Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to fill the streets of the capital of El Salvador on Saturday 23rd May to celebrate as former Archbishop Oscar Romero is beatified.
The following is from Shane Claiborne's Facebook page:
Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed 35 years ago on March 24th - as he served communion during worship. Many of the soldiers responsible for the atrocities in El Salvador like this one were trained by the US Army in Fort Benning, GA. Now Romero is on the path to sainthood as an official martyr of the church.
Although he began as a conservative archbishop, opposed to the progressive liberation theology that was popular among those seeking to help poor farmers in El Salvador, Oscar Romero was changed when his friend, a priest, was assassinated as a result of commitment to social justice.
Through weekly homilies on national radio, Romero
advocated an end to the repression of the people in El Salvador, thus
making himself an enemy of the government and the military. He was not
successful in ending the violence: more than 75,000
Salvadorans would eventually be killed, one million would leave the
country, and another million would be left homeless.
Because of his prophetic witness, Romero became a target of assassination. As he was saying Mass on March 24, 1980, he was shot and killed. “A bishop will die,” Romero had said, foreseeing his own fate, “but the church of God—the people—will not perish.”
At his funeral, the army opened fired on the more than 100,000 mourners, killing dozens.
Because of his prophetic witness, Romero became a target of assassination. As he was saying Mass on March 24, 1980, he was shot and killed. “A bishop will die,” Romero had said, foreseeing his own fate, “but the church of God—the people—will not perish.”
At his funeral, the army opened fired on the more than 100,000 mourners, killing dozens.
No comments:
Post a Comment