Oscar romero biography summary of 10

The world today desperately needs more figures like Romero — leaders with the courage, faith and love to stand up for the poor against injustice. Romero is, in particular, an inspirational figure to hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world. He reminded us that Christ is found in people living in poverty, and that we cannot ignore the suffering of our brothers and sisters in need.

For example, the climate crisis is the single biggest threat to reducing poverty in the world today, which is why we campaign on the issue. Download the Romero cross reflective activity. In FebruaryPope Francis announced that Romero died as a martyr. In a papal letter, Pope Francis described Romero as one who "constructed peace with the force of love".

His canonisation took place in Rome on 14 October All Catholics can now venerate this remarkable saint who had a vision of a world of peace and justice, where the poor are no longer excluded, but instead fully participate in a Church of the poor and for the poor. CAFOD also helped to fund the support given by the Church to thousands of people who had fled their homes because of the violence.

CAFOD staff, partners and supporters have been at the forefront of the campaign to have Romero canonised, and continue to be inspired by his oscar romero biography summary of 10. His father and brother died while he was in Rome. Romero was ordained a priest and returned to El Salvador. He became famous for his sermons. He also did a lot of parish work like visiting prisons, organising catechism classes and working with others in the Church to provide help and food for the poor.

Violence increased in El Salvador by the mid s, as the government and army began killing poor people who stood up for their rights. Some rich people were happy because they thought he would stop priests from helping the poor to stand up for their basic rights. But a few weeks later, his friend Fr Rutilio Grande was shot and killed, along with two companions.

The following Sunday, Romero allowed only one Mass in the whole diocese - at the Cathedral - where he spoke out against the murders. As the violence in El Salvador continued, Romero continued to speak out. The archdiocesan radio station and educational institutions that are Catholic or of a Christian inspiration have been attacked, threatened, intimidated, even bombed.

Several parish communities have been raided. If all this has happened to persons who are the most evident representatives of the Church, you can guess what has happened to ordinary Christians, to the campesinos, catechists, lay ministers, and to the ecclesial base communities. There have been threats, arrests, tortures, murders, numbering in the hundreds and thousands But it is important to note why [the Church] has been persecuted.

Not any and every priest has been persecuted, not any and every institution has been attacked. That part of the church has been attacked and persecuted that put itself on the side of the people and went to the people's defense. Here again we find the same key to understanding the persecution of the church: the poor. By the time of his death, Romero had gained an enormous following among Salvadorans.

He did this largely through broadcasting his weekly sermons across El Salvador [ 38 ] on the church's station, YSAX, "except when it was bombed off the air. On the importance of these broadcasts, one writer noted that "the archbishop's Sunday sermon was the main source in El Salvador about what was happening. It was estimated to have the largest listenership of any programme in the country.

However, there are two theologies of liberation. One is that which sees liberation only as material liberation. The other is that of Paul VI. I am with Paul VI. Romero preached that "the most profound social revolution is the serious, supernatural, interior reform of a Christian. It does not reduce its objectives to an anthropocentric perspective: to a material well-being or only to initiatives of a political or social, economic or cultural order.

Much less can it be a liberation that supports or is supported by violence. In a sermon preached on 11 November he said: "the other day, one of the persons who proclaims liberation in a political sense was asked: 'For you, what is the meaning of the Church'? We believe in the church of the poor but not in the church of the rich. There is only one Church, a Church that adores the living God and knows how to give relative value to the goods of this earth.

Romero noted in his diary on 4 February "In recent days the Lord has inspired in me a great desire for holiness. I have been thinking of how far a soul can ascend if it lets itself be possessed entirely by God. Brockman, Romero's biographer and author of Romero: A Lifesaid that "All the evidence available indicates that he continued on his quest for holiness until the end of his life.

But he also matured in that quest. Romero was a strong advocate of the spiritual charism of Opus Dei. He received weekly spiritual direction from a priest of the Opus Dei movement. On 23 MarchArchbishop Romero delivered a sermon in which he called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christiansto obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

On that day they reflected on the oscar romero biography summary of 10. As Romero finished speaking, a red car came to a stop on the street in front of the chapel. A gunman emerged from the vehicle, stepped to the door of the chapel, and fired one, or possibly two, shots. Romero was struck in the heart, and the vehicle sped off. Romero was buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador.

The Funeral Mass on 30 March in San Salvador was attended by more thanmourners from all over the world. Viewing this attendance as a protest, Jesuit priest John Dear has said, "Romero's funeral was the largest demonstration in Salvadoran history, some say in the history of Latin America. At the funeral, Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumadaspeaking as the personal delegate of Pope John Paul II, eulogized Romero as a "beloved, peacemaking man of God," and stated that "his blood will give fruit to brotherhood, love and peace.

During the ceremony, smoke bombs exploded on the streets near the cathedral and subsequently, there were rifle shots that came from surrounding buildings, including the National Palace. Many people were killed by gunfire and in the stampede of people running away from the explosions and gunfire. Official sources reported 31 overall casualties, while journalists claimed that between 30 and 50 died.

