NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Oscar Romero

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980), commonly known as Monseñor Romero, was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He later became prelate archbishop of San Salvador. Image File history File links Patriarchal_or_Archbishop_Cross. ... A style or title of office is a form of address which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a title or post, or to the office itself. ... The Reverend is an honorary prefix to the names of most Christian clergy and ministers. ... His / Her Excellency is an honorific title given to certain high-ranking political officials. ... Monsignor is an ecclesiastical honorific used by certain priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Servant of God is the title given to a person of the Roman Catholic Church upon whom a pope has opened a cause of sainthood. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaskas Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (42,000 mÂ³) of petroleum after running aground. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the Christian Church whose visible and spiritual head on Earth (representing Jesus Christ) is the Pope, currently Pope Benedict XVI, and whose adherents constitute almost half of all Christians worldwide. ... A prelate is a member of the clergy who either has ordinary jurisdiction over a group of people or ranks in precedence with ordinaries. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... This article is about the Salvadoran capital city. ...

As an archbishop, he witnessed numerous violations of human rights and began a ministry speaking out on behalf of the poor and victims of the country's civil war. His brand of political activism was denounced by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church and the government of El Salvador. In 1980, he was assassinated by gunshot while consecrating the Eucharist during mass. His death finally provoked international outcry for human rights reform in El Salvador. Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. ... The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the Christian Church whose visible and spiritual head on Earth (representing Jesus Christ) is the Pope, currently Pope Benedict XVI, and whose adherents constitute almost half of all Christians worldwide. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Jack Ruby murdered Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in a very public manner In its most common use, assassination has come to mean the killing of an important person. ... The Eucharist is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament, to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ... Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) presiding at the 2005 Easter Vigil Mass in place of Pope John Paul II. Mass is the term used of the celebration of the Eucharist in the Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

In 1997, a cause for beatification and canonization into sainthood was opened for Romero and Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of Servant of God. The process continues. He is considered the unofficial spiritual patron of the Americas, El Salvador and liberation theology. Outside of Catholicism Romero is honored by other religious denominations of Christendom, like the Church of England through its Common Worship. 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In Catholicism, beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed, via Greek Î¼Î±ÎºÎ±ÏÎ¹Î¿Ï‚, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead persons accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name (intercession of saints). ... Canonization is the process of declaring someone a saint and involves proving that a candidate has lived in such a way that he or she is worthy of sainthood. ... General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol JÃ³zef WojtyÅ‚a (May 18, 1920 â€“ April 2, 2005) reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978, making his the second-longest pontificate (or the third-longest, as enumerated by Roman Catholic tradition). ... Servant of God is the title given to a person of the Roman Catholic Church upon whom a pope has opened a cause of sainthood. ... In several forms of Christianity, but especially in Roman Catholicism, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. ... Map of America by Jonghe, c. ... Liberation theology is an important and controversial school in the theology of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. ... A religious denomination, (also simply denomination) is a large, long-established subgroup within a religion that has been in existence for many years. ... This medieval map, which abstracts the known world to a cross inscribed within an orb, remakes geography in the service of Christian iconography. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... Common Worship is a series of books of services and prayers, known as a liturgy, published by the Church of England. ...

Career

Romero was born in Ciudad Barrios, the second of eight children. He had to interrupt his education as a child due to a severe illness, and by the age of 12 was working as an apprentice carpenter. In 1931 he went to study at the San Miguel seminary for six years until the family economic circumstances forced him to work in a gold mine for three months. In 1937 he went to study in another seminary in San Salvador for 7 months. He was then sent to Rome to study theology at the Gregorian University where he was ordained as a priest on April 4, 1942, before beginning a doctorate in ascetic theology. In 1943 the war in Europe forced him to abandon his studies and return to El Salvador. He began working as a parish priest in Anamorós but then moved to San Miguel where he worked for over 20 years. He promoted various apostolic groups, started an Alcoholics Anonymous group, helped in the construction of San Miguel's cathedral and supporting devotion to the Virgin of the Peace. He later was appointed Rector of the inter-diocese seminary in San Salvador. In 1966 he began his public life when he was chosen to be Secretary of the Episcopal Conference for El Salvador. He also became Director of Orientation, a conservative, catholic newspaper. In 1970 he was appointed assistant Bishop to Luis Chávez y González, a move not welcomed by the more radical elements of the priesthood. He took up his appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Santiago de María in December 1974. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A carpenter is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry -- a wide range of woodworking that includes constructing buildings, furniture, and other objects out of wood. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... San Miguel is an important city in El Salvador. ... A seminary is a specialized university-like institution for the purpose of instructing students in religion, often in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy. ... Gold mining consists of the processes and techniques employed in the removal of gold from the ground. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus â€“ SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area - City Proper 1290 kmÂ² Population - City (2004) - Metropolitan - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... An ascetic is one who practices a renunciation of worldly pursuits to achieve spiritual attainment. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Europe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... AnamorÃ³s is a municipality in the La UniÃ³n department of El Salvador. ... Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the world. ... Alcoholics Anonymous (known commonly as A.A. or AA) is a world-wide fellowship of alcoholics whose primary purpose is to stay sober and carry the message of recovery from alcoholism through the Twelve Steps. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Lutheran or Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... A Devotion in Christianity has come to mean time spent alone or in a small group of people reading and studying the Bible in a way as it relates to ones spiritual health and wellbeing. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-BÃ©del Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... The word episcopal is derived from the Greek ÎµÏ€Î¹ÏƒÎºÎ¿Ï€Î¿Ï‚ epÃskopos, which literally means overseer; the word, however, is used in religious contexts to refer to a bishop. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

