PERSPECTIVAS DE BEATIFICACIÓN 2008
Para el 2007 pronosticamos cabalmente en este blog que el año pasado sería «un año de no acción» para la causa de beatificación de Mons. Romero, salve de algunas conmemoraciones que se marcaban el año pasado. El pronóstico resultó correcto, a pesar de que hubieron varios desarrollos positivos en la causa de beatificación. De nuevo este año analizamos de que la posibilidad de una beatificación en el 2008 es baja, pero consideramos que podrán haber avances considerables que hagan ese resultado más probable en los próximos años.
La razón principal que reduce la probilidad de una beatificación este año es la cercanía de la elección presidencial en El Salvador el próximo año, 2009. El peligro de la «politicización» de la figura de Mons. Romero ha sidola preocupación principal en el Vaticano, que ha prolongado el proceso de beatificación de Mons. Romero. Esto fue confirmado por el papa Benedicto XVI en sus comentarios a la prensa en mayo del año pasado en que consideró que «el problema» en la causa de beatificación Romero ha sido «que una parte política lo quería tomar para sí mismo como bandera» partidista, refiriendose a la acusada manipulación de la figura del obispo mártir por la izquierda en El Salvador. Tomando en cuenta esta consideración, es muy evidente que no se podrá gestionar una beatificación con la elección en El Salvador pendiente, mucho menos cuando asuntos políticos relacionados con el caso Romero están en juego, como lo están en El Salvador, con la izquierda política acusando al gobierno de derecha de no cumplir con las recomendaciones por la Corte Internacional de Derechos Humanos en el caso. Lo más prudente en este caso, desde el punto de vista de la Iglesia, sería dejar que estos asuntos se resuelvan, antes de beatificar al que sigue siendo una figura controvertida para algunos sectores de la Iglesia.
Pero si bien es cierto que para el año en curso no hay mucha expectativa, tambien se deben reconocer los puntos positivos que se pueden establecer en el 2008. El primero es el nombramiento de un nuevo Arzobispo de San Salvador, que se espera para este año, despues de la renuncia por razones canónicas del arzobispo actual. El prelado responsable por la diocesis de origen del candidato a la santidad juega un papel inprescindible en el proceso de canonización. En segundo lugar, la elección del nuevo presidente y del nuevo gobierno, tambien tendrá que ver, ya que si el nuevo gobierno es más abierto a la canonización de Mons. Romero, la «politicización» de la cuasa será mucho menor a lo que se puede dar con un gobierno de derecha. Entonces, estos dos procesos, el del nuevo arzobispo y el del nuevo presidente, tendrán algún impacto sobre el proceso de beatificación.
En el ámbito religioso, el elemento de vigilar es la publicación de una nueva esperada encíclica social por el papa Benedicto. Según algunos reportes, esta se espera para el 19 de marzo, escasamente cinco dias antes del aniversario de Mons. Romero. El año pasado, Benedicto recordó el aniversario de Mons. Romero cuando este coincidió con su oración del «Angelus» del 25 de marzo. En sus cartas encíclicas anteriores, Benedicto tambien ha reconocido a obispos destacados en el tema que estas trataban. Por ejemplo, en «Deus Caritas Est», el santo padre reconoció a obispos progresivos que habían estado al vanguardia del tema social cuando la jerarquía no habia registrado el problema. Escribía el papa: «Se debe admitir que los representantes de la Iglesia percibieron sólo lentamente que el problema de la estructura justa de la sociedad se planteaba de un modo nuevo. No faltaron pioneros: uno de ellos, por ejemplo, fue el Obispo Ketteler de Maguncia». El santo padre escribía esto como un dato de fondo, recalcando la historia de la doctrina social en sus orígenes en el siglo XIX. Será interesante ver que dirá el santo padre sobre la situación actual o reciente, en que otros autores siempre han reconocido el papel importante de Mons. Romero.
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Sunday, January 13, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
TOP ROMERO STORIES OF 2007
As a tribute to Archbishop Romero's prediction that, "If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people," here is a recap Romero's presence in El Salvador and elsewhere, during the recently concluded year.
1. Pope Benedict tells the press, "That Romero as a person merits beatification, I have no doubt." Although the statement was later revised and finessed by the Vatican to ensure due deference to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Benedict's unedited, off-the-cuff statement reveals that the Church, at its highest echelons, sees Romero much like the rest of the Christian faithful regard him. The Pope also said, that Romero "was certainly a great witness to the faith. He was a man of great Christian virtue, who was committed to peace and against the dictatorship." The significance of the final point has not been commented on, but the Pontiff here acknowledges that the Salvadoran government at the time was a "dictatorship," and that Romero's opposition to it was consistent with "great Christian virtue." More: click here.
