This Thursday, Mar. 24, marks the 36th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero. This is a name that most Americans probably would not recognize, or those who do are most likely of Salvadoran origin (such as myself), but it is a name that means so much to the Salvadoran people (and also Central American people as well to an extent). Romero is a figure who represents so much in both life and death — goodwill, faith and being the voice of the voiceless.
Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador, the capital of the small Central American country of El Salvador. He served in this position from 1977 to 1980 (his passing). During this time in this position and even prior, he dedicated a lot of his time to serve the needs of the poor, the marginalized and the impoverished. He spoke out against the abuses of the government, particularly their use of the infamous Salvadoran National Guard. The National Guard, instead of protecting the people, became known for abuses and taking advantage of the poor. Romero spoke out against these clear violations of human rights because it seemed like no one cared about what was happening to the poor and marginalized but he gave them a voice — he became their voice.
Roman Catholicism was at the time and still is the most dominant religion in El Salvador. Over there, people are serious about going to church and going through all of the customs that come with the religion. So, the Archbishop of any Salvadoran place would be seen as an influential figure — especially the Archbishop of the what happens to have been both the capital and largest city. What he said and did inspired the people of El Salvador, through his words the people saw that they did not need to live in violence and that what the government was supporting was wrong — which may seem like a common thing but these are people who grew up fearing the National Guard.
“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.”
-Óscar Romero
His assassination came at the hand of people connected to the government — particularly connected to Roberto D'Aubuisson (major in the Salvadoran Military and founder of one of El Salvador’s two major political parties, ARENA). Yes, the government tried to silence Romero by assassinating him. This is not some conspiracy theory either; it is a fact that D’Aubuisson was tasked with organizing the assassination of Romero which occurred while he was giving mass, in the process of blessing the Eucharist. This is backed by by a United Nations commission. In fact, back in 2010, the president of El Salvador at the time, Mauricio Funes, apologized on behalf of the state because the murderer “unfortunately acted with the protection, collaboration or participation of state agents.”
Currently, Romero was beatified by Pope Francis I and many people hope for the the process to continue all the way into full Sainthood (currently recognized as a Saint in the Church of England and the Lutheran Church but not yet in the Roman Catholic Church). The message of Romero is powerful. While there are those who attempt to twist his words and abuse him for the sake of political advantage or their own desire power, Romero remains one of the most important people in Salvadoran history. The people felt so strongly about him the Salvadoran Civil War in part really started when he was assassinated, and eventually, the abusive government fell along with the infamous National Guard. The government attempted to move toward an actually democratic one, which is teh certain verison that is in place but even years after it still has many faults. While it might be completely similar to teh tyrannical one of the past, it is still corrupt to a certaine extent by allowing gang activty to grow rapidly with no end in sight- again seemingly ignoring the problems facing the people.
In the current state of affairs across the globe there are still people who do not have a voice, those who are being abused because no one is listening to them. We all have to follow Romero’s words, regardless of what religion you are or not, to “overcome selfishness and so that there be no more such cruel inequality between us.” Let’s try to listen more.
