Dear Richard:

I am sorry to hear about your experiences in school. I applaud your forgiving these people as you do need to forgive all of them, but that does not mean you must contact them. You can forgive someone and avoid them at the same time. I would advise reading our pamphlet, Dealing with Bitterness and Unforgiveness. This document outlines what forgiveness means and requires.

With that said, if you feel called by God to reach out to your tormentors then do so if and only if your motivations are pure. Sometimes approaching a tormentor to tell him that he is forgiven is a subtle or even unconscious way to just let the guy know the hurt he caused. This is an improper motivation and can be an unconscious revenge (e.g. this guy needs to know how much he hurt me). 

Your motivation must be to genuinely forgive the person and to make peace with him. You must be prepared to get a negative response as some people will not appreciate the gesture and may lash out at you for reminding them of their bad behavior. People do like to be made to feel guilty.

Doing this is more advised with people who are family or friends that have hurt you because you have a relationship with them that may be saved. I think you need to ask yourself, however, why you feel a need to do this with people you are not likely to see again or be friends with. 

Nevertheless, if your motivations are pure and God is leading you to do this, then follow your conscience, but be sure you examine your conscience and motivations, and pray about it first to be sure this is what God wants.

Remember that while forgiveness is required of you, contacting those you are forgiving is not required, and in some instances is not advised as it may bring on more abuse. So, think about it carefully, about why you want to do this, before contacting these people.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary