3-11: “I offer my heartfelt forgiveness to the terrorists and I pray God touches their hearts”

Madrid, Spain, Mar 18, 2004 / 22:00 pm

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Spain on 3/11, which left more than 200 dead 1,500 wounded, dozens of anonymous victims, as wells as many of those who helped in the rescue efforts, have shared their testimonies of sincere forgiveness and mercy towards the terrorists and their comfort for those affected by the tragedy.

Amparo Buchón, who lost her two stepdaughters in the attacks, offered a moving testimony of faith in God and forgiveness towards the perpetrators of the attacks.  “The Lord gave them to me and He has taken them away.  We must accept His will.  I feel so powerless because I can’t understand how someone could be capable of doing such harm.  Nevertheless, my faith has sustained me and now it gives me strength to accept the situation with resignation and to forgive those who caused such pain and suffering.  I offer them my heartfelt forgiveness and I pray God will touch their hearts.

Carmen Rubio, a nurse at La Paz Hospital, where victims were treated, shared the testimony of a Romanian who was injured in the attacks:  “I was saved thanks to God.”

“I was on the verge of death and I had a book with me.  As there was a lot of people I decided to move to another seat and that saved me life,” he said.  Asked about the book he was reading, he replied it was “a Christian book.”

Rubio said these deaths “can only be forgiven by the grace of God, because otherwise it is impossible.”  “John Paul II is an example of this for us.  He suffered an attempt on his life and he went to prison to visit the man responsible, who hugged him and asked for forgiveness,” she said.

“Our tears are in a large part due to the emotional recognition of the presence of God in solidarity, they are tears of emotion upon feeling the presence of God among us, united together in suffering,” said Lorenzo, adding that “we must thank God for having shown us once again, that good overcomes evil.”

Maria Pilar, who lost her young son, wrote a letter in which she stated that “despite all of the pain in our hearts, we are experiencing the tenderness of God through countless people who weep with us.”  She asked for prayers, “not for my son, who is now with the Father, but for the assassins and those who carried out this act, that they might someday find the love they need to heal their evil.”

“Before his remains we have promised we will work to achieve, no matter how insignificantly, the end of this plague.  We who love outnumber them.  Can they overcome that?” she asked.