2014 was a watershed year for Archbishop Óscar
A. Romero and his sainthood cause.
After several years parked on a shoulder of the canonization highway,
Romero’s cause is finally on the “fast track” and, this year, officials sought
to make up for lost time. The happy
results may not be known until next year but, make no mistake, the heavy
lifting was done in 2014.
1.“Positio
Super Martyrio” Submitted to Congregation for the Causes of Saints
The biggest story this year happened out of public view, but
its significance for Romero’s beatification cause cannot be understated. It was certainly the most significant thing
ever reported on this blog. Late in the
year, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the postulator of Archbishop Romero’s
sainthood cause, formally submitted the “Positio
Super Martyrio”—the “Position Paper on the Martyrdom,” a book-length study
of Romero's life based on the documentation from the diocesan phase and other
sources, which contains all the information on which the ultimate decision will
be made. This is truly the point where
we can actually say “case closed;” nothing further to be added or
detracted. Decision looms. [MORE]
2. Pope Francis Comments on the Cause
Pope Francis is believed to be a tremendous supporter of the
canonization, quietly prodding the process along behind the scenes. Although he is considered to be a loquacious
Pontiff, the Holy Father has been assiduously mum on Romero—until August when,
flying back from Korea, he was asked directly about the cause. “For
me, Romero is a man of God,” said the Pope, putting the kibosh on the old
accusations that Romero was an activist.
After the Pope hinted that the postulators should move swiftly, the
final papers advancing the cause were submitted within a couple of months (see item
#1 above). [MORE]
3. Salvadoran Church takes the lead
When the acknowledgments are passed out for the successful
conclusion of Archbishop Romero’s beatification process, a large portion of the
credit should go to the Salvadoran Church.
In August, the Church inaugurated a “Romero Triennium,” counting down
the 3 years until the 100th anniversary of Romero’s birth and going public with
the goal of having Romero canonized by then.
The church even sent a high ranking delegation of bishops to ask Pope
Francis for his blessing. To think that
there was a time when only one man in the bishops’ conference was friendly to
Romero! [MORE]
4. Salvadoran government does its part
For years, the obstacle for Abp. Romero’s beatification was
the perception in the Church that Romero had been hijacked by the Left. Keenly aware of that concern, the leftist
ruling party in El Salvador has walked a fine line under Pres. Salvador Sánchez
Cerén, a former guerrilla, providing solid support for the beatification
process but avoiding provocative statements or gloating. For its part, the opposition has also been
largely cooperative, offering muted support for the cause (but see item #9
below). [MORE]
5. San Salvador Airport named after Abp.
Romero
A reflection of the kind of year Romero had in 2014 is that
we rank the naming of his country’s international airport after him as our #5
story. A couple of years ago, not only
would this have been the top story, but several of the other stories in our top
ten would be the supporting narrative.
In addition to the airport, the great hall of the presidential palace
was named after Romero. Add the street
abutting the Cathedral and a new modern traffic artery also named after Romero
and it is clear that this martyr has left a giant-sized mark on his diminutive
country. [MORE]
6. False starts
Expectation regarding the anticipated beatification of
Archbishop Romero was so high in 2014 that, not once but twice, a false
announcement was prematurely circulated in the international press. The first time, “fevered speculation” was
triggered when the Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador commented that the
Archbishop had major news to report.
That announcement turned out to be simply a recap of a meeting with the
Pope about Romero (see item #3)—big news to be sure, but not the major
announcement many had expected. More
recently, a famous Liberation Theologian was responsible for another
misfire. Let’s hope the third time’s the
charm! [MORE]
7. Fr. Rutilio Grande’s Canonization Cause
No doubt the commencement of the beatification process for
Fr. Rutilio Grande, whose 1977 assassination first put Abp. Romero on a
collision course with the Salvadoran government, would be immensely satisfying
to Romero. But Fr. Grande’s cause is
also important to Romero’s eventual canonization, as Fr. Grande was a Jesuit
along the lines of Pope Francis—more about popular piety and embedding himself
in the periphery than about ideological manifestos from academia. Not surprisingly, Francis appears to be
thoroughly familiar with Fr. Grande’s case.
[MORE]
8. Liberation rapprochement
Although not limited strictly to 2014, a story that’s been
brewing for the last two years is the sense that reconciliation is coming to
the sometimes tense and testy relationship between the Vatican and the
Liberation Theology current in Latin America.
In February, the “Father of Liberation Theology,” Fr. Gustavo
Gutiérrez received a warm welcome in the Vatican, and Leonardo
Boff, another leading figure in the movement, was reportedly contacted by Pope
Francis. Although not directly
involving Romero, these stories signal a friendlier climate with respect to the
Church’s role in Latin America. [MORE]
9. San Salvador names street for d’Aubuisson
The one hiccup on El Salvador’s official support for the
beatification cause came late in the year, when the Mayor of San Salvador,
still reeling from a failed bid to capture the country’s presidency, announced
that he was renaming a major street in San Salvador after Roberto d’Aubuisson,
the man who ordered Abp. Romero’s assassination. This is a story in progress and it is hard to
say where it will go. Possibilities
include: (1) support for Romero defeats the move; (2) rightwing plan moves
forward, becomes thorn in the side of beatification and possible papal visit;
(3) the affair triggers dialogue and progress toward reconciliation. One can only hope! [MORE]
10. A Romero statue in Rome
The Romero Foundation is funding the erection of an Abp.
Romero statue in “Giardino El Salvador”
(El Salvador Gardens) in the EUR district of Rome. The monument could help gain Romero a
prominent place among modern saints if his statue near the center of the
Church’s “headquarters” attracts a following among Romans and visitors to the
Eternal City. Romero already has statues
in several cities, including London
(at Westminster Abbey, no less), Los
Angeles and, of course, San
Salvador. [MORE]
~~~
Meanwhile, this blog completed its eighth year posting about
the beatification cause of the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. The fourth annual reflections on «Septem Sermones ad Pauperem» (“Seven
Sermons to the Poor”) was also a meditation on Pope Francis’ Lenten
Message. Featured posts included a look
back at Romero’s
years in Rome, a rumination on Romero’s
liturgical style, coverage of the annual commemorations
of his martyrdom, an
appreciation of the movie “Romero” on the 25th anniversary of its release, and
continual attention to developments in Abp. Romero’s beatification
cause.
Merry Christmas, and may we all have a “blessed” new year.
Prior Year
Reports:
Top 10 of 2013
Top 10 of 2012
Top 10 of 2011
Top 10 of 2010
Top 10 of 2008
Top 10 of 2007
