Mercy for Eugene de Kock

In trying to make sense of the release on parole of Eugene de Kock, a serial killer whose crimes against humanity earned him the moniker “Prime Evil”, we rightly invoke the terminology of forgiveness, but the key word really is mercy.

The release of de Kock is an act of charity and forgiveness in excess of what is required, the key characteristics of mercy. In the light of de Kock’s crimes, it is not unreasonable to hold the view that he should “rot in jail”. But Jesus challenges us to rise above our rational understanding of justice.

He does so not only in general terms of offering unmitigated forgiveness, which itself is difficult. He does so by calling us to extend mercy — one of the watchwords of Pope Francis’ papacy.

But it isn’t just mercy. The Aramaic or Hebrew term which Jesus would have used, for example in the Sermon on the Mount, is chesed, a central tenet in Jewish ethics which refers to communal mercy and benevolence.

The late Scottish theologian William Barclay explained chesed as “the ability to get right inside other people until we can see things with their eyes, think things with their minds, and feel things with their feelings”.

Mercy, in that view, is expressed in acts of forgiveness that are rooted in empathy, in being able to see from the perspective of others, in giving the benefit of doubt, in seeing humanity in those who are cast aside.

Being merciful, as Jesus instructs us to be in his sermon, is a tremendous challenge. Humanity has always emphasised power and revenge over reconciliation — this is why South Africa’s peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy impressed the world so deeply. Humanity thrives on conflict; instead of collaborating for the greater good, there is ceaseless contest between people.

We see this also in the Church, where some of those most in need of compassion are frequently excluded, and mercy is withheld; where people are being judged by others who usurp what is God’s sole prerogative.

Even in many families there are deficiencies in mercy. When family members are estranged from one another, the cause might well be the absence of empathy, mercy and forgiveness.

There usually is little profit in showing mercy — chesed — as Jesus confirmed when he included the merciful in his litany of those who are to be happy (or be blessed) for their denigration.

The release from jail of Eugene de Kock is counterintuitive. How can a man who has committed so much evil, who was sentenced to two terms of life-imprisonment plus 212 years, be allowed to go free less than two decades into his sentence?

Justice Minister Michael Masutha (and those who advised him) applied, knowingly or not, the virtue of chesed. They examined de Kock’s interior state, and issued an act of mercy to aid communal healing.

The minister placed de Kock’s release within the context of national reconciliation — key to that is, of course, de Kock’s sincere contrition, which should also serve to inspire broader introspection in society — and the healing of wounds.

This echoes chesed as well as the related Catholic vision of mercy as an agent of healing, a notion which Pope Francis frequently speaks about.

Mercy is transformative. Pope Francis’ papal motto, which he used also as a bishop, serves to illustrate that point. “Miserando atque eligendo” means “because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him”.

It is based on a homily by St Bede the Venerable (673-735) on the calling of St Matthew, who as a tax collector would have been seen by the people of Capernaum as an enemy, a collaborator with the Romans in a profession that was generally corrupt.

In the homily, St Bede said: “He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: ‘Follow me.’ […] This conversion of one tax collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an example of repentance and pardon.”

We, who live in confident hope of God’s mercy, must ourselves be beacons of mercy, of chesed — in extending it to others and in seeking it from those whom we have wronged.