Beatification for 'voice of the voiceless' Romero draws hundreds of thousands in El Salvador

[Judi Lynn]

Beatification for 'voice of the voiceless' Romero draws hundreds of thousands in El Salvador

Thousands have come to the Salvadoran capital to celebrate the beginning of Archbishop Oscar Romero's path to sainthood. Romero was assassinated by far-right militias in 1980.

Date 23.05.2015

Thousands gathered in San Salvador on Saturday to attend an open air mass celebrating the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero, whose defense of the poor and repressed divided both his home nation of El Salvador and the Catholic Church.

Officials expected the crowd to swell to up to 280,000, while four presidents, six cardinals and more than one hundred bishops also came to pay their respects to the "Voice of the Voiceless."

In a written statement, Pope Francis praised Romero as one of "the best children of the church" for the way he supported "the poorest and most marginalized" in society.

US President Barack Obama also hailed Romero's beatification, calling him an inspiration and a martyr who "persevered in the fact of opposition from extremes on both sides. He fearlessly confronted the evils he saw, guided by the needs of his beloved pueblo, the poor and oppressed people of El Salvador."

More:
http://www.dw.de/beatification-for-voice-of-the-voiceless-romero-draws-hundreds-of-thousands-in-el-salvador/a-18472382

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141101642

[lostnfound]

1. Oh wow. That's so cool. Liberation theology is the better side of catholic church.

The U.S. Supported and trained many of the thugs that assassinated, tortured and terrorized left wing Catholics in Latin American. Nuns, priests, bishops.

The church didn't always side with them, unfortunately, so it's great to see this recognition today.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2000, on his assassination:

The killing of Archbishop Oscar Romero was one of the most notorious crimes of the cold war. Was the CIA to blame?

Tom Gibb uncovers new evidence about the murder of El Salvador's spiritual leader

Tom Gibb
The Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2000

San Salvador. In the bright morning sunlight of March 24 1980, a car stopped outside the Church of the Divine Providence. A lone gunman stepped out, unhurried. Resting his rifle on the car door, he aimed carefully down the long aisle to where El Salvador's archbishop, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, was saying mass. A single shot rang out. Romero staggered and fell. The blood pumped from his heart, soaking the little white disks of scattered host.
Romero's murder was to become one of the most notorious unsolved crimes of the cold war. The motive was clear. He was the most outspoken voice against the death squad slaughter gathering steam in the US backyard. The ranks of El Salvador's leftwing rebels were being swelled by priests who preached that the poor should seek justice in this world, not wait for the next. Romero was the "voice of those without voice", telling soldiers not to kill.

The US vowed to make punishment of the archbishop's killers a priority. It could hardly do otherwise as President Reagan launched the largest US war effort since Vietnam to defeat the rebels. He needed support in Washington, which meant showing that crimes like shooting archbishops and nuns would not be tolerated.

The ordering of the murder was blamed on the bogeyman of the story, a military intelligence officer called Major Roberto D'Aubuisson who had, conveniently for Washington, recently left the army. In the weeks before the murder, he was repeatedly on television using military intelligence files to denounce "guerrillas". Those he accused were often murdered. Romero was near the top of the list.

More:
http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/mar/23/features11.g21

[Judi Lynn]

3. Salvadorans Flock to Honor Beloved Archbishop on Path to Sainthood

Salvadorans Flock to Honor Beloved Archbishop on Path to Sainthood
By ELISABETH MALKINMAY 23, 2015

SAN SALVADOR — Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of El Salvador’s capital on Saturday to celebrate the beatification of Óscar Romero, a Roman Catholic archbishop who walked with his people in their poverty.

Under a bright sun, people joined in the songs and prayers of the ritual that blessed Archbishop Romero, who was assassinated here as he celebrated evening Mass on March 24, 1980. As symbols were carried to the stage to commemorate his final step toward sainthood, one stood out: the eucharist that Archbishop Romero was unable to complete.

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Catholic pilgrims camped out in the rain early Saturday in the plaza in San Salvador.
Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
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. . .

“In his embrace, you could feel his great love for us, the poor, because we are poor,” said Victoria Ramírez, 51, an office cleaner. “We felt protected by him — but who protected him?”

“He was our savior,” Ms. Ramírez continued. “Even though the church says he’s theirs, he is ours. He always will be. The church always represents the rich. They want to take power over him — but he is ours.”

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/world/americas/salvadorans-flock-to-honor-beloved-archbishop-on-path-to-sainthood.html?_r=0

[Judi Lynn]

4. Gang leader says El Salvador hasn’t learned anything from martyred priest (but there’s still time)

Gang leader says El Salvador hasn’t learned anything from martyred priest (but there’s still time)

by Tim Rogers
May 23, 2015 8:43 AM

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Gang leaders in El Salvador have a message for the martyred priest they call “Saint Romero“: We’re sorry, forgive our sins.

In a rare joint communique penned by the Salvatrucha (MS-13), the Pandilla 18, the Mao-Mao and the Mirada Locos 13, gang leaders of all ink markings say they want to give the gift of peace to former Archbishop Oscar Romero on his homestretch to sainthood, which is being celebrated with his beatification this weekend in San Salvador.

So far, so bad. Since the gangs’ communique was released on April 23, El Salvador has experienced its most violent month on record. More than 400 Salvadorans have been murdered in the first three weeks of May, and the average daily death toll jumped to 28 this week. The gangs blame the government and the government blames the gangs.

One thing seems certain: El Salvador’s devotion to “Saint Romero of America” has not translated into a pious adherence to his preachings of peace.

More:
http://fusion.net/story/138670/gang-leader-says-el-salvador-hasnt-learned-from-martyred-priest-but-theres-still-time/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=/section/news/feed/