Priest convicted of murdering nun dies; diocese plans funeral Mass

[Heddi]

88. I think that might have been a little, um, too deep

You'll probably get a response of TL;DR

even though the sentiment is right on:

Here's the short version for people with attention issues:

You cannot "forgive" someone for a crime/offense they have committed against another person. Only the victim can forgive. If the victim is dead, then that becomes a problem for the offender.

If my mother was killed, I cannot forgive the killer for that murder. I can forgive him for whatever crimes/offenses he has commited against me (taking my mother away, leaving bloodstains on the floor, whatever), but I fundamentally CANNOT forgive him for murder.

I was raped. Only *I* can forgive my rapist. You can't forgive him, because he did not commit a crime/offense against you. He may have made your neighborhood unsafe, or may have driven up crime rates, but he did not rape you. Therefore, forgiving the rape is up to me, not up to you, or a priest, or a Christian, or the community.