Madrid, Spain, Dec 4, 2008 / 01:38 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- The Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, together with his auxiliary bishops, has condemned the murder of businessman Ignacio Uria Mendizabal by the Basque separatist group ETA. The bishops also reiterated that terrorism is a sin and called for the conversion of terrorists.

According to the prelates, “Once again, terrorism has left its mark on Spanish society” with this latest “cruel crime” that “has ended the life of a human being made in the image and likeness of the Creator.” The murder of Uria “constitutes a grave sin,” the bishops stressed. 

In a statement the bishops condemned “this action against life and freedom,” and recalled that “terrorism is a radical No to the law of God and to the most basic aspect of the dignity of the human person.”

The bishops commended “this new victim of senseless violence” to God and prayed for the consolation of his family.  “Behind terrorism is an enormous crisis of moral conscience,” they added, calling on the faithful to “pray for the violence to end and for a change of heart, a true conversion of the terrorists.”

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