Institutional Critique as Healing Practice

Sor Juana did not separate her intellectual work from her spiritual practice—she used rigorous analysis to illuminate institutional failures. Restorative justice that focuses only on interpersonal healing while leaving systemic harm untouched remains incomplete. This concept positions institutional critique—examining the policies, hierarchies, and structures that enabled harm—as essential to genuine restoration. It means asking: What systems allowed this harm? What institutional interests benefit from leaving those systems unchanged? What knowledge was suppressed or whose expertise was ignored? Communities practicing restorative justice must engage in collective analysis of their institutions' roles, much as Sor Juana analyzed church and state power. This institutional dimension transforms restorative justice from personal reconciliation into social transformation. When communities use the restorative process to identify and reform harmful systems, they prevent future harm and honor the full complexity of what restoration requires. Sor Juana's example shows that healing and critical analysis serve each other.