Friday, October 28, 2011

ROMERO CASE LANGUISHES UNDER FMLN



When Mauricio Funes Cartagena was elected President of El Salvador in 2009 promising to make Archbishop Romero his “spiritual reference point” for governing, many thought that his coming to power would mean, at long last, justice for the slain prelate, assassinated in March 1980, and overlooked by Salvadoran justice, which, bafflingly, has never brought charges. Such hopes were trimmed when Funes signaled, early on, that he would not seek to lift the protection of the blanket 1993 Amnesty Law, even though it has long been “seen by activists and United Nations experts as the biggest hurdle to achieving respect for human rights” (IPS report).
Image: Political cartoonist mocks President Funes’ well-touted admiration of Archbishop Romero, implying that Funes has traded his values for more pragmatic considerations, such as his closeness with the fledgling conservative GANA party. (Caption says, "A little more to the right.")
In fairness, the first leftist government to take office in the post-war period had a full plate of reforms and reparations to tackle, after 20 years of right wing rule in El Salvador, and many pressing current challenges to contend with. Additionally, the Romero legal case is just as thorny and complicated as its ecclesial counterpart (the cause for canonization). To bring a case, the government would have to conduct exhaustive investigations, which never have taken place in El Salvador. It would have to formulate a prosecution that skirts the aforementioned Amnesty Law, and is impermeable to challenges based on statutes of limitations (whereby the time to bring charges for particular violations may have expired), retroactivity (defendants cannot face liability under today’s laws for acts that may have predated their enactment), lost evidence (including witnesses who may have died or ‘disappeared,’ or may otherwise be unavailable or unwilling to testify) and other similar problems that can plague a delayed prosecution. Still, it is sobering to measure the Funes government’s handling of the Romero case against the actions of former governments, which were hopelessly conflicted and lacked credibility on the issue, as their party’s founder (Roberto D’Aubuisson) is the person widely believed to have ordered the assassination.

While the Funes government has made grand symbolic overtures, such as apologizing for the state’s involvement in the assassination, and promising to comply with orders stemming from OAS investigations, these measures are not a substantive departure from the policies of ARENA governments, which also attempted to use symbolic steps, such as petitioning the Vatican to transact Archbishop Romero’s canonization, while avoiding true reddress in the case. The shortcomings of the “change government”’s stances were recently laid bare by statements made by Attorney General Romeo Barahona when questioned regarding the likelihood that he would open an investigation now that a Salvadoran newspaper has published what it claims to be the identify of Romero’s killer, for the first time since the assassination. (Other reports have alleged the involvement of “grand capitalists who today live from their riches as though they did not have hands stained in blood” in ordering the assassination—LA TIMES 3/24/2010) Despite being handed what could be the most significant new evidence in the greatest break-through in the case, Barahona would only say that he “does not rule out” opening a new investigation, but that, “With the information on hand, we would have to analyze and see if it is possible to steer toward a new investigative hypothesis.” (CoLatino 9/28/2011.)

In the aftermath of the revelations about the identify of Romero’s killer, there were calls for the case to be reopened. Archbishop Romero’s brother stated what can only be characterized as a truism when he said in an interview that, “It is necessary, just, and legal for the Attorney General’s Office to investigate,” the shooter in the Romero assassination. (CoLatino 9/27/2011.) The Salvadoran Church has been analyzing whether it should formally ask for a new investigation to be opened. “The Catholic Church would like for the justice system [of El Salvador] to work as in other countries,” said the current Archbishop of San Salvador, Jose Luis Escobar Alas. “I make an appeal for there to be justice, that the responsible institutions operate fully and gain credibility,” he said. (CoLatino 9/26/2011.)

Despite such appeals—and Msgr. Escobar Alas’ words were not constrained to the Romero case alone, but to other crimes from the war period—Attorney General Barahona has made it clear that he takes a much narrower view. After the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Attorney General had to answer a lawsuit for the non-investigation of a civilian massacre from 1981 (La Prensa Gráfica 10/21/2011), the Attorney General responded that he would remand the case to the old justice of the peace who had original jurisdiction over the case when it arose. Presumably, a justice of the peace also had jurisdiction over the Romero assassination and other war crimes. It is unclear whether the individual functionaries are still around or how well the Attorney General’s strategy would advance the cause of justice in these cases (the Judge originally assigned to the Romero case fled the country after receiving death threats).

More: read about Central America University's Human Rights Institute's drawing a similar conclusion, in Tim's El Salvador Blog.  More recently, Tim covered the Salvadoran's government refusal to investigate the killing of a revolutionary poet by the guerrillas.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

DESPUÉS DEL DILUVIO...LA ALIANZA
Los Grandes Sermones de Mons. Romero


Cuando el sol salió sobre El Salvador después de diez días de lluvia continua en “el diluvio del 2011”, la homilía que predicó Mons. Romero el primer domingo de cuaresma de 1979 parecía muy aplicable a la ocasión. En aquella homilía, monseñor predicó sobre la alianza que Dios hace con Noé después del diluvio universal, una alianza que nos esmera a componer, entre otras cosas, la “ruptura fatal” entre el hombre y la naturaleza. (Este es una ponencia en la serie sobre los grandes sermones de Mons. Romero. Leer el texto de la homilía en español aquí, en inglés aquí, y oír la grabación de la homilía aquí.) En esta homilía y otras posteriores que siguieron los temas en ella plantados, monseñor desarrolló también el sentido ecológico de la fe.

