Romero Obispo, ayer y hoy

BEATIFICACIÓN DE MONSEÑOR ROMERO, 23 DE MAYO DEL 2015
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Collage de la ordenación episcopal de Romero y el Liceo Salvadoreño hoy.

 

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Este fin de semana marca el 45 º aniversario de la ordenación episcopal del Beato Òscar Romero.  El domingo 21 de junio de 1970 inició lo que hoy tendríamos que reconocer como un episcopado transformacional—uno que redefinió lo que es ser obispo.  Esa fue la opinión de un congreso de la Universidad de Notre Dame, incluyendo el Cardenal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, que se refirió a Romero como “un obispo para el tercer milenio”.  Y el obispo brasileño Pedro Casaldáliga declaró que “La historia de la Iglesia en América Latina se divide en dos partes: antes y después de Mons. Romero”.  Esto se dijo antes aún de su beatificación.

Si todo esto parece exagerado, tomemos en cuenta:

·         El hecho de que Romero, en sus tres años de arzobispo, abordó el tema candente en la innovadora encíclica «Laudato Si'»—como ya constatado en una nota anterior—el vínculo entre el daño ambiental y su impacto en la vida de los pobres.

·         El Cardenal Peter Turkson, que llevó la redacción de «Laudato Si'», después de presentar en el foro Romero de Notre Dame, declaró que “acercándome a Mons. Romero, me siento animado como Presidente del Pontificio Consejo Justicia y Paz y como cercano colaborador del Santo Padre.  Él me ha dado mucho que llevar de regreso conmigo a Roma”.

·         Romero es el obispo conjurado, sin tener que ser nombrado, en la mente del episcopado latinoamericano en el documento de Aparecida cuando resume las características del obispo modelo—así dice el Cardenal José Luis Lacunza.

Ese épico episcopado comenzó con una ceremonia de investidura en el gimnasio del Liceo Salvadoreño, un colegio católico.  La ordenación estuvo organizada, como ya es conocido, por el p. Rutilio Grande, SJ.  Romero y Grande, dos amigos, vivían en el Seminario San José de la Montaña, donde el P. Rutilio era un maestro con posibilidades de futuro rector.  Romero escogió esa fecha por su devoción a la Virgen de la Paz, cuya fiesta se celebra el 21 de noviembre (Romero la conmemoraba mensualmente).  La ordenación estuvo llena de gente; de San Miguel venían en buses.  Dignitarios de la Iglesia y del gobierno estuvieron presentes, incluyendo el Presidente de la República.  Era algo grande, pero nadie pudo haber sospechado que era el principio de un episcopado para todas las edades.

Collage de la ordenación episcopal de Romero y el Liceo Salvadoreño hoy.

Revisando el episcopado Romero, debemos reconocer que se trató de una historia de superación, no de un triunfo repentino.  No solo no llegó el éxito de la noche a la mañana, sino también llegó primero el fracaso y la decepción.  No obstante la gran esperanza y mucha buena fe de Romero al emprender su episcopado, el nuevo obispo estaba lleno de dudas.  Dudaba su propia habilidad, y los mismos que lo escogieron lo habían elegido por razones de eficiencia y burocracia más que todo.  Sus responsabilidades administrativas agudizaban la exclusión de Romero del resto del clero, y su inclinación natural a ser solitario e independiente, como sus tendencias tradicionalistas, lo mantuvieron al margen de la vida diocesana.  Esos años estuvieron marcados por desilusiones y traspiés, incluyendo su papel en el fracasado intento de tomar la gestión del seminario mayor en nombre de la conferencia episcopal.  Falta de presupuesto y problemas operativos complicaron el proyecto y tuvo que ser abandonado.

El verdadero cambio en la vida episcopal de Romero ocurre casi exactamente en la mitad del camino, cuando el 21 de junio de 1975—exactamente cinco años desde el día de su investimento como obispo—el ejército salvadoreño cometió una masacre campesina en un poblado llamado “Las Tres Calles”, bajo la jurisdicción episcopal que Romero ocupaba en ese entonces.  Ese es el otro aniversario que observamos este fin de semana.  Cuando Romero fue nombrado al cargo en Santiago de María un año atrás, Mons. Luis Chávez y González, entonces Arzobispo de San Salvador, trató de tranquilizar a un clérigo de la zona, diciéndole: “Esté seguro, el obispo que van a tener es un pastor.”  Mientras que su sacerdocio había prosperado a base de sus habilidades administrativas, el obispo Romero sobresalió siendo un pastor. 

