BEATIFICATION OF
ARCHBISHOP ROMERO, MAY 23, 2015
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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,
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.
On the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
