Vicar refuses to forgive, steps down at parish
By Kate Holton
REUTERS NEWS AGENCY
March 8, 2006

LONDON -- A female vicar whose daughter was killed in the London suicide bombings last year has stepped down from her parish role, saying she cannot and does not want to forgive the killers.
The Rev. Julie Nicholson said she made the difficult decision after her 24-year-old daughter, Jenny, died in the July 7 bombings on the underground transport network.

She said she could not reconcile her faith with the feelings of hatred she has toward the killers.

"I rage that a human being could choose to take another human being's life," she told a regional British Broadcasting Corp. show. "I rage that someone should do this in the name of a god. I find that utterly offensive.

"Can I forgive them for what they did? No, I cannot. And I don't wish to. I believe that there are some things in life which are unforgivable by the human spirit."

Mrs. Nicholson was the vicar at St. Aidan in Bristol, western England. The city's bishop, Michael Hill, said he fully understood her decision and praised her honesty. the rest