Reading Up on El Salvador’s Saint
The Scandal of Redemption is a book on Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who was assassinated while delivering mass in 1980.
You don’t have to be Catholic to be curious about who Oscar Romero was and the impact he had—especially if you happen to be embarking on a journey to El Salvador. For those looking for a quick introduction to Oscar Romero, The Scandal of Redemption: When God Liberates the Poor, Saves Sinners, and Heals Nations (Plough Publishing House 2018) is a good choice. Of numerous books on Oscar Romero, this one, edited by Carolyn Kurtz, is a small volume summarizing Romero’s life (1917–1980) that includes excerpts from his journal as well as his radio homilies. Read it on the plane while headed to San Salvador because it is going to be hard to overlook Romero once you get there.
Oscar Romero’s Path from Carpentry to Priesthood to Sainthood
Oscar Romero became the archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, a trying time for El Salvador, where land ownership tended to be in the hands of very few and the poor people who farmed that land had little power and fewer resources. Romero had been expected by establishment types to be fairly mainstream, but once he became archbishop, he more actively promoted agrarian reform. El Salvador was on the brink of a very nasty civil war; many people, including priests, were being killed by government-affiliated forces; others disappeared. Romero, for his efforts, was assassinated while saying a mass in 1980.
Archbishop Oscar Romero’s mitre (hat) is on display at Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador. Photo credit: L. Tripoli.
Books on Oscar Romero: Do We Need Another One?
A number of chronicles of the troubled times in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1970s exist; do we really need more books on Oscar Romero and the civil war that followed his assassination? Well, it is not often that a man ascends to sainthood in our own lifetimes, and this little book gives the reader an easy-to-read glimpse into a moment in history when an activist Church very much tried to impact the poor behavior of leaders. Romero’s words and acts are inspiring: during times of trouble, would you be a good citizen of the Earth? Yes, the country had experienced plenty of strife, but as Romero said, “In El Salvador we still have the ability to remake ourselves.” And the country called “the savior” managed to resurrect itself.
Sadly, Oscar Romero would not live to see the civil war end right about the time the Cold War ended when, suddenly, foreign powers lost interest in funding a capitalism vs. communism battle in Central America.
Images of Oscar Romero on display at Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador. Photo credit: L. Tripoli.
Romero’s Presence in El Salvador
Images of Oscar Romero are everywhere in El Salvador. His body is interred in the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador; another image of him is placed prominently in nearby El Rosario church, which Romero visited. A visitor to El Salvador might indeed seek images of Romero out—he appears in sculpture, in paintings, in photographs.
I like him because he found the strength to stand up, to seek the full realization of his own life, to do what he found to be right despite enormous pressure from the powers that be both within the church and in the political establishment, or, as we say today, the ‘elites.’ I like that he noted that you might be in power, but that does not mean you will be at peace. His words and his actions serve as a good reminder to do the right thing.
—Lori Tripoli
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