Ante la atrocidad de Las Tres Calles, Romero escribió una carta al Presidente de la República, denunciando la matanza y pidiendo justicia.  Hablando “en nombre también de los pobres sin voz”, el obispo deja constancia de sus sentimientos de empatía total con las víctimas ante tales hechos: “se me partió el alma al oír el amargo llanto de madres viudas y niños huérfanos que, entre inconsolables sollozos, me narraban, sin explicaciones estudiadas, el cruel atropello y lamentaban la orfandad en que se les había dejado”.

En octubre del mismo año, Romero firmó una declaración conjunta con otros dos obispos denunciando “la desaparición de estudiantes, de campesinos, de obreros y líderes de zonas marginadas”, como también actos de violencia insurreccional.  Pidiendo resolver el problema de raíz, Romero y dos de sus hermanos obispos exhortaban: “Ante la ambición del poder y del dinero, cultivemos el sentido de servicio y de solidaridad, para sentir con el necesitado y ayudarle eficazmente a su plena realización en una sociedad de paz, ordenada en la justicia”.

El lema episcopal de Romero hecho obispo en 1970 «Sentir con la Iglesia» se convertía en «Sentir con el necesitado» en 1975, cuando Romero cruzaba la mitad de la década de su episcopado, dos años antes de ser nombrado arzobispo.  El mismo Romero había explicado su maduración pastoral diciendo: “En Santiago de María me topé con la miseria”.

Lo demás ya es historia.  En 1977, Romero es nombrado Arzobispo de San Salvador.  Según la biografía leída por Mons. Paglia durante la ceremonia de beatificación:

Los últimos tres años de la vida de Romero que pasó como Arzobispo de San Salvador son el tesoro más precioso que nos dejó.  Fueron el culmen de su vida que lo asemejaron todavía más a Jesús en sus tres años de vida pública.

En su homilía para la beatificación, el Cardenal Ángelo Amato, prefecto de la Congregación para las Causas de los Santos, lo llamó “un obispo sabio” y el Papa Francisco dijo en su carta a la Iglesia Salvadoreña que Romero fue “un Obispo celoso que ... se convirtió en imagen de Cristo Buen Pastor”.  Este endoso oficializado, y el mismo hecho de su beatificación, vuelven el éxito de Romero en el obispado realmente abrumador.  “Quisiera distinguirme”—escribía el p. Romero en vísperas de su ordenación episcopal—“por ser el obispo del Corazón de Jesús”.  Cuarenta y cinco años más tarde, tenemos la Carta Apostólica para su beatificación que lo califica de “pastor según el corazón de Cristo”.  Bien podríamos decir: ¡misión cumplida!

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The “Laudato Sí” of Blessed Romero

BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO, MAY 23, 2015
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In his recent letter congratulating El Salvador for the beatification of its martyred Archbishop Mons. Oscar A. Romero, Pope Francis referred to the natural beauty of El Salvador, which he described as “this beautiful Central American country, bathed by the Pacific Ocean.” The appearance of a solar halo at the ceremony seemed to accentuate the natural beauty of a beatification which took a volcano for its backdrop. In the theology of creation, the covenant between God and Noah after the flood was represented by a halo or rainbow. “The covenant of the rainbow,” preached Blessed Romero on March 11, 1979, “is a covenant in which God gives humanity all of that which has now, as a result of the flood, purified of sin. Therefore, this covenant demands that people respect nature.”

To his social denunciation, Blessed Romero added an environmental note: “the air and water are being polluted, as is everything we touch and live with. We go on corrupting the nature that we need. We do not realize that we have a commitment to God to take care of nature.” Archbishop Romero fleshed out his ecological warnings with detailed admonitions: “To cut down a tree, to waste water when there is such a great lack of it, to let buses poison our atmosphere with those noxious fumes from their exhausts, to burn garbage haphazardly—all of this concerns our covenant with God.”

Blessed Romero, like St. Francis of Assisi and the pope who has taken his name, also raised a song of praise to God for the wonders of creation in the small tropical paradise of his homeland: “What beautiful coffee groves, what fine wheat, sugar cane and cotton fields, what farms, what lands God has given us! Nature is so beautiful!,” Romero exclaimed in his homily on December 11, 1977.

And he said on December 25 of that year that “in the beauty of things, in their order, their greatness, the beauty of all creation, we feel God’s footprint, his word, his echo.” The grandeur of nature is the humility of humanity when it points out our place before the greatness of God:

When one looks at creation, when one sees the maintenance of nature—so balanced and wonderful—and even when one feels the shaking of earthquakes or the flames of conflagrations or the power of hurricanes—creation’s beauty and the majesty of the phenomena that humans can only admire but not control, like the very storm that Peter experienced on the Lake of Gennesaret: how tiny human beings appear before these manifestations of God’s creation, of the Creator’s omnipotence. They are witnesses of God—lasting witnesses. Whenever we open our eyes or our ears to catch the murmuring of creation, there God is speaking to us.