Recordando el diluvio del libro de Génesis, Mons. Romero explica que el epílogo del diluvio universal “es una expresión bíblica para decir cómo le pesaba a Dios la infidelidad de los hombres”. El diluvio llega como consecuencia negativa de la ruptura de la humanidad con su dios, predicaba monseñor. “La explicación es muy sencilla. Según la revelación de Dios, todo pecado es ruptura. El que peca, desobedece una ley. Esa ruptura con el Legislador Supremo -nuestro Dios-, la desobediencia a sus diez mandamientos, trae consigo consecuencias de rupturas, de consecuencias bien trágicas”. La ruptura con Dios, explica monseñor, conlleva una ruptura con el resto de la humidad, y además una ruptura en el interior de cada persona contra sí misma. “Hay, todavía, otra ruptura fatal: la ruptura contra la naturaleza”. Esta ruptura se remonta hasta el principio de la historia alegórica de la Biblia: “Recuerden cuando Adán, antes del pecado ... dominaba la creación, pero cuando cometió pecado, el desorden de sí mismo, le hace sentir miedo y siente miedo también a las fieras que ya no le obedecen. Toda esta trágica relación del cosmos es consecuencia del pecado”. Aquí Mons. Romero señala cómo el tema se repite en el Nuevo Testamento: “Esto es lo que San Pablo recuerda más allá en la plenitud de los tiempos, que la naturaleza creada por Dios, gime bajo el pecado”, explica.

En contraposición a la ruptura del pecado, después del diluvio, Dios presenta un pacto con la humanidad, cuyo signo es el arco iris que aparece después de la tormenta: “cuando pasa este castigo, Dios siempre ama a pesar de que castiga”. La alianza es una harmonía entre Dios y la humanidad que, “se puede resumir en aquellas palabras que le dice al pueblo dirigido por Moisés: «Yo seré vuestro Dios y vosotros seréis mi pueblo»”. Pero no es una tregua incondicional, sino que conlleva “relaciones recíprocas entre dos partes con los deberes y derechos que se siguen de tal reciprocidad”. Por tanto, el arco iris que señala el Creador como signo de la alianza es un signo que dice: “no volverá a haber más diluvio en la tierra, conservaré la naturaleza pero es necesario trabajar para que haya más justicia”. Desde ya, la humanidad está siendo responsabilizada para llevar adelante sus obligaciones bajo esta alianza: “el recuerdo del arco-iris, como señal de la alianza cósmica de Dios con la humanidad, nos está llevando a revisar cómo utilizamos los bienes de la tierra”.

En la homilía del domingo siguiente, Mons. Romero fue aún más explícito en su explicación de nuestros deberes baja esta alianza: “esa alianza del arco-iris, esa alianza de Dios entregándole al hombre una naturaleza purificada del pecado por el castigo del diluvio, es una alianza que le exige al hombre un respeto a la naturaleza”, detalló. “Ustedes saben que está contaminado el aire, las aguas”, aseveró monseñor: “todo cuanto tocamos y vivimos; y a pesar de esa naturaleza que la vamos corrompiendo cada vez más, y la necesitamos, no nos damos cuenta que hay un compromiso con Dios: de que esa naturaleza sea cuidada por el hombre”. Continuó diciendo que, “Talar un árbol, botar el agua cuando hay tanta escasez de agua; no tener cuidado con las chimeneas de los buses, envenenando nuestro ambiente con esos humos mefíticos; no tener cuidado donde se queman las basuras; todo eso es parte de la alianza con Dios”. En esto, llegó a un punto muy preciso, “en El Salvador tenemos la tasa de población más densa”, y por tanto el riesgo a base de la vulnerabilidad ecológica es especialmente tajante. (Homilía del 11 de marzo de 1979.) Esta predicación profética de Mons. Romero ha sido confirmada por recientes estudios que “dejaron al descubierto la enorme vulnerabilidad que existe en El Salvador”. Juan José Dalton, "El Salvador, vulnerable al desastre", EL PAIS, 12 de noviembre del 2009.

El mismo año que Mons. Romero planteó estas ponencias, el Caribe y América Central fueron azotadas por el huracán David en septiembre de 1979. Lamentando las perdidas en El Salvador por esa tragedia, Mons. Romero pronunció que, “El huracán tuvo entre nosotros consecuencias muy trágicas”, y en su sentido de historiador, hizo un fiel resumen de ellas. Y después de hacerlo, dijo categóricamente: “Todas esas víctimas, hermanos, no sólo son del temporal, sino que lo triste es que es una situación que delata nuestra manera pobre de vivir”. (Hom. 9 de sept. de 1979.) Esta última observación ponía punto final a lo que había dicho aquel primer domingo de Cuaresma de ese año: “Todos somos causantes del mal que está sufriendo el país. Sólo queremos echar las culpas a otros y no nos miramos [a sí mismos]”.

