Óscar Romero: Martyr for the Gospel of Social Justice

Abstract

A Christian martyr for the gospel of social justice, and a man of deep spirituality and great ethical stature, Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador during years of brutal government and paramilitary repression, is a towering figure in the recent history of El Salvador and Latin America. Since his murder on March 24, 1980, while he was celebrating the Eucharist, his legacy and cultural influence have only grown. For decades, in life and after it, he was controversial and often manipulated, branded as both a communist and a conservative, as a provocateur of the Salvadoran civil war (1980–1992), and a leader of people’s liberation and human rights. Many political, military, and ecclesiastical authorities in and outside his country harshly criticized Romero’s attitude and behavior. Salvadoran oligarchs denounced him repeatedly, but not so the hundreds of thousands of peasants who confirmed as true what Romero wrote about his own mission: “The ministry that God has given me is, like the one given to Moses, to lead our people to the Promised Land.”