However, there are contradictory accounts about the course of the events and one historian, Roberto Morozzo della Rocca, stated that "probably, one will never know the truth about the interrupted funeral. As the gunfire continued, Romero's body was buried in a crypt beneath the sanctuary. Even after the burial, people continued to line up to pay homage to the assassinated prelate.

In this they were supported by 26 members of the United States Congress. The United States public's reaction to Archbishop Romero's death was symbolized through the "martyrdom of Romero" as an inspiration to end US military aid to El Salvador. In December the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union refused to deliver military equipment destined for the Salvadoran government.

The leader of the union, Jim Herman, was known as a supporter of Romero and denounced his death. Protestors carried a bust of the archbishop and quoted some of his speeches, in addition to the event being held on the anniversary of his death. Noted figures Ed Asner and Jennifer Casolo participated in the event. On 25 MarchUS Secretary of State Cyrus Vance revealed that the White House would continue to fund the Salvadoran government and provide it military aid, in spite of the pleas of Romero and his death immediately prior to this announcement.

When asked about D'Aubuisson's association with the assassination of Romero, the Department of State responded that "the allegations have not been substantiated. The 12, documents revealed that the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush knew of the assassinations conducted by D'Aubuisson, including that of Romero, yet still worked with him despite this.

No one has ever been prosecuted for the assassination or confessed to it to police.

Oscar romero biography summary of 10: Óscar Arnulfo Romero y

Subsequent investigations by the United Nations and other international bodies have established that the four assassins were members of a death squad led by D'Aubuisson. Later, he founded the political party Nationalist Republican Alliance ARENA and organized death squads that systematically carried out politically motivated assassinations and other human rights abuses in El Salvador.

In a United States human rights organization, the Center for Justice and Accountabilityfiled a civil action against Saravia. Speaking before Romero's family, representatives of the Catholic Church, diplomats, and government officials, Funes said those involved in the assassination "unfortunately acted with the protection, collaboration, or participation of state agents.

The article cites an anonymous former death squad member who claimed he had been assigned to guard a house in San Salvador used by a unit of three counter-guerrilla operatives directed by D'Aubuisson. The guard, whom Gibb identified as "Jorge," purported to have witnessed Linares fraternizing with the group, which was nicknamed the "Little Angels," and to have heard them praise Linares for the killing.

The article furthermore attributes full knowledge of the assassination to the CIA as far back as InU. Bush, is alleged to have personally requested the Salvadoran military to "remove" Linares and several others from their service. Three years later they were pursued and extrajudicially killed — Linares after being found in neighbouring Guatemala.

The article cites another source in the Salvadoran military as saying "they knew far too much to live". In a article for the Salvadoran online newspaper El Faro[ 83 ] Saravia was interviewed from a mountain hideout.

Oscar romero biography summary of 10: Oscar Arnulfo Romero was

In Aprilhowever, in the wake of the overruling of a civil war amnesty law the previous year, a judge in El Salvador, Rigoberto Chicas, allowed the case against the escaped Saravia's alleged role in the murder of Romero to be reopened. On 23 Octoberdays after Romero's canonization, Judge Chicas issued a new arrest warrant for him, and Interpol and the National Police are charged with finding his hideout and apprehending him.

During his first visit to El Salvador inPope John Paul II entered the cathedral in San Salvador and prayed at Romero's tomb, despite opposition from the government and from some within the church who strongly opposed liberation theology. Afterwards, the Pope praised Romero as a "zealous and venerated pastor who tried to stop violence. Of the several categories of martyrs, the seventh consisted of Christians who were killed for defending their brethren in the Americas.

Despite the opposition of some social conservatives within the church, John Paul II insisted that Romero be included. He asked the organizers of the event to proclaim Romero "that great witness of the Gospel. On 22 MarchU. Higgins visited the cathedral and tomb of Romero on 25 October during a state visit to El Salvador. Romero's sainthood cause at the Vatican was opened inbut the Catholic News Service reported that it "was delayed for years as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith studied his writings, amid wider debate over whether he had been killed for his faith or for political reasons.

In MarchVincenzo Pagliathe Vatican official in charge of the process, announced that Romero's cause had cleared a theological audit by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faithat the time headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger later elected Pope Benedict XVI and that beatification could follow within six months. Predictably, the transition of the new pontiff slowed down the work of canonizations and beatifications.

Pope Benedict instituted changes that had the overall effect of reining in the Vatican's so-called "factory of saints. Although Benedict XVI had always been a fierce critic of liberation theology, Paglia reported in December that the Pope had informed him of the decision to "unblock" the cause and allow it to move forward. On 18 AugustPope Francis said that "[t]he process [of beatification of Romero] was at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, blocked for 'prudential reasons', so they said.

Now it is unblocked. In Januaryan advisory panel to the Roman Curia 's Congregation for the Causes of Saints voted unanimously to recognize Romero as a martyr, and the cardinals who were voting members of the Congregation unanimously recommended to Francis that he be beatified as a martyr a martyr can be beatified without recognition of a miracle.

