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Martyrs |
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| Archbishop
Oscar Arnulfo Romero (1917-1980), |
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“When politics pushes onto the altar, it must be protected by the Church.” Oscar Arnulfo was born at Ciudas Barrios, a small village in San Salvador. At the age of 13 he entered the Small Seminary of San Miguel. At 20 he moved to Rome to continue his studies. He became secretary of the bishop of San Miguel and he maintained this position for the next 23 years. During this time he made friends with the native population and his enthusiastic pastoral activity, his daily rosary and his fervent homilies on paradise and hell touched both the intellectuals and the simple and poor. The latter were his special concern – he called them “the treasure of the Church”. In 1967 Oscar Romero was ordained bishop and in 1977 he became archbishop of San Salvador. He pointed out social injustice and criticized the bloody murders and the system of oligarchy which had been throwing the people of San Salvador into misery. During this time Archbishop Romero was accused of preaching a political “liberation theology,” whereas his voice was merely one of a shepherd concerned about the welfare of his flock. A Church that demands the protection of human dignity and fights for social injustice is especially “inconvenient” to the government. Billboards carried slogans “Be a patriot. Kill a priest!” The movement of the lowerclass population fighting for freedom was first seen with scepticism by the Archbishop, but he then supported them unflinchingly upon learning of the murders and violence inflicted on his faithful. His decisions had the following reasoning: “When politics pushes onto the altar, it must be protected by the Church.“ Every day rich and poor alike approached Romero asking him for his intervention for relatives and friends in jail. His most powerful weapon was the word that he proclaimed from the pulpit – words that criticized the true criminals, calling them by name… words that described torture, kidnapping and murder. On
March 24, 1980 he celebrated Mass for the repose of the soul of
his mother. Despite the warnings of his friends who advised him
not to go for fear of a possible assault, he nevertheless walked
up to the altar to celebrate the Eucharist. A bullet felled him
as he approached the altar after his homily. The funeral became
a demonstration of the free people, and it was brutally interrupted
by shots and bombs. The martyr’s death mingled with the blood
of hundreds of faithful who entered their eternal rest in the blood
of the Savior (El Salvador). |
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