Thirty-five years after his assassination Oscar Romero's voice still needs to be heard. During the brutal regime in El Salvador in the 1980s where the military were oppressing the human rights of the citizens, Catholic Archbishop Romero was outspoken in defending the needs and rights of the poor. Romero gave many courageous speeches challenging the United State's support for the Salvadoran government and also calling on soldiers to disobey orders to fire on civilians.
In the morning sunshine of March 24, 1980 a vehicle pulled up outside of the Church of the Divine Providence in San Salvador, where Archbishop Romero had just finished preaching and was about to lead Communion. A man stepped out of the car, steadied the rifle on the door and fired a single shot down the aisle of the church killing Romero as he was commemorating the Mass. Witnesses said that Romero's blood turned the Communion wafers red.
The culprits of the murder were never brought to justice, but Romero's death lead to mass demonstrations in El Salvador, and more than 200,000 people took to the streets for his funeral. Pope Francis officially declared him a martyr earlier this year, and he will be beatified in May.
Brazilian theologian Rosalee Velosso Ewell, director of the World Evangelical Alliance's Theological Commission, argues for Romero's importance for the Church today: "In many ways, the average middle-class, well-educated Christian (especially the academic types) are a lot like Romero was before he became archbishop. There is a tendency to be detached, to pretend we don't see the pain and suffering of others or that God has gifted us with ways to fight for justice and freedom that require little sacrifice of ourselves. It's the mentality that God has gifted us with minds and the ability to write books and so we hide away in these presumed gifts. I like Romero because his story shatters these presumptions and asks, are we really willing to follow God's call? How far are we prepared to go?"
How far are we prepared go to follow in Romero's footsteps for the sake of justice? As you ponder this challenge on the anniversary of his assassination, reflect on these quotations from the inspirational Catholic Archbishop:
1. "There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried."
2. "The great need today is for Christians who are active and critical, who don't accept situations without analysing them inwardly and deeply. We no longer want masses of people like those who have been trifled with for so long. We want persons like fruitful fig trees, who say 'yes' to justice and 'no' to injustice and can make use of the precious gift of life, despite the circumstances."
3. "Let us not forget: we are a pilgrim church, subject to misunderstanding, to persecution, but a Church that walks serene, because it bears the force of love."
4. "The Church must suffer for speaking the truth, for pointing out sin, for uprooting sin. No one wants to have a sore spot touched, and therefore a society with so many sores twitches when someone has the courage to touch it and say: 'You have to treat that. You have to get rid of that. Believe in Christ. Be converted.'"
5. "Each one of you has to be God's microphone. Each one of you has to be a messenger, a prophet. The church will always exist as long as there is someone who has been baptized... Where is your baptism? You are baptised in your professions, in the fields of workers, in the market. Wherever there is someone who has been baptised, that is where the Church is. There is a prophet there. Let us not hide the talent that God gave us on the day of our baptism and let us truly live the beauty and responsibility of being a prophetic people."
Dr Krish Kandiah is a contributing editor at Christian Today. He is also president of London School of Theology and founder of the fostering and adoption charity Home for Good.