(Homily, August 13, 1978.) However, Romero does not dwell in an inconsequential state of awe. He immediately recognizes that the beauty of nature is mortgaged as it were by the reality of social sin. For example, in the aforementioned homily of December 11, 1977 he goes on to say, after praising creation “But we see it groan under oppression, under wickedness, under injustice, under abuse, and the Church experiences its pain. Nature looks for a liberation that will not be mere material well-being but God’s act of power. God will free nature from sinful human hands, and along with the redeemed it will sing a hymn of joy to God the Liberator.”

Recognizing the shadows that obscure an earthly paradise, Romero does not let his chant become a funeral march, full of dread, but a hymn of hope, preferring to sing to the land illuminated by the Word of God: “It seems to me that never before has the nation been more beautiful than today when she is bathed in the light of the sun of the Transfigured One—for as a result of the Transfiguration the face of Christ becomes like the sun,” he preached the August 6, 1978, on the Patronal Feast of the Transfiguration. “The sin of humanity submitted nature to slavery, selfishness and passions but in Christ we find the hope of restoration. Indeed, the … hope of our restoration enables us to see as never before the marvels of our volcanoes, lakes, rivers, plains and seas,” he added, because “in Christ all men and women, to whom inanimate nature is intimately bound and united, desire and await salvation.”

Thirty years before Pope Benedict XVI denounced ecological inequality and the existence of “environmental refugees” in his messages for the XL and XLIII World Days of Peace, Blessed Romero criticized the precarious conditions in which the poor must live, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to environmental calamities, sometimes citing statistics relating to access to water and energy. After storms left numerous victims in El Salvador, Archbishop Romero railed in his homily of September 9, 1979: “Brothers and sisters, all these people are victims not only of the weather but also sadly of the situation which reflects our poor way of living.” Citing descriptions of the miserable housing conditions, Blessed Romero charged that “A house like this is not worthy of the name of a house. Yet this is how thousands upon thousands live.” He charged that the situation of violated the policy of non-exclusion dictated by the gospel.

At other times, Blessed Romero admonished against the lack of justice in the distribution of land and the need for land reform. He proclaimed that “the land is closely tied to God’s blessings and promises” and warned in his homily on March 16, 1980 that “There will be no true reconciliation between our people and God as long as there is no just distribution, as long as the goods of the earth in El Salvador do not benefit and bring happiness to all Salvadorans.” At other times, as on June 4, 1978, he advocated for access to water for the poor: “We see in many places of San Salvador, not only in the areas of our campesinos, that people spend much time and exert great effort in looking for water and carrying this precious liquid to their homes in jars and barrels.”

As he did with respect to his other denunciations, Blessed Romero highlighted the theological sources for his environmental preaching. Speaking of water, he observed on February 26, 1978 that “The water that our thirsty mouths drink with such longing has a unique language,” and he pointed to our “desire to find that water that springs forth into eternal life”. Just as environmental commitments lead us to deepen our fidelity to God, so our relationship with God demands we care for creation. On March 11, 1979, Blessed Romero appealed: “My dear sisters and brothers in El Salvador, let us not continue to kill and make worse the things of created nature but let us give a religious meaning to our relationship with the cosmos. Our commitment to God demands our collaboration.”

“Gazing upon the beauty of nature and the splendor of the Salvadoran landscape,” said Cardinal Amato during the beatification homily, “Romero used to say that the heaven started here on Earth.”  The “Laudato Sí” of Blessed Romero included praise for the wonders of creation as evidence of the greatness of God the Creator, of our obligation to be stewards of the earth, and as a vision of shining hope for our salvation.

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El “Laudato Sí” del Beato Romero

BEATIFICACIÓN DE MONSEÑOR ROMERO, 23 DE MAYO DEL 2015
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En su reciente carta felicitando a El Salvador por la beatificación de su arzobispo mártir Mons. Óscar A. Romero, el Papa Francisco se refirió a la belleza natural salvadoreña, describiéndolo como “ese hermoso país centroamericano, bañado por el Océano Pacífico”.  La apariencia de un halo solar durante la ceremonia parecía colmar la belleza natural de la beatificación que tuvo un volcán como trasfondo.  En la teología de la creación, el arco iris representa la alianza entre Dios y Noé después del diluvio.  “Esa alianza del arco-iris”, predicaba el Beato Romero el 11 de marzo de 1979, “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”.

A sus denuncias sociales, el Beato Romero agregó también una denuncia ambiental: “está contaminado el aire, las aguas; 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”.  Mons. Romero explicitó advertencias ecológicas: “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”.

