Simon Wiesenthal Response To The Sunflower

In the book, The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal a Holocaust survivor, talks about his personal experience with a Nazi soldier named Karl who ask for his forgiveness on behalf of the crimes which he did to other Jewish people. And when Edward H. Flannery goes to read the Symposium, the second part of The Sunflower. Flannery reads his response to Mr. Wiesenthal's question “What would you have done in my place?” As Flannery readed over some of other people’s responses, but what caught his attention the most was Matthieu Ricard’s understanding and compassionate response to Mr. Wiesenthal's question.
Flannery was a Roman Catholic priest living near Providence, Rhode Island. Also, he served as a member of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’

Ricard, Your response to Simon Wiesenthal's book “The Sunflower” has intrigued me. Because we both decided to forgive Karl if we were in Mr. Wiesenthal’s situation. Even though our religions are different; you are a Buddhist and I am a Roman Catholic, both of us have agreed upon forgiving Karl because of our beliefs and religion. I can understand why Simon has chosen to stay silent and leave Karl when he was asked to forgive him on behalf of the crimes he has done to other jewish people.
What caught my attention the most was when you said “ the only good thing about evil, is that it can be purified”. What my teachings have taught me is: one must give forgiveness to those who are sincerely repentant. I can somewhat understand what you are trying to say; is that if one is truly sorry for their crimes then one can be forgiven. So, I can agree upon your Buddhist saying.
I also agree that forgiveness is not the end, but the beginning for healing of the victim and perpetrator. Because Simon writes about the bystanders who watch and did not do anything, he also writes, “Was it not just as wicked for people to look on quietly and without protest at human being enduring such shocking humiliation?” Also, is it not the same as watching the dying Nazi who is asking for mercy before his final moments on Earth? Would it not also fall under Simon’s description of

Your opinion about forgiving can turn negative feelings into to positive ones which I agree. Forgiveness can surely help the victim and perpetrator in the process of healing just like you said in the book, “To grant forgiveness to someone who has truly changed is not a way of condoning or forgetting his or her past crimes, but of acknowledging whom he or she has become”.
I agree because if one forgives someone does not mean that person is going to forget their crimes, but acknowledge what has become of them and how they will act in future based on their experience. So to get to the point of Mr. Wiesenthal question, “What would you have done in my place?”
I do hope that I would forgive Karl and as a religious man I would have told him to ask for God’s forgiveness. Furthermore, to pray for his soul and the victims of his inhumane crimes. Here I will be saying my goodbyes to you Matthieu, for I feel this will be the end of our conversation, but hopefully in the near future we will talk in person about our views of the world. With respect I am truly grateful for your response to my letter and for sharing your view on what you thought about this book with me.