U.S. Catholic author Tom Hocker.

Edition of March 2010.

Romero Revisited: El Salvador 30 years later.


"Romero served as archbishop from early in 1977 until his death on March 24, 1980.

"On the day before, in a broadcast of his sermon, he had advised soldiers that their Christian conscience demanded that they disobey military orders contrary to justice.

"Many politicians and commanders were outraged.

"Despite a mild demeanor, Romero's charismatic presence moved many and still does through his catechists, even as the army and death squads hunted them down.

"He had no illusion that he would be exempt from this violence.

"The civil war that consumed the life of Oscar Romero is largely forgotten, as is the heroism that demands his sainthood.

"Romero may be widely venerated, but people have forgotten the oppression he opposed.*

"What is lost is the true courage needed to confront injustice.

"The latest and grandest version of Romero's tomb reflects his shift into a mythic stature, where his personal example is more obscured and hence less challenging to us today..."

*Could that be because it' s history, too??!!