Archbishop

On February 23, 1977 he was surprisingly appointed Archbishop of San Salvador. While this appointment was welcomed in government circles, it was met with disappointment by those radical priests who feared that with his conservative reputation he would put the brakes on their liberation theology commitment to the poor. I took this picture myself. ... I took this picture myself. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... Liberation theology is an important and controversial school in the theology of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. ...

On March 12 progressive Jesuit priest and personal friend Rutilio Grande, who had been creating self help groups among the poor campesinos, was assassinated. Romero urged the government of Arturo Armando Molina to investigate the crime but they ignored his calls. The press, which was censored, also remained silent. A new tension was noted with the closure of some schools and the absence of Catholic priests in official acts. In his response to this murder he revealed a radicalism that had not been evident before. He began to speak out against the poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture taking place in the country. He began to be noticed internationally, with a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In February 1980 he was given an honorary doctorate by the Catholic University of Leuven. On his visit to Europe to receive this honor he met Pope John Paul II, and expressed his concerns at what what was happening in his country. His stance led to a confrontation with the Pope. Romero argued that it was problematic to support the government in El Salvador because it legitimized the terror and assassinations. March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in Leap years). ... The Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu/Jesu (S.J.) in Latin) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in direct service to the Pope. ... Rutilio Grande was a Jesuit priest in El Salvador, and a martyr of liberation theology. ... Campesino means simple farmer in Spanish. ... Colonel Arturo Armando Molina was President of El Salvador between July 1, 1972 and July 1, 1977. ... Censorship is the control of speech and other forms of human expression, often by government intervention. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ... Headline text Social injustice is a concept relating to the perceived unfairness of a society in its divisions of rewards and burdens. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was an infamous torture device. ... The Nobel Peace Prize Medal featuring a portrait of Alfred Nobel The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequested by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Catholic University of Leuven, founded in 1425, is now the names of two Belgian universities, after the original university split in 1968: the Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, and the French-speaking Universit catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium This is a disambiguation page — a navigational... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol JÃ³zef WojtyÅ‚a (May 18, 1920 â€“ April 2, 2005) reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978, making his the second-longest pontificate (or the third-longest, as enumerated by Roman Catholic tradition). ...

In 1979 the Revolutionary Government Junta came to power amidst a wave of human rights abuses from paramilitary right-wing groups, from left-wing guerrillas, and from the government. Romero spoke out against U.S. military aid to the new government and wrote to President Jimmy Carter in February 1980 warning that increased military aid would "undoubtedly sharpen the injustice and the repression inflicted on the organized people, whose struggle has often been for their most basic human rights". Carter, concerned that El Salvador would become "another Nicaragua", ignored the plea. This page refers to the year 1979. ... ... ... James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

While celebrating mass at a small chapel near his cathedral, Romero was shot to death while he was giving a sermon in which he called for soldiers to disobey orders that violated basic human rights. It is believed that his assassins were members of Salvadoran death squads, including two graduates of the U.S.-run School of the Americas. This view was supported in 1993 by an official UN report, which identified the man who ordered the killing as Major Roberto D'Aubuisson, who later founded the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), a political party which came to power in 1989 and still rules today. A death squad is an extra-judicial group whose members execute or assassinate persons they believe to be politically unreliable or undesirable. ... The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), formerly School of the Americas (SOA), is a US Army facility at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, USA. It is a training facility operated in the Spanish language especially for Latin American military personnel. ... Major Roberto DAubuisson Arrieta (August 23, 1944â€“February 20, 1992) known as Chele, was a Salvadoran politician and military leader who founded the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), which he led from 1978 to 1985. ... The Nationalist Republican Alliance (Spanish: Alianza Republicana Nacionalista or ARENA) is a conservative political party in El Salvador. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Legacy

The rite of visitation and requiem was attended by over one million pilgrims from all over the world. Forty civilians were killed by security forces during the events. Even after burial, people continued to line-up to pay homage to their martyred prelate.

