NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      QUITO (CWNews.com) - A small bomb exploded at the offices of the Ecuador bishops' conference on Tuesday, but no one was seriously injured, according to police reports.

      A police spokesman said the device included pamphlets that made vague political statements. He said that no political organization had claimed responsibility. One employee was slightly injured by the blast which caused extensive damage to the offices. "It caused serious damage to part of the building without, thank God, hurting any of the staff -- though that could easily have happened," said Bishop Jose Vicente Eguiguren, assistant secretary-general of the bishops' conference.

      Government Minister Ana Lucia Armijos told reporters that the government believed the explosion was linked to protests against recent austerity measures "because it was put in the bishops' conference, and the Church is helping carry out a census of who is going to receive the poverty subsidy." The government measures are expected to shore up the ailing economy against deficits and falling oil prices.