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JUBILEE YEAR for the CENTENNIAL of BLESSED
ROMERO, 2016 — 2017
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Why is Archbishop
Oscar Romero not mentioned in the new apostolic exhortation «Gaudete et Exsultate» by Pope
Francis? After all, the theme of the document is “the call to holiness in
today's world”, and Blessed Romero will be made a saint later this year, as an
urgent example of the call to holiness in today's world, and a large part of
the text seems to be directly relatable to his figure. The other important
saints raised to the altars by Pope Francis are named in the document—John Paul
II, Mother Teresa, Paul VI, the “Gaucho Priest” of Argentina—they are all accounted
for. The great absentee is Romero, who could very well be the most prominent
saint of the pontificate. But, why?
After
considering all the reasons, the only answer that makes sense is that Romero is
not mentioned in the document because Romero is the interpretive key to reading it.
This is similar to how Jesus is the interpretive key to reading the Jewish
scriptures: “You search the scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my
behalf. But you do not want to come to
me to have life.” [John 5, 39-40.]
Jesus is not in the Old Testament texts because He unlocks them; like a
companion piece that helps to understand another document, like a decrypting
device that comes separate from the message to be deciphered, like a password
that does not appear in the material to which it gives access. Romero does not
appear in «Gaudete et Exsultate», but
we cannot understand the document in the same way without him: If we imagine
ourselves in some point in time in the future, after Romero’s canonization, we would
not be able to talk about his holiness and this exhortation on holiness,
without relating the two, especially because they happened in the same year.
The exhortation itself highlights the link between itself and the canonization process when
it states: “The processes of
beatification and canonization recognize the signs of heroic virtue, the
sacrifice of one’s life in martyrdom, and certain cases where a life is
constantly offered for others, even until death.” [G.E., 5.] This year,
although several canonization onizations are in process, two have captured the
imagination of the faithful—Romero and Paul VI. In the case of Pope Montini,
his prominence was to be expected, owing to his having been universal pastor, known
and beloved the world over. For the same reason, it is natural he is cited—four
times—in the document.
The exhortation also gives great emphasis to the themes of martyrdom and persecution, relevant to Romero. In fact, the
very title of the document is derived from the words of Jesus Christ to victims
of persecution: “'Rejoice and be glad,' ["Gaudete et Exsultate"] Jesus
tells those persecuted or humiliated for his sake.” [G.E., 1; Mt 5:12.]
Archbishop
Romero rejoiced and was glad in the face of persecution. “Blessed
is Alfonso Navarro!” Romero exclaimed at a mass for the anniversary’s of the
murder of one of his priests, “Blessed is
Father Grande! Blessed are those who
have been persecuted and died for the Kingdom of God! Blessed too are those who have been massacred
in hatred of the faith, for they have been made blessed by criminal and bloody
hands! God has given them the most
precious pearl that could be given to our commuynity! With respect, admiration,
and gratitude, with the love of a brother I take up the life and the example of
Father Alfonso this morning and I tell him:
this pearl is the glory of our community, the beautiful crown of our
Diocese. This pearl is the light that invites us to give witness to holiness,
truth, and unity.” [May 11, 1978 Homily.]
In his exhortation, Francis quotes John Paul, who spoke of martyrdom as “a heritage which speaks more powerfully than
all the causes of division” among Christians. [G.E., 9.] The quoted remarks were from a commemoration presided
over by the Polish Pope which honored the Salvadoran martyr (among others).
But «Gaudete et Exsultate» does not limit
itself to discussing the shedding of blood for the faith—Francis wants us to understand
that there may be less drastic situations that impact all of us. “Persecutions are not a reality of the past,
for today too we experience them, whether by the shedding of blood, as is the
case with so many contemporary martyrs, or by more subtle means, by slander and
lies,” he writes. [G.E., 94.] One
cannot read that phrase without having in mind that Francis said that
Archbishop Romero was subjected to both forms. “Archbishop Romero’s martyrdom did not occur precisely at the moment of
his death,” he told
a delegation of Salvadoran pilgrims in 2015; “it was a martyrdom of witness, of previous suffering, of previous
persecution, until his death. But also afterwards because, after he died ... he was defamed, slandered, soiled,
that is, his martyrdom continued even by his brothers in the priesthood and in
the episcopate.”