El Beato Romero, igual que San Francisco de Asís y el papa que ha tomado su nombre, también elevó un cántico de alabanza a Dios por las maravillas de la creación, en el pequeño paraíso tropical de su patria: “¡Qué hermosos cafetales, qué bellos cañales, qué lindas algodoneras, qué fincas, qué tierras, las que Dios nos ha dado!,” clamaba Romero en su homilía del 11 de diciembre de 1977.

Y decía ese 25 de diciembre que “en la belleza de las cosas, en el orden, en la grandeza, en la hermosura de todo lo creado, sentimos una huella de Dios, una palabra, un eco de Dios”.  La magnitud de la naturaleza es humildad del hombre que le señala su lugar y la grandeza de Dios:

Quien mira la creación, quien ve la conservación tan equilibrada y tan maravillosa de la naturaleza; y aun aquél que siente el estremecimiento de los terremotos; y siente las llamaradas de los incendios; las fuerzas de los huracanes; la belleza de la creación y la sublimidad de los fenómenos que el hombre sólo puede admirar, pero no puede frenar. La tempestad misma que Pedro sintió en el Lago de Genezareth. Qué chiquito se siente el hombre ante éstas manifestaciones de la omnipotencia del Creador en su creación. Son testimonio de sí mismo. Testimonio perenne, donde quiera que abramos los ojos o los oídos o captemos el susurro de la creación, Dios nos está hablando.

(Homilía del 13 de agosto de 1978.)  Sin embargo, Romero no se queda en una admiración superficial, sin consecuencias.  Inmediatamente reconoce que la hermosura de esa naturaleza está como hipotecada por la situación de pecado social.  Por ejemplo, en su homilía antes citada del 11 de diciembre de 1977 pasa a decir, después de su elogio de la creación que “cuando la vemos gemir bajo la opresión, bajo la iniquidad, bajo la injusticia, bajo el atropello, entonces, duele a la Iglesia y espera una liberación que no sea sólo el bienestar material, sino que sea el poder de un Dios que librará de las manos pecadoras de los hombres una naturaleza que junto con los hombres redimidos va a cantar la felicidad en el Dios liberador”.

Al reconocer las sombras que opacan un paraíso terrenal, Romero no deja que su cántico se vuelva una marcha fúnebre, llena de pavor, sino un himno de esperanza, prefiriendo cantarle a su tierra iluminada por la palabra de Dios: “me parece que nunca la patria es tan bella como bajo la luz de este sol del transfigurado, en el rostro de Cristo convertido en sol”, predicó el 6 de agosto de 1978, en el marco de la Fiesta Patronal de la Transfiguración.  “Cuando el pecado de los hombres sometió la naturaleza a la esclavitud, al egoísmo, a las pasiones, en Cristo encontramos la esperanza de la restauración, la belleza primigenio y la esperanza de su restitución lo que nos hace ver la maravilla de nuestros volcanes, de nuestros lagos, ríos, llanuras y mares embellecidos como nunca”—agregó—“porque si es cierto que gimen bajo el peso del pecado y del egoísmo, en Cristo anhelan y esperan la salvación de todos los hombres a los cuales la misma naturaleza inanimada, está íntimamente unida”.

Treinta años antes de que el Papa Benedicto XVI reclamara por la desigualdad ecológica y los “prófugos ambientales” en sus mensaje por las XL y XLIII Jornadas Mundiales de la Paz, el Beato Romero arremetió contra las condiciones precarias en que se situaban los pobres, que los dejaban particularmente expuestos a las calamidades ambientales, a veces citando estadísticas del acceso al agua y a la energía.  Tras tormentas que dejaron numerosos damnificados en El Salvador, Mons. Romero sentenció en su homilía del 9 de septiembre de 1979: “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”.  Citando descripciones de las condiciones miserables de las viviendas, el Beato Romero denunció que “una vivienda como esa no merece el nombre de vivienda. Así viven miles y miles”.  Aseveró que esa situación violentaba la no-exclusión dictaminada por el evangelio.

En otras ocasiones, el Beato Romero amonestó por la falta de justicia en la repartición de la tierra y por la necesidad de tener una reforma agraria.  Declaró que “la tierra está muy ligada a las bendiciones y promesas de Dios” y advirtió en su homilía del 16 de marzo de 1980 que “No habrá verdadera reconciliación de nuestro pueblo con Dios mientras no haya un justo reparto, mientras los bienes de la tierra de El Salvador no lleguen a beneficiar y hacer felices a todos los salvadoreños”.  En otras ocasiones, como el 4 de junio de 1978, reclamó por la necesidad de acceso al agua de la gente: “al dolor no solamente en las colonias de San Salvador, sino también en las zonas campesinas, ver cuánto tiempo y energías pierden nuestros campesinos, y aun en poblados pequeñitos, yendo a buscar en barriles o en cántaros el precioso líquido”.

