Oscar
Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Goldámez (August
15, 1917, Ciudad Barrios - March 24, 1980, San Salvador) was a prominent
Roman Catholic priest and Archbishop in El Salvador during the 1960s
and 1970s. After witnessing numerous violations of human rights,
he began to speak out on behalf of the poor and the victims of El
Salvador's long and bloody civil war. This led to numerous conflicts,
both with the government in El Salvador and with the hierarchy of
the Catholic Church. After speaking out against U.S. military support
for the government of El Salvador, and calling for soldiers to disobey
orders that harmed human rights, Archbishop Romero was shot to death
while celebrating Mass at a small chapel near his cathedral. It
is believed that his assassins were members of Salvadoran death
squads, including two graduates of the School of the Americas.
On the tenth anniversary of Romero's killing, his successor appointed
a postulator for the cause of his canonization. After investigations
into Romero's life, work, and writings, the archdiocese submitted
the results to the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints
in 1997. To date, however, Rome has not taken the matter any further,
probably due to the institutionalized church's continued mistrust
of liberation theology.
In July 1998 the Church of England unveiled a statue of Romero on
the west door of Westminster Abbey in London, UK, as part of a monument
to the memory of ten 20th century martyrs. The Church of England
has also set aside March 24 in the liturgical calendar as the commemoration
of Óscar Romero.
The film Romero (1989) was based on his life story. It was directed
by John Sacret Young and starred Raúl Juliá.
Quote
"And
if they kill me, I will rise again in the Salvadoran people."
"Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your
own brothers. Any human order to kill must be subordinate to the
law of God, which says, 'Thou shalt not kill'. No soldier is obliged
to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey
an immoral law. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather
than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such
an abomination. ... In the name of God, in the name of this suffering
people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore
you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression."
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