Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2026

Degree Name

Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL)

Director

Monica Marcelli-Chu

Abstract

This study explores healing and forgiveness in ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It challenges the idea that reconciliation happens only after conflict ends, showing trauma is an ongoing reality affecting bodies, relationships, and morality. In these conditions, forgiveness is not only a moral duty or an individual act; it must be cultivated within a framework that includes truth, justice, and embodied restoration.

This research adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating theologies of lament and liberation with trauma theory. It offers a structured, dynamic healing model based on three interconnected paradigms. First, lament is an ethical practice of truth-telling that resists denial, acknowledges suffering, and restores morality. Second, liberation theology uncovers structural violence, linking healing and forgiveness to justice and social change. Third, trauma theory emphasizes the embodied nature of suffering, affecting the nervous system, emotional regulation, and relationships, requiring trauma-informed practices focused on safety, regulation, and reconnection.

Together, these paradigms form a coherent process that moves from naming suffering to addressing its causes and ultimately to restoring individuals and communities. This framework is concretized in a contextual healing retreat model that integrates spiritual practices, trauma awareness, and communal rebuilding.

Ultimately, the study envisions a horizon in which survivors, without being burdened or idealized, may become “wounded healers,” participating in the healing of others through shared vulnerability, resilience, and hope.

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