Just as we can
be victimized by such “slander and lies,”
it is important not to fall into the sin of making accusations that respond to “ideologies striking at the heart of the
Gospel,” warns the Pontiff. “The
other harmful ideological error is found in those who find suspect the social
engagement of others, seeing it as superficial, worldly, secular, materialist,
communist or populist,” he writes. [G.E.,
101.] Previously, the Pope had issued a similar warning: “when someone
denounces various mundane ways, he is regarded with a strange look”. On
that occasion, he remarked, “I recall in
my own country many, many men and women, fine consecrated people, not
ideologues, but who would say: ... ‘he’s a communist, throw him out!’. And they
would cast them out; they would persecute them. Just think of Blessed Romero”.
Romero had to
defend himself against such accusations, insisting that, “even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and
communists and all the other epithets they put on us, we know that we only
preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes which have turned everything
upside down — the Beatitudes proclaim that the poor are blessed and those who
thirst for justice are blessed and those who suffer are blessed.” [Hom. May
11 1978.]
Francis points to
these same Beatitudes as keys to holiness in his exhortation. It is necessary,
says the Pope, to hunger and thirst for justice: “Your identification with Christ and his will involves a commitment to
build with him that kingdom of love, justice and universal peace.” [G.E., 25.] In the decree
of beatification, Francis describes Romero precisely in those terms: “Heroic witness of the Kingdom of God—Kingdom
of justice, brotherhood and peace.” Additionally, Francis urges that hunger
and thirst for justice correspond to the “preferential option” of the Church: “Seek justice, correct oppression; defend the
fatherless, plead for the widow.” [G.E.,
79; Is 1,17.]
Francis also
calls us to a holiness that embraces poverty and rejects materiality, since “Wealth ensures nothing. Indeed, once we
think we are rich, we can become so self-satisfied that we leave no room for
God’s word[.]” [G.E., 68.] Here’s Romero: “Thus Jesus says with great emotion: Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom
of God is yours. You are the ones most
able to understand what is not understood by those who are on their knees
before and trust in false idols. You who
do not have those idols, you who do not put your trust in them because you have
no money or power, you who are destitute of everything, know that the poorer
you are, the more you possess God’s kingdom[.]” [February 17, 1980 Homily.]
The Finally,
Francis reaches a conclusion that could be the Romeroesque synthesis of «Gaudete et Exsultate», when he states: “We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that
would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live
only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living
their entire lives in abject poverty.” [G.E.,
101.] Romero sums it up even more succinctly: “it is not God’s will for some to have everything and others to have
nothing.” [September 10, 1978 Homily].
There are many
other parallels between «Gaudete et
Exsultate» and Archbishop Romero. For the moment, it is enough to point to
one final example. In his call to holiness, Pope Francis tells us that we all
have the opportunity to be saints:
Are
you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ
does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with
integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a
parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to
follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the
common good and renouncing personal gain.
How
beautiful will be the day when all the baptized understand that their work and
their job is priestly work. Just as I
celebrate Mass at this altar, so each carpenter celebrates Mass at his
workbench, and each metalworker, each professional, each doctor with the
scalpel, the market woman at her stand —
each one of these people is performing a priestly office! How many cabdrivers, (and I know they are
listening to this message in their cabs) —
you are a priest at the wheel, my friend, if you work with honesty,
consecrating that taxi of yours to God and bearing a message of peace and love
to the passengers who ride in your cab.
[November 20,
1977 Homily.]
«Gaudete et Exsultate» is the word of
encouragement that Christ left to the persecuted like Archbishop Romero, and
the exhortation of the same name enshrines the call to holiness that Romero
lived out. Francis does not omit Romero to avoid controversy, because several
controversial passages of the exhortation show he is not afraid of disagreements.
Nor does he refrain to protect Romero: the record is replete with multiple instances
in which Francis has referred to Romero to illustrate these very points.
Finally, it was not an oversight, because the citations in the text are
extensive, including examples as varied as María Gabriela Sagheddu, Charles de
Foucauld, Paul Miki, Andrew Kim Taegon, Francis Xavier Nguyên van Thuân and the
Latin American martyrs Roque Gonzalez and Alfonso Rodriguez.
Instead, the
silence on Romero seems more like a purposeful evasion that calls our attention
to the excluded subject.
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