Before an order to kill that a man may give, the law of God must prevail that says: Thou shalt not kill! No soldier is obliged to obey an order against the law of God. -Oscar Romero
Drawing by Leo Hartshorn
Servant of God
1917-1980
Appointed Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador in 1977, Oscar Romero was executed on March 24, 1080. This assassination took place during a U.S. backed war the U.N. Truth Commission called genocidal.
His offense? He dared to speak up on behalf of the poor in his country who were being slaughtered by the government backed death squads. While saying Mass in a small hospital chapel, he was killed by a single rifle bullet, his blood pouring out upon the altar.
Alongside the tragedy of his death lies the fact that Rome has still not recognized his sacrifice with sainthood for this martyr for the poor. His cause for canonization was introduced in 1990, and continues to languish in Rome.
Words of Oscar Romero
- “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty.” — NAPF page on Oscar Romero
- We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat, among the poor newsboys who will sleep covered with newspapers in doorways. –Archbishop Oscar Romero, December 24, 1979
- If we are worth anything, it is not because we have more money or more talent, or more human qualities.
Insofar as we are worth anything, it is because we are grafted on to Christ’s life, his cross and resurrection.
That is a person’s measure. –Archbishop Oscar Romero, March 4 1979
From a letter to President Carter: “You say that you are Christian. If you are really Christian, please stop sending military aid to the military here, because they use it only to kill my people.”
The Violence of Love, an ebook compiled by James R. Brockman, S. J.
Pastoral Teaching of Archbishop Oscar Romero
The Spiritual Journey of Oscar Romero
U.S. Catholic’s remembrance of Archbishop Oscar Romero
Also of interest: The El Salvador Martyrs