*     *     *

Post Datum: El domingo 23 de octubre, el obispo auxiliar de San Salvador, monseñor Gregorio Rosa Chávez recogió el tema de la vulnerabilidad del país, señalando que El Salvador “debe luchar contra la vulnerabilidad económica reflejada en la pobreza inmerecida, la vulnerabilidad social caracterizada por la injusticia social y la vulnerabilidad ecológica, de la cual gran culpa recae en la ambición desenfrenada que se enseña contra la creación de Dios”.  En un editorial, el P. José María Tojeira, estuvo de acuerdo en que, “la falta de prevención, el desprecio objetivo a la vida de los pobres, la marginación y exclusión en la que se les mantiene, ha sido el factor con mayor peso en el desastre”.  (Ver tambien esta nota excelente del bloguero Tim sobre el tema.)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

HOMILIARIUM



ADVENT/ADVIENTO

Ñ = ESPAÑOL (texto de homilía)
E = ENGLISH (text of homily)
A = AUDIO (de homilía en español)
£ = LITURGY (readings in English)

ABC
1° ADV
11/27/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/3/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
-
2° ADV
12/4/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/10/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/9/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3° ADV
12/11/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/17/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/16/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4° ADV
12/18/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/24/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/23/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

NAVIDAD/CHRISTMAS

ABC
VIG.
12/24/1977
12/24/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/24/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
NAT.
12/25/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£] 
-
-
INOC.
12/28/1977
-
-
S.FAM
12/31/1977
12/31/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12/30/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

ADVIENTO/ADVENT

ABC
S.MAR.
1/1/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
- 
- 
EPYPH.
1/6/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
               -               
1/6/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

ORDINARY TIME/
TIEMPO ORDINARIO

ABC
1° ORD
1/8/1978
1/7/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
1/13/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
2° ORD
1/15/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
1/14/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
1/20/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3° ORD
1/22/1978
1/21/1979
1/27/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4° ORD
1/29/1978
-
-
5° ORD
2/5/1978
-
2/10/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
6° ORD
-
-
2/17/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
7° ORD
-
2/18/1979

CUARESMA/LENT

ABC
1° QUA
2/12/1978
3/4/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
2/24/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
2° QUA
2/19/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3/11/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3/2/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3° QUA
2/26/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3/18/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3/9/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4° QUA
3/5/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

3/25/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3/20/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3/16/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
5° QUA
-
-
3/23/1980
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
PALM
3/19/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/8/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
-
CRISM
3/23/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/12/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/7/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
CENAE
3/23/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/12/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
-

EASTER TRIDUUM/
TRIDÚO PASCUAL

ABC
PASS.D.
3/24/1978
4/13/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/8/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
SABB.S.
3/25/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/14/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
- 
PASCH.
3/26/1978
4/15/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
- 

PASCUA/EASTER

ABC
2° PASCH
4/2/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/22/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
4/17/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
3° PASCH
4/9/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
-
-
4° PASCH
4/16/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
-
-
5° PASCH
4/23/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
5/13/1979
5/8/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
6° PASCH
4/30/1978
5/20/1979
5/15/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
7° PASCH
5/7/1978
5/27/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
5/22/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
PENT.
5/14/1978
6/3/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
5/29/1977

ORDINARY TIME/
TIEMPO ORDINARIO

ABC
S.TRIN.
5/21/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
6/10/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
6/5/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
8° ORD
5/28/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
2/25/1979
-
9° ORD
6/4/1978
-
-
10° ORD
6/11/1978
-
11° ORD
-
6/17/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
6/12/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
12° ORD
-
-
6/19/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
13° ORD
7/2/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
7/1/1979
6/26/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
14° ORD
7/9/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
7/8/1979
7/3/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
15° ORD
7/16/1978
7/15/1979
7/10/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
16° ORD
7/23/1978
7/22/1979
7/17/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
17° ORD
-
7/29/1979
7/24/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
18° ORD
-
8/5/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
7/31/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

ABC
TRANSFIG.
8/6/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£] 
8/6/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
8/6/1977 
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

ABC
19° ORD
8/13/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
8/12/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
8/7/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
20° ORD
8/20/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
8/19/1979
8/14/1977 
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
21° ORD
8/27/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
8/26/1979
8/21/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
22° ORD
9/3/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
9/2/1979
8/28/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
23° ORD
9/10/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
9/9/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
9/4/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
24° ORD
9/17/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
9/16/1979
9/11/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
25° ORD
9/24/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
9/23/1979
9/18/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
26° ORD
10/1/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
9/30/1979
9/25/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
27° ORD
10/8/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/7/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/2/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
28° ORD
10/15/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/14/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/9/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
29° ORD
10/22/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/21/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/16/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
30° ORD
10/29/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/28/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/23/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
31° ORD
11/5/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/4/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
10/30/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
32° ORD
11/12/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/11/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/6/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
33° ORD
11/19/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/18/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/13/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]

ABC
Ch.REX
11/26/1978
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/25/1979
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]
11/20/1977
[Ñ] - [E] - [A] - [£]