority of students in a community in the fine art of forgiving,” a program brochure reads, “then that community is likely to become more peaceful in the decades to come as the children enter adulthood and apply forgiveness to family, work, and other community engagements.”
Liberia’s 14-year civil war, coupled with the devastation of two deadly viral outbreaks — Ebola and COVID-19 — as well as ongoing poverty and hunger, has weakened social cohesion and created challenges in unifying citizens for national recovery and development.
Church Aid, a local faith-based organization supporting the program, believes the model promoted by the IFI is well-suited for Liberia’s healing and reconciliation efforts.
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