WHO WAS OSCAR ROMERO? POPE CANONIZES LEFT-WING ARCHBISHOP KILLED FOR SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY
WHO WAS OSCAR ROMERO? POPE CANONIZES LEFT-WING ARCHBISHOP KILLED FOR SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY
BY DAN CANCIAN ON 10/14/18 AT 9:04 AM
An archbishop who strongly opposed the military dictatorship in El Salvador has been canonized by Pope Francis on Sunday in Vatican City.
Oscar Romero was shot dead by a sniper while leading mass at the Church of the Divine Providence, a hospital chapel in the country’s capital, San Salvador, on March 24, 1980.
The murder came just a day after Romero had spoken to soldiers, pleading with them to stop the repression that descended into a bloody civil war. His assassination was one of the most shocking developments in the long-running conflict between the U.S.-backed regime, right-wing death squads and left-wing rebels.
Between 1979 and 1992, the Salvadoran Civil War killed almost 75,000 people and saw many Salvadorans fleeing the country. Like many priests, Romero was outspoken in criticizing both sides of the divide, blasting the rebels and the regime for inflicting untold devastation on the country’s most disadvantaged citizens.
More:
https://www.newsweek.com/who-was-oscar-romero-pope-canonizes-left-wing-archbishop-killed-supporting-1168689?piano_t=1
