It was with great joy that we recently learnt that Pope Francis has decided to clear any obstacles in the path for the beatification of the ex-San Salvadorean Archbishop, Oscar Romero. Unfortunately, Romero was misunderstood by both right and left political spectra. There are those on the left who see him as a champion of the poor and put his picture – along with that of Allende and the revolutionary Che Guevara – on murals and T-shirts. Then there are those on the right who see him as an anti-communist champion and a bulwark against the violence and heresy of the left.
It seems that, in actual fact, Romero was both of these things and – at the same time – neither. Although he was concerned by the unjust lot of the poor in a country ruled by the military who eventually did away with him, he was an orthodox Catholic and his real hero was Pope Pius XI who, in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (to commemorate the 40th year of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum) equally condemned both unbridled capitalism and Marxism as being contrary to human dignity and the good of mankind.
While he preached against the excesses, injustices and inhumanity of the military junta, Romero also warned against the excesses of Marxism and leftist revolution and was not a proponent of liberation theology but preached the liberation offered by Christ. Unlike Nicaraguan Trappist monk Ernesto Cardinal, he did not believe that to become a Christian one first had to become a Marxist. In the 1980s some Marxist-inspired priest in San Salvador wanted to deny Holy Communion to the wealthy, and his forthright reply was: “We are not demagogically in favour of one social class; we are in favour of God’s reign, and we want to promote justice, love, and understanding, wherever there is a heart well-disposed.”
Romero rallied and spoke out against any excesses, whether they came from the left or the right. He was, in effect, a man of God who trod the narrow path and it was only fitting that, during Romero’s execution, God allowed for the blood of both of them to be mixed together in one common sacrifice. What I am about to write now will come as a surprise to many who, while extolling the virtues of Mgr Romero for their own political purposes even in this part of the world, in effect show that they really know very little about him.
Oscar Romero was a personal acquaintance of the Opus Dei founder, Josemaría Escrivá (subsequently St Josemaría), whom he met in Rome in 1970. Following Escrivá’s death in 1975, Romero wrote to Pope Paul VI asking for the beatification and canonisation of Mgr Escrivá. In this letter he said he was grateful for having known Mgr Escrivá personally “and for having received from him encouragement and strength to be faithful to the unchangeable doctrine of Christ and to serve the Holy Roman Church with apostolic zeal. Mgr Escrivá’s life was marked by a continuous dialogue with God and a deep humility. One could see that he was a man of God and that he dealt with people with great refinement, affection and good humour. For many years I have been acquainted with the activity of the Work (as Opus Dei is known to its members) here in El Salvador and can give witness to the supernatural spirit that animates it and the faithfulness to the Magisterium that characterises it. Personally, I owe deep gratitude to the priests involved with the Work, to whom I have entrusted with much satisfaction the spiritual direction of my own life and that of other priests. People from all social classes find in Opus Dei a secure orientation for living as children of God in the midst of their daily family and social obligations. And this is doubtless due to the life and teaching of its founder.”
Archbishop Romero’s cordial relations with Opus Dei continued right up to the day of his death. Fernando Sáenz, who eventually succeeded him as Archbishop of San Salvador, says that after writing this letter, Archbishop Romero took advantage of being in Rome to pray before the founder’s tomb, and became visibly moved. “His spirituality, in some sense, was nourished by the spirituality of Josemaría Escrivá. He read The Way frequently.” In diary entry for 6 September 1979, Archbishop Romero says that Opus Dei “carries out a silent work of deep spirituality among professional people, university students and labourers… I think this is a mine of wealth for our Church – the holiness of the laity in their own profession.”
The day he was assassinated, Archbishop Romero spent the morning with Fernando Sáenz at a recollection for priests organised by Opus Dei. Afterwards, the Spanish priest accompanied Romero to the church where he was to celebrate Mass. Sáenz recalls: “They killed him during the offering of the bread and wine. It was, as it were, a marvellous external sign of his having offered his life for his people, for the poor, for justice, for peace.”
Now that Pope Francis has expedited Romero’s beatification process, those who – for their own personal agendas – had in the past tried to drive a wedge between the beatification of Romero and that of Escrivá, finally have the truth. And the truth, they say, will set you free!
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