Como todos sus reclamos, el Beato Romero supo señalar las fuentes teológicas de sus peticiones.  Al hablar del agua, recordaba que “el agua tiene un lenguaje único, el agua que nuestras bocas sedientas toman con avidez”, decía el 26 de febrero de 1978, pero señalando el “ansia de encontrar el agua que salta hasta la vida eterna”.  Y así como los compromisos ambientales nos llevan a profundizar el compromiso con Dios, nuestra relación con Dios conlleva exigencias de cuidado a la creación.  El 11 de marzo de 1979, el Beato Romero interpeló: “Cuidemos, queridos hermanos salvadoreños, por un sentido de religiosidad también, que no se siga empobreciendo y muriendo nuestra naturaleza. Es compromiso de Dios que pide al hombre la colaboración”.

“Contemplando la belleza de la naturaleza y del esplendor del pasaje salvadoreño”, dijo el cardenal Amato en la homilía de la beatificación, “Romero solía decir que el cielo debe iniciar aquí en la tierra”.  El “Laudato Sí” del Beato Romero incluyó una alabanza a las maravillas de la creación como evidencia de la grandeza de Dios el Creador, como una exigencia a nuestra responsabilidad siendo custodios de la tierra, y como un resplandecer de esperanza para nuestra salvación.

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Il “Laudato Sì” del Beato Romero

BEATIFICAZIONE DI MONSIGNOR ROMERO, 23 MAGGIO 2015
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Nella sua recente lettera congratulando El Salvador per la beatificazione del suo arcivescovo martire Mons. Oscar A. Romero, Papa Francesco ha parlato della bellezza naturale di El Salvador, che ha descritto come “questo bel paese centroamericano, bagnato dall’Oceano Pacifico.” La comparsa di un alone solare alla cerimonia sembrava accentuare la bellezza naturale di una beatificazione che ha preso un vulcano per il suo sfondo. Nella teologia della creazione, l’alleanza tra Dio e Noè dopo il diluvio è stato rappresentato da un alone o arcobaleno. “Il patto dell’arcobaleno,” predicò il Beato Romero 11 marzo 1979, “è un patto in cui Dio dona all’umanità tutto che ora, a causa del diluvio, viene purificato dal peccato. Pertanto, questo patto richiede la gente a rispettare la natura”.

Tra la sua denuncia sociale, il Beato Romero ha incluso una denuncia ambientale: “sono contaminati l’aria, l’acque, tutto cio che tochiamo e l’ambiente in cui viviamo.” Monsignor Romero concretizzati i suoi avvertimenti ecologici con ammonimenti dettagliate: “Abbattere un albero, sprecare l’acqua, quando è così scarsa, non stare attenti ai tubi di scappamento degli autobus, avvelenando il nostro ambiente con quei fumi mefitici, non badare a dove si bruciano le immondizie: tutto ciò è parte dell’alleanza con Dio.”

Il Beato Romero, come San Francesco d’Assisi e il papa che ha preso il suo nome, ha sollevato anche un canto di lode a Dio per le meraviglie del creato nel piccolo paradiso tropicale della sua patria: “Che bei boschi di caffè, campi di canna da zucchero e di cotone tanto belle, che belle coltiva, e terre che Dio ci ha dato! La natura è così bella!,” Romero esclamò nella sua omelia l’11 dicembre 1977.

E ha detto il 25 dicembre di quell’anno che “nella bellezza delle cose, nel loro ordine, la loro grandezza, la bellezza di tutta la creazione, ci sentiamo l’impronta di Dio, la sua parola, la sua eco.” La grandezza della natura è l’umiltà di l’umanità quando sottolinea il nostro posto davanti a Dio:

Quando si guarda al momento della creazione, quando si vede il mantenimento della natura, in modo equilibrato e meraviglioso, e anche quando si sente lo scuotimento di terremoti o le fiamme di incendi o il potere della bellezza di uragani, la creazione e la maestosità dei fenomeni che l’uomo può solo ammirare ma non può controllare, come la tempesta che Pietro ha sperimentato sul lago di Genesaret: quanto piccoli gli esseri umani appaiono davanti queste manifestazioni della creazione di Dio, e della onnipotenza del Creatore. Sono testimoni durevoli di Dio. Ogni volta che apriamo gli occhi e le orecchie per catturare il mormorio della creazione, Dio ci parla lì.

