I notice that on March 24, 2010, President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador issued a public apology for the murder of Oscar Romero. His countrymen have waited 30 years to hear it!
In the 1970s, El Salvador was ruled by a brutal dictatorship. The poor had their land confiscated; any who protested were never seen again. Mutilated bodies clogged the mountain streams. The Catholic Church, by not opposing this, was seen by many as supporting it. But in the darkest hour, one man stood up.
Oscar Romero had been appointed archbishop of the capital, San Salvador, because he was a safe option - he never troubled the waters. But when right-wing militias began executing 'rebels' one hundred at a time, Romero could hold back no longer. He spoke out against injustice.
‘The church’s place is beside the poor, the outraged and rejected, to speak out for them’, he declared. ‘Is our preaching so spiritual that it will not cry “Idolators!” at those who kneel before money and power? Jesus brings a kingdom where we share our wealth, so that nobody is without what they need for a dignified life’.
The powerless poor took him to their hearts, but people of influence were too afraid to join him. Posters went up: ‘Be a patriot – kill a priest!’ All his clergy drew back from him, except one, who got murdered. Romero refused to be intimidated. ‘Soon it will be my turn to die for what is right’, he declared - and continued to speak out against tyranny.
In the West, Romero was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (but Mother Teresa got it). Back home, he was top of the hit list. In 1980, while taking a friend’s funeral, Romero was gunned down at the altar by a death squad. He was 63. Even at his funeral, attended by 250,000 people, gunmen opened fire at mourners.
Yet today, democracy is bringing growth to El Salvador and churches are growing at a rate of 90% every ten years. The people are in no doubt: it is God’s blessing on the radical leader and martyr, Oscar Romero.
"One must not love oneself so much as to avoid getting involved in risks. History demands risks of us. Those that fend off danger will lose their lives."
Oscar Romero
Ironic that all this happened in "El Salvador" which, if my limited Spanish is correct, means "The Savior."
ReplyDeleteSo many Christian movements have the blood of martyrs as their foundation.
And ironic too, David, that the first governor after the Spanish conquest, Pedro de Alvarado, named the region after Christ but is known also for the cruelty of his treatment of native populations, and for mass murders committed in the subjugation of the native peoples, especially in Mexico. It is the inherent hypocrisy of formal religion without amendment of life.
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