2. OAS Controversy: Tutela Legal puts the Salvadoran government to task over El Salvador's lack of compliance with recommendations by the human rights tribunal of the Organization of American States calling for investigation and reparations for Archbishop Romero's assassination. In the October hearing on the matter, the parties revealed that the government had been holding secret negotiations with the Archdiocese of San Salvador over the matter. This revelation lead to a great outcry. Archbishop Sáenz placated the controversy by assuring broad consultations with civil society and not some secret deal. He quietly fired his lawyer, who was not so quiet in his departure. The fallout from the unresolved assassination also pulled the plug on attempts to bestow legislative honors on the man believed to have ordered the murder, with former U.S. Ambassador Robert White urging Salvadorans to demand accountability from the ruling party, founded by the presumed mastermind of the crime. More: click here.
3. Tony Saca and Hugo Chávez agree on one thing -- that Romero deserves to be recognized. The Salvadoran government announced that it would lobby the Vatican for the beatification of Archbishop Romero. Although the move was criticized as a cynical ploy to avoid having to comply with OAS recommendations to investigate and prosecute the case (see story No. 1), it was the first time the Salvadoran state had made a public statement to acknowledge the special place in its history Archbishop Romero holds. It was also, as far as we could tell, the first time ANY government would intervene formally in a canonization case. Not to be outdone, the government of Venezuela hosted a theological conference and opened a website dedicated to Romero. A skeptic there might question why the Chávez regime would care about the Salvadoran cleric, when it has such lousy relations with El Salvador and with the Catholic Church. Or, perhaps there is the intented rub. More: click here and here.
4. Pope Benedict recalls Archbishop Romero during his March 25 "Angelus" prayer. The second time Benedict XVI evoked Archbishop Romero last year was the day after the anniversary of Romero's death. The date -- March 24 -- has been widely adopted by the Church for its commemoration of its "Missionary Martyrs," an off-the-liturgical-calendar-holiday that has spread from Europe to Asia, and many places where it has been taken up with Evangelical zeal. This is literally true, as in modern times, as in the early days of Christianity, "martyrs are the seeds of the Church." The Pope's invocation of Archbishop Romero in St. Peter's Square was the not the first time a pope would cite Archbishop Romero in his official remarks to pilgrims at the Vatican. Pope John Paul did so in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1996. Pope Benedict's reference was correctly interpreted as a signal that the Vatican continues to hold Romero in very high regard. More: click here.
5. Óscar Romero, ¡presente! -- at the Latin American Bishops' Conference in Aparecida. Although the bickering Salvadoran bishops did not elect Archbishop Romero to attend the CELAM conference in 1979, Archbishop Romero's presence has been felt at every gathering of the continent's bishops since Puebla. At the May meeting in Brazil, Romero was cited by none other than his successor, the retiring Archbishop Sáenz. Other bishops also brought up Romero, and even took up a furtive bid to have Romero mentioned in the final document. Msgr. Jesús Delgado and other members of the Salvadoran delegation also kept Romero's name in the air in the hallways of Aparecida. Although there was no dramatic acclamation, the conference that began with the press reporting the Pope's belief that Romero "merits beatification" (see story No. 1), appeared to ratify much of Romero's pastoral approach, in light of the social doctrine of the Church and its "preferential option for the poor." More: click here and here.
6. British Catholics launch the Archbishop Romero Trust. Dedicated by the Catholics, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, and Anglican Archbishops Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, the Trust was established "to promote knowledge and awareness of the life and work of Archbishop Romero, to commemorate the anniversary of his death annually, and to provide support to human rights and justice initiatives in Latin America." In March, London became the second major European capital where Romero's martyrdom will be formally commemorated with an annual mass (it is already commemorated in Rome by Catholic charities activists like the Londoners involved in the Trust). The Trust also produced an audio report that was aired on Vatican Radio. More: click here and here.
7. High ranking Church officials have continued to praise Archbishop Romero's saintly qualities. In February, this blog named "Doce Cardenales Simpatizantes" -- "Twelve Sympathetic Cardinals," who had endorsed Archbishop Romero's canonization cause or recognized his martyrdom. The list was based on published materials and may not include ALL the cardinals with such beliefs but, nonetheless, the group would represent a significant group in the College of Cardinals. Leading clerics continued to join the litany of the sainthood supporters. Archbishop Paolo Romeo of Palermo stated that "`hatred of the faith' (the legal requirement for martyrdom) was obvious" in Romero's beatification cause. Even across denominational divides, the Archbishop of York John Sentamu quoted Romero in his homilies and took to wearing a Salvadoran cross (see also story No. 6). More: click here and here.