(Omelia, 13 agosto 1978) Tuttavia, Romero non indugia in uno stato di soggezione irrilevante. Egli riconosce subito che la bellezza della natura è ipotecata per così dire dalla realtà del peccato sociale. Ad esempio, nella già citata omelia del 11 dicembre 1977 ci dice, dopo aver lodato la creazione: “Ma la vediamo gemere sotto l’oppressione, sotto la malvagità, sotto l’ingiustizia, sotto gli abusi, e la Chiesa sperimenta la sua sofferenza. La natura cerca una liberazione che non sarà semplice benessere materiale ma un atto della potenza di Dio. Dio libererà la natura dalle mani umane peccatori, e insieme con i redenti la natura canterà un inno di gioia a Dio liberatore.”

Riconoscendo le ombre che oscurano un paradiso terrestre, Romero non lascia che la sua cantilena divente una marcia funebre, piena di terrore, ma un inno di speranza, preferendo cantare alla terra illuminata dalla Parola di Dio: “Mi sembra che mai prima è stato più bello di oggi la nazione quando è immersa nella luce del sole del trasfigurato—già che a seguito della Trasfigurazione il volto di Cristo diventa come il sole”, ha predicato il 6 agosto, 1978, nella festa patronale della Trasfigurazione. “Il peccato dell’uomo ha preso la natura alla schiavitù, l’egoismo e le passioni, ma in Cristo, troviamo la speranza di restauro. In effetti, la ... speranza della nostra ristorazione ci permette di vedere come mai prima le meraviglie dei nostri vulcani, laghi, fiumi, pianure e mari”, ha aggiunto, perché “tutti gli uomini e le donne, a cui la natura inanimata è intimamente legata e unita, desiderano e attendono la salvezza in Cristo.”

Trent’anni prima che Papa Benedetto XVI ha denunciato le disuguaglianze ecologiche e l’esistenza di “profughi ambientali” nei suoi messaggi per i XL e XLIII Giornata Mondiale della Pace di, il Beato Romero rimproverò le condizioni precarie della vita dei poveri, che li lascia particolarmente vulnerabili alle calamità ambientali , talvolta citando statistiche relative all’accesso all’acqua e all’energia. Dopo che tempeste hanno lasciato numerose vittime in El Salvador, monsignor Romero inveì nella sua omelia del 9 settembre 1979: “Fratelli e sorelle, tutte queste persone sono vittime non solo del maltempo, ma anche purtroppo la situazione che riflette il nostro povero modo di vivere.” Citando la descrizione delle condizioni abitative misere, il Beato Romero protestò che “Una casa come questa non è degna del nome di una casa. Ma questo è il modo in che migliaia e migliaia di persone vivono.” Ha accusato che la situazione ha violato la legge di non esclusione dettata dal vangelo.

Altre volte, il Beato Romero ha ammonito contro la mancanza di giustizia nella distribuzione della terra e la necessità di una riforma agraria. Ha annunciato che “la terra è strettamente legata alle benedizioni e promesse di Dio” e ha avvertito nella sua omelia del 16 marzo 1980 che “Non ci sarà una vera riconciliazione tra i nostri popoli e Dio fino a quando non vi è la distribuzione giusta, mentre i beni della terra di El Salvador non costituiscono prestazioni per portare la felicità a tutti i salvadoregni”. Altre volte, come il 4 giugno 1978, ha premuto per l’accesso all’acqua per i poveri: “Noi vediamo in molti luoghi di San Salvador, non solo nelle aree del nostro campesinos, che le persone trascorrono molto tempo ed esercitano grande sforzo nella ricerca del’acqua e per portare questo prezioso liquido nelle loro case in vasi e barili.”

Come ha fatto rispetto ad altre sue denunce, il Beato Romero ha evidenziato le fonti teologiche della sua predicazione ambientale. Parlando di acqua, ha osservato il 26 febbraio 1978 che “L’acqua che le nostre bocche desiderano bere con tanta sete ha un linguaggio unico,” e indicò il nostro “desiderio di scoprire quel acqua che zampilla per la vita eterna”. Proprio come gli impegni ambientali ci portano ad approfondire la nostra fedeltà a Dio, così il nostro rapporto con Dio esige prenderci cura del creato. Il 11 marzo 1979, il Beato Romero chiedeva: “Cari fratelli e sorelle in El Salvador, cerchiamo di non continuare a uccidere e peggiorare le cose della natura creata, ma cerchiamo di dare un significato religioso per il nostro rapporto con il cosmo. Il nostro impegno per Dio esige la nostra collaborazione”.

“Contemplando la bellezza della natura e lo splendore del paesaggio salvadoregno”, disse Cardinale Amato nella omelia per la beatificazione, “l'arcivescovo soleva dire che il cielo deve iniziare qui sulla terra”.  Il “Laudato Sì” del Beato Romero ha incluso lode per le meraviglie del creato come prova della grandezza di Dio creatore, e del nostro obbligo di essere custodi della terra, e anche come una visione di speranza risplendente per la nostra salvezza.

