Monday letters: Acknowledge past injustice, focus on future justice

The respectful removal of the Confederate flag from the State House grounds calls for celebration. I hope that, in the words of an Anglican liturgy of reconciliation, “The old order has ended; the new order has already begun!”

The decades of sometimes-rancorous debate must now be followed by reflection. How do we prevent small cells of anger from coalescing into hate, and then violence?

May we now more easily see that, with grace, respect for the noble sacrifices of ancestors may coexist with regret for the injustices inherent in the context within which the noble sacrifices were made.

As for other Confederate symbols, rather than remove them, I hope that we will preserve their teaching value by displaying an appropriate inscription alongside monuments.

Let justice consist of repairing and healing the web of life wherever it has been torn.

Let us acknowledge injustice in our past so that together we might perfect justice in our future. Let this prayer be also our pledge.