Madrid, Spain, Sep 12, 2011 / 12:02 pm
Bishop Jose Ignacio Munilla of San Sebastian, Spain has called on the Basque separatist group ETA to have “the courage to disband and to clearly acknowledge the evil it has committed.”
Bishop Munilla made his remarks during a Sept. 9 Mass in honor of Our Lady of Aranzuzu, whom he invoked as “the Mother of Peace.”
He reflected on the violence ETA has caused for years. The bishop said recovering from so much pain demands serious transparency.
ETA must leave no doubt of their condemnation of any violence of the past, the present or the future, he added.
Bishop Munilla invited Catholics to implore that the Blessed Mother “move the hearts of those who should take steps towards peace. For our part, as the Church of the Lord and the community of believers, we are committed to showing Christian concern to the victims of violence.”
ETA is a terrorist organization that has used violence in support of an independent Basque region in Spain and southern France.