Source: (2003) Te Ara Whakatika: newsletter of the court-referred restorative justice project. November/December(19). Ministry of Justice, New Zealand. Downloaded 9 February 2004. Pp. 2-3.
In 2003 Prison Fellowship New Zealand celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a conference at Waikanae, New Zealand. At the conference, Chris Marshall, chair of Waitakere Restorative Justice Community Group, addressed the attendees on the responsibilities of churches towards victims of crime. His address provoked much discussion. He argued that churches struggle to respond appropriately to crime victims. Yet, there is much that churches can do, from getting members involved in victim support organizations to establishing church-based parallels for victim support. As the basis of his remarks, he commended restorative justice as a promising development for victims, and he urged churches to give support to it.
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