The note appeared for the first time at EITB:
Pope asks peace horizons to be consolidated in Euskadi
Pope Benedict XVI has addressed all the Spanish citizens to "intensify the efforts to consolidate the peace horizons in the Basque Country and the whole Spain," and has encouraged to "overcoming the obstacles that may turn up."
The Pontiff has referred to the new situation created in Spain after the permanent ceasefire announcement declared by ETA.
Benedict XVI made this address before thousands of people at the Saint Peter Square at his Wednesday public audience after making a summary of the catechism in Spanish and reminding that the 500th anniversary of Saint Francis Xavier's birth will be on April 7.
"I invite you to pray for the intercession of this Saint, everyone intensifying his efforts to consolidate the peace horizons that seem to open in the Basque Country and the whole Spain, and overcoming the obstacles that may turn up throughout this way," the Pope affirmed in Spanish.
Catholic World News echoed the note soon after:
Papal prayers for Basque peace
Apr. 05 (CWNews.com) - At his regular weekly audience on April 7, Pope Benedict XVI sent his greetings to the people of Spain-- who are preparing to celebrate the 500th birthday of St. Francis Xavier-- and his prayers for peace in the Basque region.The Catholic news outlets fails to mention the St. Francis Xavier was Basque. That we can live with. What is unacceptable is that they become puppets of the Spanish propaganda machinery the moment they decide to publish the infamous paragraph about the 800. How about a mention to those killed in Gernika instead?
As usual, the Pope acknowledged several groups of pilgrims attending his Wednesday audience, and spent some time in recognition of a Spanish group. Noting that April 7 will be the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis Xaiver, "the great Jesuit missionary who preached the Gospel in the lands of Asia", the Pontiff sent his greeting to the Spaniards commemorating the occasion. The Pope next invoked the intercession of St. Francis Xavier " to consolidate the prospects for peace that seem to be opening in the Basque region and in all of Spain".
Spero News mentioned the Pope's words on a note called "Pope hopeful for peace in Basque region".
And then, Zenit News Agency published "Pontiff Urges Prayers for Peace in Basque Country".
Seems like Zenit does acknowledge Fracis Xavier as a Basque in this paragraph:
Through Intercession of St. Francis Xavier, a Native Son.
And then they go on to mention yet another Basque:
On March 27, when opening the plenary assembly of the Spanish episcopal conference, Bishop Ricardo Blázquez, its president, expressed the Church's interest in contributing to the peace process "in the measure of its possibilities."
I would like to remind you that it was Ricardo Blazquez who led a group of Basque priests to send a letter urging the democratic resolution of the Basque conflict to then Prime Minister José María Aznar. Blazquez went on to defeat the Vatican's and Madrid's little darling to become the top wig of the Catholic Church in Spain.
EITb followed up on the note and published a couple more notes regarding the Pope's prayers for Euskal Herria.
The first one mentions the interest by Kofi Annan in this new era of negotiations: "Zapatero and Annan to analyse scenarion after ceasefire declaration".
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Kofi Annan will analyse today the process opened following ETA's ceasefire announcement. Both prominent figures will meet in the evening and talk also about Western Sahara and the steps forwards in the Alliance of Civilisations.
On a second day in a row, the scenario arising from the ceasefire declaration will have an international scope, since Pope Benedict XVI yesterday called for "intensifying the efforts to consolidate the peace horizons in the Basque Country and the whole Spain."
Juan José Ibarretxe has affirmed that the "contribution" of the Pope is "very important" to reach an "irreversible" peace. Benedict XVI made a call yesterday to consolidate "peace horizons," following ETA's ceasefire declaration.
"Yesterday we received a very important help, Pope Benedict XVI's statements, which I believe are a very important contribution that encourages an irreversible peace and political agreements for the future," the Basque premier has emphasised.
Nevertheless, Ibarretxe has specified that the main character in the process opened after the ceasefire must be Basque society. "Basically, we have to do everything here and Basque people will the main characters of the future," he has added.
Ibarretxe made these statements before the president of the International Court of Justice of The Hague, Roselyn Higgins, who has visited Vitoria-Gasteiz to receive the Francisco de Vitoria medal.
What is important to point out is that the Pope is following the same script followed by Pope Pius XII. For Pope Palpatine, Euskal Herria is part of Spain. His prayers for peace are not more than a call to the Basques to rennounce to all their dreams of self determination and accept their divine destiny as Spaniards.
Pope Pius XII supported Franco's reign of terror. What he saw in Franco was a new version of El Cid, someone that would defend Catholicism from the Red infidels. Pius wen on to cozy up to all the extreme right dictators of that era, I mean, the guy is known as Hitler's Pope.
Catholic World News mentions the 800, but like I mentioned before, the 1600 Basque women and children killed by the Nazis supporting Franco's claim over Euskal Herria are edited out of their note. Maybe we should remind Catholic World News that Herr Ratzinger, the Pontiff, was once member of the same Nazi machinery that brought death and destruction to Gernika.
What Pope Ratzinger needs to understand is that there can not be peace in Euskal Herria until both Spain and France renounce to their colonialist past and proceed to allow the nations captive within their repressive idea of mega-nation to go their own way.
The day that the rights of the Basques, Catalonyans, Bretons, Corsicans, Galizans (to mention a few) are respected, that they there will be peace.
If Moses gained the self determination of the Jews from Egypt, while should the Pope oppose the quest for self determination of the nations without state in Europe?
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