8. Archbishop Romero's name continued to be synonymous with heroic acts of conscience in awards set up in his name. Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss and the immigration activist group No More Deaths took the prestigious Oscar Romero Award for Human Rights awarded by the Houston-based Rothko Chapel, a church that advocates for human rights. Previous recipients include Sister Diana Ortiz, the American nun who was tortured in Guatemala. At Boston College in Massachussets, Genoveva Abreu was named as the Oscar Romero Scholarship recipient. For several years running, BC has been awarding the Romero Scholarship to students who demonstrate altruistic merit by their community service or interest in human rights. At long last, an "Oscar" we can all strive to win? More: click here and here.
9. British expert to preserve Romero vestments. From now on, the vestments that Archbishop Romero was wearing on March 24, 1980, when an assassin's bullet cut him down at the altar, will no longer hang in a common clotheshanger in a glass case. Instead, the relics will be displayed in a way that exhibits the precious garments to the faithful AND preserves their integrity for generations to come. Jan Graffius, a preservation expert from Stonyhurst College in England, came down to San Salvador as part of the outreach of the newly formed Romero Trust (see also story No. 6). "Handling and examining these vestments was an emotional experience and a great responsibility," said Ms. Graffius. "If, as is expected, Monseñor Romero is beatified in the near future, the hospital will become an even more important centre of pilgrimage than it is at present." More: click here.
10. New 'martyrology' of Salvadoran Church. The Salvadoran Church published a new softcover volume (in Spanish) entitled "Testigos de la Fe en El Salvador" ("Witnesses of the Faith in El Salvador"), featuring the stories of ten priests killed in El Salvador and Archbishop Romero. The book, published extra-officially by a group of priests and distributed through all the parishes, is in part a response to John Paul II's Jubilee call to memorialize local martyrs, whether or not they have been recognized by officialdom. John Paul himself led a ceremony in the Colosseum in Rome (site of ancient persecutions) in the year 2000 in which Archbishop Romero was memorialized, together with all the "witnesses of the faith" of the 20th century. More: click here.
As a tribute to Archbishop Romero's prediction that, "If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people," here is a recap Romero's presence in El Salvador and elsewhere, during the recently concluded year.
1. Pope Benedict tells the press, "That Romero as a person merits beatification, I have no doubt." Although the statement was later revised and finessed by the Vatican to ensure due deference to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Benedict's unedited, off-the-cuff statement reveals that the Church, at its highest echelons, sees Romero much like the rest of the Christian faithful regard him. The Pope also said, that Romero "was certainly a great witness to the faith. He was a man of great Christian virtue, who was committed to peace and against the dictatorship." The significance of the final point has not been commented on, but the Pontiff here acknowledges that the Salvadoran government at the time was a "dictatorship," and that Romero's opposition to it was consistent with "great Christian virtue." More: click here.
2. OAS Controversy: Tutela Legal puts the Salvadoran government to task over El Salvador's lack of compliance with recommendations by the human rights tribunal of the Organization of American States calling for investigation and reparations for Archbishop Romero's assassination. In the October hearing on the matter, the parties revealed that the government had been holding secret negotiations with the Archdiocese of San Salvador over the matter. This revelation lead to a great outcry. Archbishop Sáenz placated the controversy by assuring broad consultations with civil society and not some secret deal. He quietly fired his lawyer, who was not so quiet in his departure. The fallout from the unresolved assassination also pulled the plug on attempts to bestow legislative honors on the man believed to have ordered the murder, with former U.S. Ambassador Robert White urging Salvadorans to demand accountability from the ruling party, founded by the presumed mastermind of the crime. More: click here.
3. Tony Saca and Hugo Chávez agree on one thing -- that Romero deserves to be recognized. The Salvadoran government announced that it would lobby the Vatican for the beatification of Archbishop Romero. Although the move was criticized as a cynical ploy to avoid having to comply with OAS recommendations to investigate and prosecute the case (see story No. 1), it was the first time the Salvadoran state had made a public statement to acknowledge the special place in its history Archbishop Romero holds. It was also, as far as we could tell, the first time ANY government would intervene formally in a canonization case. Not to be outdone, the government of Venezuela hosted a theological conference and opened a website dedicated to Romero. A skeptic there might question why the Chávez regime would care about the Salvadoran cleric, when it has such lousy relations with El Salvador and with the Catholic Church. Or, perhaps there is the intented rub. More: click here and here.