On the tenth anniversary of the assassination, the sitting prelate archbishop of San Salvador appointed a postulator to prepare documentation for a cause of beatification and canonization of Romero. The documents were formally accepted by Pope John Paul II and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1997 and Romero was given the title of Servant of God. The process continues today with further investigation of the heroism and martyrdom of Romero. Upon the declaration of heroism and martyrdom, it is expected that Romero will achieve the title of Venerable. Thereafter, miracles must be attributed to Romero in order to become declared Blessed and added to the Liturgy of the Hours. Headline text In the Roman Catholic Church, a postulator is a church official who presents a plea for canonization or beatification of a person they think should become a saint. ... Governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope makes use of the Roman Curia, the administrative apparatus of the Holy See. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Servant of God is the title given to a person of the Roman Catholic Church upon whom a pope has opened a cause of sainthood. ... Venerable is a title confered on persons for a number of religious reasons. ... According to many religions, a miracle, derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning something wonderful, is a striking interposition of divine intervention by God in the universe by which the operations of the ordinary course of Nature are overruled, suspended, or modified. ... Blessed is a dancehall album by Jamaican musician Beenie Man, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music). ...

Many suspect that the delay in the declaration of heroism and martyrdom is due to the fact that Romero is closely tied, but not directly involved, to the liberation theology movement espoused especially by the Jesuits of Latin America. The charge has been dismissed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints explaining that Romero has not yet met certain criteria to move on to the next levels of the inquests, a process which people forget has historically taken decades to pursue.

The work of Romero was honored by various other religious denominations of Christendom, most notably by the Church of England and its Anglican Communion. In July 1998, the Church of England unveiled a statue depicting Romero at the west door of Westminster Abbey in London in the United Kingdom, as part of a monument in memory of 20th century Christian martyrs. The Church of England and its Anglican Communion also added to its liturgical calendar a memorial commemoration celebrated annually on March 24. (The liturgical calendar is similar to the Roman Catholic calendar of saints.) The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St John, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,500,000 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaskas Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (42,000 mÂ³) of petroleum after running aground. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ...

Ecumenical movements following the traditions of liberation theology were spread worldwide upon the death of Romero. The influence of Romero's teachings of a moral obligation to raise people out of poverty as a mission charged by God inspired the creation of classes, schools and community organizations. Churches named in honor of Romero also were established including a New York City church called "Saint Romero of the Americas".[1]. The New York City church, like many others, blend traditional religious teachings taught in an ecumenical spirit, with social justice values to defend disenfranchised people. New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, and the most densely populated major city in North America. ...

Romero in popular culture

The film Romero (1989) was based on the Archbishop's life story. It was directed by John Duigan and starred Raúl Juliá. Timed for release ten years after Romero's death, it was the first Hollywood feature film ever to be financed by the Roman Catholic Church. The film received respectful, if less than enthusiastic reviews. Roger Ebert typified the critics who acknowledged, "The film has a good heart, and the Julia performance is an interesting one, restrained and considered ... The film's weakness is a certain implacable predictability." Romero is a film depicting the life of assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero, played by Raúl Juliá. Richard Jordan and Ana Alicia also appeared in the film. ... John Lawless Duigan, (born June 19, 1949 in Hampshire, England) is a film director. ... RaÃºl JuliÃ¡ RaÃºl Rafael JuliÃ¡ y Arcelay (March 9, 1940â€“October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor who lived and worked for many years in the United States. ... Roger Ebert (right) with Russ Meyer, 1970. ...

Oliver Stone's 1986 film "Salvador" contains a dramatisation of the assassination of Archbishop Romero (played in the movie by Jose Carlos Ruiz). The film tells the true story of sleazy photojournalist Richard Boyle (James Woods), who undergoes a spiritual conversion while covering the death squad killings in El Salvador during the Civil War . Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946 in New York City) known simply as Oliver Stone is an Academy Award-winning American film director. ... Salvador is a 1986 film which tells the story of an American journalist in El Salvador covering the story of the assassination of Archbishop Ã“scar Romero. ... James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. ...

Romero was also featured in the made-for-TV movies, "Choices of the Heart" (NBC, 1983, René Enríquez as Romero), about the murder of four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador, and "Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II" (ABC, 2005, Joaquim de Almeida as Romero) about the papacy of Karol Wojtyła. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol JÃ³zef WojtyÅ‚a (May 18, 1920 â€“ April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making his the third-longest reign in the history of the...

Also, salsa singer Rubén Blades wrote and sings the song "El Padre Antonio y el Monaguillo Andrés", a song in which an idealist Spanish priest arrives to a Latin American country, giving sermons in which he condemns violence, talks about love and justice, and at the end is murdered during a mass. Blades has said he wrote this song referring to Romero, so that "the death of Romero is not forgotten". Look up salsa on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... RubÃ©n Blades RubÃ©n Blades (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, actor and politician. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) presiding at the 2005 Easter Vigil Mass in place of Pope John Paul II. Mass is the term used of the celebration of the Eucharist in the Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Quotations

Contents

Career

Archbishop

Legacy

Romero in popular culture

Quotations

See also

External links

Contents

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Archbishop

Legacy

Romero in popular culture

Quotations

See also

External links

Career