18 August 2017
Brussels
The Conference of European Churches strongly condemns the attacks in Barcelona, Spain that killed at least 13 people and injured several-dozen. Two separate attacks took place in the city centre on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 August.
Hearing of the attacks while visiting CEC member churches in Estonia, the CEC President Rt Rev. Christopher Hill KCVO, DD, remarked:
“Once again Europe is united in sharing the sufferings of the innocent victims of the Barcelona tragedy.”
At the same time the work to tackle the underlying causes of the attack must continue.
“We as a Churches in Europe must continue our work in promoting a society which is inclusive and safe for all its members regardless of background” said CEC General Secretary Fr Heikki Huttunen.
The attack is one of a number of similar horrific incidents across Europe - in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Nice and London.
In a public statement the Spanish Evangelical Church, a member church of CEC, expressed their condolences:
Our prayers today are with the families of the victims and with all those affected by this criminal act. We are thinking of those who have lived close to it or feel terrorized by these actions.
We are also praying for the rescue services and security authorities, and all those who have to react and fight the darkest faces of violence.
CEC encourages prayers for with the victims and their families.
For more information or an interview, please contact:
Henrik Hansson
Communication Coordinator
Conference of European Churches
Rue Joseph II, 174 B-1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 2 234 68 42
Fax +32 2 231 14 13
E-mail: hhansson@cec-kek.be
Website: www.ceceurope.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ceceurope
Twitter: @ceceurope
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of 115 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from across Europe, plus more than 40 National Council of Churches and Organisations in Partnership. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Brussels and Strasbourg.