BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO,
MAY 23, 2015
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| San Salvador Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas; Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chávez; Santiago de Maria Bishop Rodrigo Orlando Cabrera Cuéllar; Zacatecoluca Bishop Elías Samuel Bolaños Avelar. |
Two weeks ago,
Pope Francis challenged the Salvadoran bishops to be a church that goes forth,
as he has so often said, and to put Archbishop Romero and his values to work
for the benefit of his people. “A martyr,”
said Francis, “is
not one who remains relegated to the past, a lovely image that adorns our
churches and that we remember with a certain nostalgia.” The pope recalled
that El Salvador “still has ahead of it a
series of difficult tasks” and needs “to
foster the promotion and development of a nation that seeks true justice,
genuine peace and the reconciliation of hearts.” And Archbishop Romero, the
pope said, is “an incentive and a renewed
endeavour of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ” in his country.
The Pope's
message was unmistakable to those who knew how to hear it. The Salvadoran priest Leopoldo Sosa,
who was present at the audience, has no doubt of its meaning. Meditating on the
words of the pope, Sosa acknowledges that “for
us in El Salvador, for all priests and for the Bishops, this is a challenge. The
Lord is calling to us in a special way,” says Sosa. “Really, let us not be content with
putting Romero on the altars, but let
us imitate him and be for the people what Romero was for the people:
identifying with the poor, defending the cause of the poor, living like Jesus
among the people. This is what the pope is telling us: shepherds who smell
of sheep.” Sosa finished with a remarkable acknowledgment: “Our people are bleeding in this violence and
insecurity, the
problem of gangs, the maras, and I think we are lacking that figure, that model,
that testimony, that hope.”
We need another Archbishop Romero!
But who can be
the Blessed Romero of this moment? It is only a stray question, but what a
question! The graphics accompanying this note show the bishops whose dioceses
bear the burden of gangs homicides, but perhaps it is not so fair to impose
disproportionate obligations upon them. I float the idea anyway. I hope to
develop the theme in future posts, hopefully with input from you readers, whom
I leave these outstanding questions, and I add the following ones: (1) God has
given us the beatification of Archbishop Romero. Now, what do we do with it?
(2) How can we apply the teachings of Blessed Romero to these circumstances?
(3) How should we observe the Jubilee Year of Mercy the Pope has proclaimed to
respond to the joys and hopes of the holy people of God on pilgrimage in El
Salvador? Pray! Tell!
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| Maps showing that the dioceses of San Salvador, Santiago de María and Zacatecoluca see the most homicides. (CEDES, EL FARO.) |
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