Bishops in the Basque Country have urged the Roman Catholic Church to apologise for its silence over the killing of priests by General Francisco Franco's Right-wing forces during the Spanish Civil War.Spain's Catholic Church supported Franco's uprising against the elected Left-wing Republican government.
While the Church has always honoured the thousands of clergy who died at the hands of the Republicans, those who were killed by Franco have been officially ignored.
In an unprecedented step, a service was held in the cathedral of the Basque Country's capital, Vitoria, to remember 14 priests who were killed by Franco's forces during the 1936-39 war.
"The silence with which officials of our Church surrounded the deaths of these priests is not justifiable, nor acceptable for much longer," said Miguel Asurmendi, the Catholic bishop of Vitoria, during the ceremony.
"Such a long silence was not only a wrongful omission, but also a lack of truth and an act against justice and charity."
The Catholic Church has beatified hundreds of "martyrs" who were killed by the Republicans, who were explicitly anticlerical. Pope Benedict XVI staged the largest beatification ceremony ever in October 2007 when he honoured almost 500 Spanish priests, monks and nuns who died in this way.
There are plans for another such ceremony, sparking further criticism by Spaniards who feel the Church should atone for having supported Franco's regime, which lasted until the general's death in 1975.
Spain has made great strides in coming to terms with the trauma of its recent history. Two years ago, the socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero passed the Historic Memory Law, which recognises Franco's victims.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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