Spain's Catholic Church yesterday denied press reports that it was planning to excommunicate members of the armed Basque separatist group ETA. The claim, published by El Mundo on Sunday, "is not true . . . the text which the article refers to is not included in the agenda for the episcopal conference's plenary assembly," the Bishops' Conference said. "The text does not exist," the statement continued, adding that episcopal conferences do not have the authority to "pronounce excommunications or any other religious punishment.
"But that does not mean that bishops are not concerned about terrorism, which is the greatest worry for our people and a major sin," the statement said.
El Mundo, a newspaper close to the centre-right Spanish government, said the secret project was the inspiration of the Cardinal of Madrid, Antonio Maria Rouco Varela. The Spanish Catholic Church has faced criticism for failing to sufficiently condemn attacks by ETA, which has been blamed for 25 killings since December 1999.
Paddy Woodworth adds: Some Basque bishops have been accused of harbouring sympathy for ETA, or at least of maintaining a position of "equidistance" between the violence of ETA and the actions of the security forces. They use the language of conflict resolution rather than condemnation.
The Spanish hierarchy is divided on the issue, with other bishops favouring a much harder line. Last month, the hierarchy irritated the Spanish government by declining to sign an anti-terrorist document subscribed to by the ruling Partido Popular and the main opposition Socialist Party and a number of civil associations, on the grounds that it was too political. The reality was almost certainly that such a move would have revealed sharp differences of opinion between church leaders. It was never likely that a hierarchy in this position would take the much more radical step of excommunicating ETA members.