This cleared the way for the Pope to later set a date for his beatification. Three miracles were submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome in October that could have led to Romero's canonization. But each of these miracles was rejected after being investigated. A fourth concerning the pregnant woman Cecilia Maribel Flores was investigated in a diocesan process in San Salvador that was opened on 31 January and which concluded its initial investigation on 28 February before documentation was submitted to Rome via the apostolic nunciature.

The CCS validated this on 7 April. The CCS members likewise approved the case on 6 February Pope Francis approved this miracle on 6 Marchallowing for Romero to be canonized and the date was announced at a consistory of cardinals held on 19 May. Previously, there had been hopes that Romero would be canonized during a possible papal visit to El Salvador on 15 August — the centennial of the late bishop's birth — or that he could be canonized in Panama during World Youth Day in Romero was the first Salvadoran to be raised to the altars; the first martyred archbishop of America, the first to be declared a martyr after the Second Vatican Council ; [ ] and the first native saint of Central America[ ] Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancurwho did all his work for which he was canonized in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros of Guatemalawas from TenerifeSpain[ ] Romero had already been included on the Anglican Church 's list of official saints [ ] and on the Lutheran Church 's liturgical calendar.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Carter did not directly respond to the letter; instead, Cyrus Vancethe Secretary of State, wrote a telegram back to the U. The telegram carried a very contradictory message, both stating that the United States will not interfere but will respond to the Revolutionary Government Junta's requests.

It is unknown if Archbishop Romero received the telegram. On 11 MayRomero met with Pope John Paul II and unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a Vatican condemnation of the Salvadoran military regime for committing human rights violations and its support of death squads, and expressed his frustration in working with clergy who cooperated with the government.

As a result of his humanitarian efforts, Romero began to be noticed internationally. In Februaryhe was given an honorary doctorate by the Catholic University of Louvain. By the time of his death, Romero had gained an enormous following among Salvadorans. He did this largely through oscar romero biography summary of 10 his weekly sermons across El Salvador on the church's station, YSAX, "except when it was bombed off the air.

This was followed by an hour-long speech on radio the following day. On the importance of these broadcasts, one writer noted that "the archbishop's Sunday sermon was the main source in El Salvador about what was happening. It was estimated to have the largest listenership of any programme in the country. However, there are two theologies of liberation.

One is that which sees liberation only as material liberation. The other is that of Paul VI. I am with Paul VI. Romero preached that "the most profound social revolution is the serious, supernatural, interior reform of a Christian. It does not reduce its objectives to an anthropocentric perspective: to a material well-being or only to initiatives of a political or social, economic or cultural order.

Much less can it be a liberation that supports or is supported by violence. In a sermon preached on 11 November he said: "the other day, one of the persons who proclaims liberation in a political sense was asked: 'For you, what is the meaning of the Church'? We believe in the church of the poor but not in the church of the rich.

There is only one Church, a Church that adores the living God and knows how to give relative value to the goods of this earth. Romero noted in his diary on 4 February "In oscar romero biography summary of 10 days the Lord has inspired in me a great desire for holiness. I have been thinking of how far a soul can ascend if it lets itself be possessed entirely by God.

Brockman, Romero's biographer and author of Romero: A Lifesaid that "All the evidence available indicates that he continued on his quest for holiness until the end of his life. But he also matured in that quest. Romero was a strong advocate of the spiritual charism of Opus Dei. He received weekly spiritual direction from a priest of the Opus Dei movement.

In he wrote in support of the cause of canonization of Opus Dei's founder, "Personally, I owe deep gratitude to the priests involved with the Work, to whom I have entrusted with much satisfaction the spiritual direction of my own life and that of other priests. On 24 MarchArchbishop Romero delivered a sermon in which he called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christiansto obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

Oscar romero biography summary of 10: Salvadoran Roman Catholic archbishop who

On that day they reflected on the priesthood. That evening, Romero celebrated Mass at a small chapel at Hospital de la Divina Providencia Divine Providence Hospitala church-run hospital specializing in oncology and care for the terminally ill. Romero finished his sermon, stepped away from the lecternand took a few steps to stand at the center of the altar.

As Romero finished speaking, a red automobile came to a stop on the street in front of the chapel. A gunman emerged from the vehicle, stepped to the door of the chapel, and fired one, possibly two, shots. Romero was struck in the heart, and the vehicle sped off. Romero was buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador. The Funeral Mass on 30 March in San Salvador was attended by more thanmourners from all over the world.

Viewing this attendance as a protest, Jesuit priest John Dear has said, "Romero's funeral was the largest demonstration in Salvadoran history, some say in the history of Latin America. At the funeral, Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, speaking as the personal delegate of Pope John Paul II, eulogized Romero as a "beloved, peacemaking man of God," and stated that "his blood will give fruit to brotherhood, love and peace.