Madrid, Spain, Aug 16, 2007 / 12:10 pm (CNA).- The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, Bishop Ricardo Blazquez of Bilbao, said this week that the “obstinate persistence” of the Basque separatist group ETA is “unbearable” and he called for the “immediate, total and definitive” disappearance of the terrorist organization that ‘acts against the will of this people.”

During the Mass for the feast of the Assumption of Mary, Bishop Blazquez told the thousands of faithful gathered at the Basilica of Our Lady of Begoña, “Once again on this feast, we must unfortunately recall the terrible weight that has hung over our society for decades.” He said the founding of ETA was a “mistake” and that the criminal organization “represents no one.”

Bishop Blazquez expressed words of consolation to the victims of terrorism in Spain, “to those who have lost loved ones, those who have suffered extortion, and those who have had to leave in search of security.”

“Let’s unite our efforts to eradicate terrorist violence that has such negative repercussions for the vitality of this nation,” he said.

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