I would be dismissed for being a holy roller by bringing in religion to the discussion.

The process of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation seems to be fairly universal among humanity. It crosses cultures and religions. Yes, there are religious rituals around it, but those only provide structure and guidance for a common need of all people around the world.

AW summed it up pretty well. As the person harmed by another, what would you want before you give that person a second chance? Many people will say roughly the same thing. We want the person who harmed us to acknowledge the harm they caused and be genuinely sorry for causing that harm, and then do something that has some cost to them in response to the cost they imposed on others. That cost is best when it's not money but time - repairing the physical damage, telling their story to others to encourage those others not to make the same mistake, volunteering to help others, things like that.

When those things happen, relationships can be restored. When they don't, the relationship remains damaged and broken.

--Peter