A community can also make reparation

After thefts, fires, or desecrations, many towns and communities responded together: they recovered what had been lost, built a dignified place, preserved written records, and established a common memory. The wound had touched everyone. When harm is collective, it is not enough for each person to lament it in silence. It may be necessary to acknowledge what occurred publicly, protect those affected, and alter the conditions that allowed it to be repeated. Communal reparation does not seek to foster shame across generations. It seeks to rebuild trust and to learn. A family, parish, or institution matures when it can look at a shared wound without concealing it and organize a concrete good around it.