.- The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, sent a telegram of condolence on behalf of the Holy Father to José María Aznar, President of the Spanish government, for the terrorist attack in Iraq that killed seven Spanish intelligence agents on November 29.
“Upon learning of the sad news of the abominable terrorist attack in the Iraqi locality of Swaira, where seven Spaniards died while fulfilling generously their mission of peace, His Holiness John Paul II reiterates his firmest reproach for this new act of unjustifiable violence, in addition to so many cruel gestures perpetrated in that tormented nations,” the telegram says.
“In his prayer, the Pope asks the Lord for the eternal repose of the souls of the victims and assures his closeness to the families, afflicted by great sorrow as they mourn the loss of their loved ones, and conveys his deepest condolences to you.”
The Pope’s message also invites “everyone to pray and to work so that in that region of the world which is so distressed, conditions of normalcy and peace may be achieved as soon as possible.”
