Thirty years ago today

Romero was consecrated as Archbishop of San Salvador on Tuesday, 22 February 1977, in a discrete ceremony in the church that is adjacent to the St. Joseph of the Mountain Seminary. It was not yet a time of war; there were a few years left until the massacres like Rio Sumpul and El Mozote. Three priests had been expelled from the country during the previous month, and the house of a fourth priest had been bombed. The political tension was, thus, one of the reasons for such a quiet enthronement of Romero as the archbishop of the capital. Another reason for the discretion of the ceremony was the uncertainty of the archdiocese concerning the new archbishop. Many expected the worse. Jesus Delgado, a priest who worked closely with Romero, says that when Romero began to speak that morning, 'there was
tomb-like silence.'

In his first sermon, he said: I come from a world of books, and there is much to learn in their pages, but I have much else to learn. There is ferment and division alive in our land. Certain priests accept — express — the most radical ideas, glibly. But none of us can pretend to know all the answers and demand that others implement them. We, in the Church, must keep to the center, watchfully, in the traditional way, but seeking justice.

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With the death of Rutillo Grande (the first priest Romero had ordained) in March 1977, Romero was radicalised himself. He no longer hewed to the tradition of the church; he spoke out for the oppressed and against the military that was killing his brother and sister Salvadorans. The man who was placed as Archbishop of San Salvador because he was 'safe,' turned out to be the biggest surprise of them all, to himself included.

There are so many gems of short snippet quotes but here are a few of my favourite ones paraphrased:

Each one of us can do something.
We are all God's microphones.
If I am killed, I will rise again in the Salvadoran people.

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Where are our prophets? What if in The Episcopal Church we were to undergo a like conversion of heart the same way Oscar Romero did? Change is possible. He understood that keeping to the safe centre was antithetical to bringing God's justice (not human justice) to his divided country. If we stay in the centre, we may never see God's economy in our church. Which is worth more? Unity or God's hesed?

On this 30th anniversary of the 'enthronement' of Oscar Romero, may those of us in The Episcopal Church who are committed to justice, the equality of all and living out the baptismal covenant remember blessed Oscar and the example he gave.