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'Who do they say I am?': the Romero decree

BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO, MAY 23, 2015
Compendium of texts and documents in English	Compendio de textos e información en español	Conpemdium di testi ed informazione in italiano

 

Cardinal Amato holds up the beatification decree.

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By Duane WH Arnold, PhD (“The Project”) 

In the midst of an extraordinary series of events surrounding the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero one singular moment—in fact, the singular moment of the ceremony—took place with relatively little comment as to its significance: that is, the reading of the actual Apostolic Letter for the Beatification. Much has been said of the solar halo which appeared above the heads of those gathered for the celebration at the moment of the reading of the decree, but little has been said of the words of the decree itself.  

Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez, Bishop and Martyr,

Shepherd after the heart of Christ,

Evangelizer and father of the poor,

Heroic witness of the Kingdom of God,

Kingdom of justice, brotherhood and peace,
Henceforth shall be called Blessed ... [FULL TEXT] 

While a friend was listening to the Italian television broadcast of the ceremony [YOUTUBE VIDEO], he heard one commentator note that the language of the decree was very “poetic.”  Thinking of this, I began to wonder, was this from the hand of Pope Francis himself, or was it the work of Monsignor Paolo Luca Braida, who coordinates many of the Pope’s written statements? In all likelihood, we will never know for certain and perhaps it is of no consequence.  I then remembered, however, that the long-time Romero advocate in El Salvador, Jon Sobrino, SJ, director of the Romero Center on the campus of UCA, San Salvador, once wrote that the key to Romero’s beatification would be found in how the beatification was described in the Apostolic Letter. This caused me to look again at the document that is, indeed, the central fixture of Archbishop Romero’s beatification. 

Now, let us be clear, an Apostolic Letter for Beatification does not rise to the level of an infallible decree. It is, rather, an act by which the Sovereign Pontiff grants permission to render public honor to the one who is beatified in certain parts of the Church until canonization, at which point, if attained, the giving of such honor becomes a precept for the whole Church. Nonetheless, the Apostolic Letter for Beatification carries within itself the phrase, “by virtue of our apostolic authority”. Furthermore, the one being beatified is described in the name of the reigning pontiff and the document carries the seal of the Fisherman’s Ring. Moreover, each Letter for Beatification is subtly different, carrying with it a description of not only the person, but, perhaps more importantly, the attitude of the Pope in regard to that person and to their identity. 

In the case of Romero, the question of identity has always been central and, at times, problematic. Some might even say that the question of identity was, literally, the main impediment to his beatification. Who was Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez? Was he the voice of the “left” in the years preceding the civil war in El Salvador?  Was he a “new voice” of liberation theology? Perhaps, he was merely a Church functionary, caught up in a cycle of events beyond his control.  We find echoes of the question of Christ, “Who do men say that I am?”  (Mark 8:29.)  It is my contention that the Apostolic Letter for the Beatification of Romero settles the question of identity with regard to Romero once and for all time and, perhaps even more importantly, tells us something of Pope Francis’ vision for the Church in the twenty-first century.   

In the letter cited above we find what we might call the “prologue”—it indicates the “local” nature of the cultus, the request of Archbishop Alas of San Salvador and the attendant assurance that the Congregation for Saints has been consulted in the process—30 years compressed into a few short sentences. Romero’s name is then given in full, followed by two titles, ones familiar to those who follow saints’ days in the Church calendar. The titles are those of “Bishop and Martyr”.  Here, the first issue of identity in regard to Romero is set to rest, once and for all. Firstly, he is a Bishop, that is, he is a man of the Church. He is not a revolutionary or a politician; he is not a leader of the “left” or the “right” or the “center”; he is a Bishop, a pastor of the people of God.  Secondly, he is a Martyr. That is, he did not die representing a political cause, but in odium fidei. It is explicit.  Oscar Romero died out of hatred for the faith and as one who represented and embodied that faith in its fullness. As such, he is, in the words of St. John Paul II, “our martyr”. 

Amazingly, this identification as “our martyr” is strengthened and enlarged upon in the next lines of the text which provide Romero with unique and unexpected descriptive titles. He was a “Shepherd after the heart of Christ”, here referring to John 10:11 in which Christ says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep”.  In my opinion, this takes the issue of Romero’s martyrdom to yet another level, one in which he dies not only out of hatred for the faith, but in imitation of Christ himself, protecting those given to his charge—protecting them in denouncing the killing of priests, religious and lay people; protecting them in denouncing the repression by the military; protecting them in calling for justice and peace.  

