ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the debates and interventions by members of the Mesa de Dilogo and the repercussions of exercises in political diplomacy within the recent political history of Chile. The paper concludes by suggesting that the Mesa de Dilogo provided the first instance of an open conversation about such human rights matters within Chilean society. Following the report produced by the Chilean armed forces he suggested that truth and justice are not everything, only through forgiveness there will be reconciliation, so that the only road to peace is forgiveness. The Rettig Report can be considered a Truth Commission that provided open information to the Chilean nation on abuses against citizens with their name and their stories. As the Archbishop of Santiago led a liturgy of forgiveness for the past sins of the Catholic Church at the Santiago Cathedral and in the presence of President Lagos, Pinochet addressed his supporters of the Pinochet Foundation on the occasion of his eighty-fifth birthday.
