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Tim Maas
I think that telling the other party personally is something that should be done if possible, but it is not essential. Jesus counseled believers to go personally to someone who sins against them as the first step toward being reconciled (Matthew 18:15), but circumstances might not always allow that. To me, the important consideration is to genuinely forgive the other person, with no residual bitterness or anger toward them (just as God puts away our sins in forgiving us (Psalm 103:12)), and then to witness to that forgiveness by our words and actions in any subsequent dealings we may have with them, or in our conversation about them with others. From the cross, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those involved in putting Him to death (Luke 23:34), but He did not convey that forgiveness to each specific individual.
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