Romero, 30 years on
Today is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. This past Saturday I found myself in a crowd of thousands who processed by candlelight through the streets of San Salvador to the National Cathedral where we celebrated a Mass in his memory. The crowd was Salvadoran and international, old and young. I was particularly heartened by the presence of Salvadorans who weren’t even born at the time of the civil war, yet who came to honor Romero. When the (recorded!) music at the Mass ran out, people began shouting “Romero vive!”and “Give us bishops who are close to the people!” (So then they replayed “Pescador des Hombres” for the third time…)
Romero, of course, is one of those great figures of conversion, a man who found himself drawn against his temperament and training into political speech because the outrages against the Salvadoran people were so great that, had he not spoken, “the very stones would have cried out.” Would that we all have that kind of conversion.
But I’m here visiting an immersion program for undergraduates who study while they “accompany” the poor. “Accompany” means they don’t imagine that they’re here to somehow “fix” El Salvador, or that the process they’re engaged in is a one-sided giving. Not at all. Accompaniment is mutual–we walk with each other, teach each other, hold each other, speak of our own and then each other’s struggles. Perhaps, in a world where the gap between rich and poor continues to widen–in El Salvador those who survived the death squads now die from poverty–accompaniment is the best first step to a true “ad-vocare,” advocacy, that is also mutual and global. The lessons of accompaniment are, perhaps, the words we are called to speak, lest we be inappropriately silent, and the very stones have to cry out.
on March 24th, 2010 at 10:58 am
At the base of all violence is social injustice, accurately called ’structural violence,’ which is our greatest social evil now. As Puebla says, this is ‘the most devastating and humiliating kind of scourge,’ a ’situation of inhuman poverty’ finding expression in ‘infant mortality, lack of adequate housing, health problems, starvation salaries, unemployment and underemployment, malnutrition, job uncertainty, compulsory mass migrations, etc.’ — it is sad that what he and Puebla spoke about years ago appears increasingly true to the US now.
on March 24th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Where are the Romeros in todays hierarchy?
Thanks for a fine thread, Lisa.
on March 24th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Thank you, Lisa. I’m sure you all have noticed the cover of our latest issue at the top of your browser, but I can’t miss this opportunity to plug our cover story: Robert White’s recollection of a meeting with the archbishop, not long before his death.
on March 24th, 2010 at 11:47 am
An excellent article at NCR today on the event just popped up.
The article notes that there is strong suspicion that the canonization of Romero is held up by his being viwed as too much of a controversial hierarch.
Also in the piece is an attachment to the 2009 article by Jon Sobrino on the urgent need for a Church of the poor.
It cites a “pact of the catacomb” by a number of bishops saying Mass in the catcomb during VII.
It’s worth a read and perhaps should be sent on to Glen Beck – and also USCCB.
on March 24th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Peter and Paul were controversial hierarchs as were many of the early martyrs. It is to the shame of John Paul II and Benedict XVI that they are beatifying questionable people and ignoring Romero. In no case do they show more that the Vatican is more into empire than witnessing the faith. It is more important to have a Vatican representative in all countries than to have the faith practiced. This is what Jesus meant by the leaven of the Pharisees.
on March 24th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
BTW, Lisa, you get around a lot.
on March 24th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
:-)
on March 24th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Thanks for the reflection Lisa. Here’s Mons. Romero’s well known prayer.
***********************************************************
“It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen”
on March 24th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Thanks for that Rick.
on March 24th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
In the orthodox tradition, the glorification of a saint is manifested in the devotion of the faithful, and the miracles which emerge from the memory and legacy of the saint. As I drove past Clinica Romero here in Los Angeles where thousands of Salvadorans get medical care, and got to my non-profit immigration law office where I have a picture of Monsenor on the wall, I had an email box full of greetings and memories from all over the world of those of us who have been touched by Oscar Romero. Thirty years later, most of those working for justice in El Salvador from a perspective of faith are still at it, in Colombia, Congo, and even California. I would say that the glorification of Oscar Romero is manifest in the people–and even in those who were not yet born. Thank you all for that.
on March 25th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Correction. Joe Cleary over on America’s blog has some info on the Romero Prayer. Seems it was actually written by Bishop Ken Untener.
Father Malloy, The inspirational prayer you reference was actually written by Bishop Ken Untener in 1979. Bishop Untener later included the prayer as part of a relflection on Romero and his martyrdom.
http://www.jpic-visitation.org/reflections/prayers/romero.html
on March 25th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
HELP – is there any documentation or truth to the allegation that on the same day that he was assassinated that JPII signed papers that would have removed the Bishop from his office and position?
on March 25th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
There was a movie “Romero” made in 1989 about his life, which was nominated for several awards. In the movie, the portrayal of the assassination was remarkable. This man was shot to death while saying Mass, the Blood of Christ spilling on his vestments, mingling with his own.
on March 25th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Amiga,
Yes, great film–I think Raul Julia’s very restrained portrayal likely captures the shy Romero. But the “shot as he raised the chalice” scene was more metaphorical than historical. He was killed before the consecration, I think just post-homily. But, heck, the point remains the same, yes?
Bill D.–hadn’t heard that allegation. Very interesting. JPII certainly was looking to tamp down anything that smelled of too much political involvement, too much liberation theology or too much “option for the poor” at that point. So I ask too–anybody out there know about this?
on March 25th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Yes, very moving and meaningful.
on March 26th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Lisa, do you know who did the artwork you put up with your post? I like it a lot.
Given the sad state of confirmation education in the local parish, we watched a number of faith-related movies as discussion starters with our son this year, and “Romero” was one of them. Raul Julia certainly had a range as an actor. I saw him in Papp’s “King Lear” with James Earl Jones as Edgar the bastard son (hoo boy, decades ago), and he was hilarious in “Moon Over Parador.”
Raber is still trying to get that Catholic family movie night program going at his parish. He has a very long list of films and has started on a discussion guide, but, sigh, no takers. Too bad. As the church history guy in RCIA, he has a lot of good info.