HRH the Prince of Wales wrote a very special Easter message in the Good Friday edition of The Telegraph last week, in which he gave his thoughts about forgiveness.
“Last month we saw another remarkable example of forgiveness following the utterly appalling attack on Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand,” wrote the Prince. "Farid Ahmed, a senior leader of the Dean’s Avenue Mosque, publicly forgave the gunman who so cruelly murdered his wife, Husna, and 49 other members of the Muslim community there. “I don’t hate him at all, not at all … I love him because he is human, he is a brother of mine,” he said.
“It is all too easy at this time, I know, to feel overwhelmed by the darkness, and by all that is going on in the world. It is truly devastating to know of the numbers of people of all faiths around the world who are suffering simply because of their religion.
“Over recent years I have made a point of meeting Christians from other countries – and those from other faiths – who have been persecuted because of their faith. In many cases they have been forced to flee from their homelands. It is estimated that 245 million Christians worldwide have faced persecution. The most vulnerable are the women and their children. Many of them have been attacked and made homeless. I have been immensely moved and humbled by the courage and dignity of those I have met.
“The Easter message, with its emphasis on the timeless and universal values of forgiveness and reconciliation, gives hope to us all whether we live by faith or not. It encourages us to look for and to celebrate those moments in our own lives and in our own communities when we see the light overcoming the darkness.”
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