4. Pope Benedict recalls Archbishop Romero during his March 25 "Angelus" prayer. The second time Benedict XVI evoked Archbishop Romero last year was the day after the anniversary of Romero's death. The date -- March 24 -- has been widely adopted by the Church for its commemoration of its "Missionary Martyrs," an off-the-liturgical-calendar-holiday that has spread from Europe to Asia, and many places where it has been taken up with Evangelical zeal. This is literally true, as in modern times, as in the early days of Christianity, "martyrs are the seeds of the Church." The Pope's invocation of Archbishop Romero in St. Peter's Square was the not the first time a pope would cite Archbishop Romero in his official remarks to pilgrims at the Vatican. Pope John Paul did so in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1996. Pope Benedict's reference was correctly interpreted as a signal that the Vatican continues to hold Romero in very high regard. More: click here.
5. Óscar Romero, ¡presente! -- at the Latin American Bishops' Conference in Aparecida. Although the bickering Salvadoran bishops did not elect Archbishop Romero to attend the CELAM conference in 1979, Archbishop Romero's presence has been felt at every gathering of the continent's bishops since Puebla. At the May meeting in Brazil, Romero was cited by none other than his successor, the retiring Archbishop Sáenz. Other bishops also brought up Romero, and even took up a furtive bid to have Romero mentioned in the final document. Msgr. Jesús Delgado and other members of the Salvadoran delegation also kept Romero's name in the air in the hallways of Aparecida. Although there was no dramatic acclamation, the conference that began with the press reporting the Pope's belief that Romero "merits beatification" (see story No. 1), appeared to ratify much of Romero's pastoral approach, in light of the social doctrine of the Church and its "preferential option for the poor." More: click here and here.
6. British Catholics launch the Archbishop Romero Trust. Dedicated by the Catholics, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, and Anglican Archbishops Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, the Trust was established "to promote knowledge and awareness of the life and work of Archbishop Romero, to commemorate the anniversary of his death annually, and to provide support to human rights and justice initiatives in Latin America." In March, London became the second major European capital where Romero's martyrdom will be formally commemorated with an annual mass (it is already commemorated in Rome by Catholic charities activists like the Londoners involved in the Trust). The Trust also produced an audio report that was aired on Vatican Radio. More: click here and here.
7. High ranking Church officials have continued to praise Archbishop Romero's saintly qualities. In February, this blog named "Doce Cardenales Simpatizantes" -- "Twelve Sympathetic Cardinals," who had endorsed Archbishop Romero's canonization cause or recognized his martyrdom. The list was based on published materials and may not include ALL the cardinals with such beliefs but, nonetheless, the group would represent a significant group in the College of Cardinals. Leading clerics continued to join the litany of the sainthood supporters. Archbishop Paolo Romeo of Palermo stated that "`hatred of the faith' (the legal requirement for martyrdom) was obvious" in Romero's beatification cause. Even across denominational divides, the Archbishop of York John Sentamu quoted Romero in his homilies and took to wearing a Salvadoran cross (see also story No. 6). More: click here and here.
8. Archbishop Romero's name continued to be synonymous with heroic acts of conscience in awards set up in his name. Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss and the immigration activist group No More Deaths took the prestigious Oscar Romero Award for Human Rights awarded by the Houston-based Rothko Chapel, a church that advocates for human rights. Previous recipients include Sister Diana Ortiz, the American nun who was tortured in Guatemala. At Boston College in Massachussets, Genoveva Abreu was named as the Oscar Romero Scholarship recipient. For several years running, BC has been awarding the Romero Scholarship to students who demonstrate altruistic merit by their community service or interest in human rights. At long last, an "Oscar" we can all strive to win? More: click here and here.
9. British expert to preserve Romero vestments. From now on, the vestments that Archbishop Romero was wearing on March 24, 1980, when an assassin's bullet cut him down at the altar, will no longer hang in a common clotheshanger in a glass case. Instead, the relics will be displayed in a way that exhibits the precious garments to the faithful AND preserves their integrity for generations to come. Jan Graffius, a preservation expert from Stonyhurst College in England, came down to San Salvador as part of the outreach of the newly formed Romero Trust (see also story No. 6). "Handling and examining these vestments was an emotional experience and a great responsibility," said Ms. Graffius. "If, as is expected, Monseñor Romero is beatified in the near future, the hospital will become an even more important centre of pilgrimage than it is at present." More: click here.
10. New 'martyrology' of Salvadoran Church. The Salvadoran Church published a new softcover volume (in Spanish) entitled "Testigos de la Fe en El Salvador" ("Witnesses of the Faith in El Salvador"), featuring the stories of ten priests killed in El Salvador and Archbishop Romero. The book, published extra-officially by a group of priests and distributed through all the parishes, is in part a response to John Paul II's Jubilee call to memorialize local martyrs, whether or not they have been recognized by officialdom. John Paul himself led a ceremony in the Colosseum in Rome (site of ancient persecutions) in the year 2000 in which Archbishop Romero was memorialized, together with all the "witnesses of the faith" of the 20th century. More: click here.