This receives even greater emphasis in the next phase in which Romero is called “Evangelizer and father of the poor”.  Surely this refers to the proclamation of Christ in the synagogue in Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news (euangelion) to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed...” Again, an imitation of Christ and, we might note, a subtle nod to a classic text of liberation theology, but kept within the confines of Romero’s martyrdom as a “man of the Church”.  Moreover, it is an answer to those who might consider Romero a “political demagogue” owing to the themes of social justice in his pronouncements. The answer is simply this, Romero was following the example of Christ. 

Yet, if all of these descriptions and titles are meant to place Romero firmly within the context of the Church, the remaining portion of the letter seems to indicate both who Romero was, why he died, and, I believe, how Pope Francis views the very nature of that Church.  Romero is described in the words of the Apostolic Letter as an “Heroic witness of the Kingdom of God”—not a victim of the struggle between the “left” and the “right”, not as a quasi-political assassination—but as a witness (here the legal term testis is used) of a third way - that third way being, “the kingdom of God”, which is to be shown forth in the life of the Church. How is it to be shown forth? It is to be shown forth as a “Kingdom of justice, brotherhood and peace”.  

Mere poetic expressions? Perhaps... Yet then again, might we believe that this is the vision of Pope Francis for the Church?  A “Church which is poor and for the poor”. Or, again, “where there is no mercy, there is no justice”.  These are the words of Pope Francis, yet it seems, and indeed we might believe that this vision of the Church was exemplified by Bl. Oscar Romero of El Salvador in his life and in his death and that this has now been recognized in his beatification. 

 

Pope Francis and an image of Blessed Romero, June 7, 2015.

AFTERWORD

By Carlos X./Super Martyrio 

Duane’s closing question—whether the expressions found in the Apostolic Letter for Archbishop Romero’s beatification reflect the vision of Pope Francis for the Church—may be further illuminated by their placement in several recent Church texts of Pope Francis. 

Most observers agree that the most important pre-pontifical writing by Pope Francis was the Final Document produced by the Latin American Bishops at their decennial meeting in Aparecida, Brazil—Card. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was its principal drafter.   In the Aparecida Document, the Latin American bishops say: “As successors of the apostles ... we bishops have accepted with faith and hope the calling to serve the people of God, according to the heart of Christ, Good Shepherd.” Aparecida, 186.  The Aparecida Document goes on to say, “We cannot forget that the bishop is … witness of hope and father of the faithful, especially of the poor.”  Ibid, 189.  In the working paper that preceded the final document, the Latin American bishops had resolved, that “Mindful of his title as Father and Defender of the Poor, the Bishop has the duty to inspire charitable works towards the poor with his example and his works of mercy and justice, through individual acts as well as through an ample variety of programs of solidarity.”  Propositiones, 141. 

In his Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (2013), widely regarded as the blueprint for his papacy, Pope Francis highlights the role of the bishop as evangelizer: “The bishop must always foster missionary communion in his diocesan Church, following the ideal of the first Christian communities, in which the believers were of one heart and one soul (cf. Acts 4:32). To do so, he will sometimes go before his people, pointing the way and keeping their hope vibrant. At other times, he will simply be in their midst with his unassuming and merciful presence. At yet other times, he will have to walk after them, helping those who lag behind and – above all – allowing the flock to strike out on new paths.”  EG, 31. 

Another document that Card. Bergoglio helped to write behind the scenes is lesser known but probably even more relevant to the issue of a model bishop: Saint John Paul II’s Post-Synodal Exhortation Pastores Gregis (2003).  Card. Bergoglio not only helped to draft it but was the senior official present at the Vatican press conference introducing the document.  That document declares that, “Like holy Church herself, which is in the world the sacrament of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, the Bishop is the defender and the father of the poor, concerned for justice and human rights, and one who brings hope.”  PG 67.  Pastores Gregis also elaborates that to be a shepherd according to the heart of Christ means not only to give one’s life for the flock, but also to be collegial and down to earth: “the Bishop governs with the heart of a humble servant and a caring shepherd, who guides his flock as he seeks the glory of God and the salvation of souls. When exercised in this way, the Bishop’s manner of governance is completely unique.”  PG 43. 

Finally, the characterization of Romero as a “Heroic witness of the Kingdom” is a reference to the standards for holiness stated by John Paul II in Divinus Perfectionis Magister, the 1983 reform of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.  In the introduction, the sainted Pontiff had said, “In all times, God chooses from these many who, following more closely the example of Christ, give outstanding testimony to the Kingdom of heaven by shedding their blood or by the heroic practice of virtues.” 

In sum, these sources show that the descriptions in Pope Francis’ apostolic decree were not happenstance, but deliberate terminology intended to demonstrate that Blessed Oscar Romero fulfills the idealized description of a model bishop.

On the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

 

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