Saint Romero of the Americas*

Oscar Romero

“If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people”

Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated as he celebrated mass in San Salvador on March 24, 1980, 30 years ago today. He was killed because he empowered the poor instead of just promising them a glorious afterlife.

Though his murder was never properly investigated and prosecuted, it’s widely believed that the man who killed him was a leader of the Salvadoran death squads who was taught his deadly skills by the U.S. Army at the School of the Americas, which was renamed “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation” when the SOA’s reputation got too ugly to fix with the standard lies and spin. Presto, a new name and the Army feels all fresh and new. But the training in suppression of popular democratic movements goes on (yes, even under Obama), courtesy of our tax dollars. Every year near Thanksgiving, SOA Watch holds a national action outside Ft. Benning, where the SOA/WHINSEC operates.

*Oscar Romero has not been canonized by the Catholic Church, and probably never will be. They don’t like his kind, and would not be interested in making him a positive example for their clergy or congregants.