Church in El Salvador urges spiritual reconciliation among country's citizens

San Salvador, El Salvador, Jan 19, 2010 / 21:07 pm

As El Salvador celebrates the 18th anniversary of peace agreements between the country's government and rebel groups, the Apostolic Nuncio to El Salvador, Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, has emphasized that in addition to the reconstruction of the country, spiritual reconciliation must also be a priority for the nation's people.

During a ceremony attended by the Vice President of El Salvador, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Archbishop Pezzuto said the peace agreements were “a very significant step, especially with regard to reconciliation and the reunification of the Salvadoran nation.”

For his part, Vice President Ceren apologized to the victims of the civil war. Referring to the gesture, Archbishop Pezutto said: “The State has done it; all those who feel they were involved and have not yet asked for forgiveness should also do so in order to bring about the true reconciliation of the Salvadoran people.”

Following a press conference, Archbishop Pezutto, who was accompanied by Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, remarked, “Peace is not only the end of war.  Thanks be to God it has ended and has continued to this day.”

“The reconstruction of the country in 18 years has also truly been a miracle. However, the aspect of spiritual reconciliation is still missing,” he said.