In an Easter message, the Prince of Wales has honoured one of the survivors of the Christchurch terror attacks, who he called a "shining example to us all".
Writing in The Telegraph, Prince Charles discussed how light can be found even in the midst of darkness, referring to how Easter was the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and "the triumph of life over death".
- 'I don't hate him, I love him': Widower forgives Christchurch gunman who killed his wife
- Christchurch terror attack: 'Thoughts and prayers' from royals
- Prince William's Christchurch trip itinerary finalised
He wrote about Gee Walker, the mother of Anthony Walker, a black student murdered with an axe in a 2005 racist attack, and how she ended up forgiving Anthony's murderers, inspired by God forgiving Jesus's crucifiers.
Prince Charles said while punishment was necessary for people who commit such crimes, "very often it is not the punishment that brings them to their senses... but rather the extraordinary power of the forgiveness from those they have hurt".
Another example of this that the Prince gave was of Farid Ahmed, a senior leader at the Deans Ave Mosque, which was one of the locations targeted in the March 15 Christchurch terror attacks.
Ahmed, who lost his wife in the attack, told Newshub two days later he forgave the shooter.
"I think probably he went through some trauma in his life, probably he wasn't loved... I don't hate him at all, I don't hate him at all, not at all."
Prince Charles said it was a "remarkable example of forgiveness following the utterly appalling attack".
"Like Gee Walker, he is a shining example to us all."
The widower was first interviewed at the cordon on Friday shortly after the shooting broke out. At the time, he hadn't heard from his wife, who ran classes for children at the mosque.
She was one of 50 people who lost their lives in the attack.
Newshub.
