Posted on Mar 23, 2022
Martyrs of El Salvador are closer to canonization
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Forty-five years after a right-wing death squad gunned down the Rev. Rutilio Grande along with two Catholic laymen, Manuel Solórzano and Nelson Lemus, in El Salvador, Jesús Aguilar still vividly remembers the sadness and dread of that day.
But as the sun went down on March 12, 1977, Aguilar also remembers thinking life was about to get a lot more difficult.
"It was a moment of complete sadness, not just because of their deaths, but you could foresee a situation of persecution much more complicated than what was happening at the moment, " said Aguilar, 65. He remembers rushing the few blocks from his home in Aguilares to the church and seeing the bodies near the altar.
Aguilar recently relived his memories of that day when he traveled in January to El Salvador from his Los Angeles home for the beatification of Grande, Solórzano, Lemus and the Rev. Cosme Spessotto, an Italian friar shot dead by Salvadoran soldiers in 1980 as he prayed in his parish church. The ceremony represents the first step toward sainthood for the men, who were proclaimed martyrs last year, paving the way for their beatification without miracles being attributed to their intercession.
But as the sun went down on March 12, 1977, Aguilar also remembers thinking life was about to get a lot more difficult.
"It was a moment of complete sadness, not just because of their deaths, but you could foresee a situation of persecution much more complicated than what was happening at the moment, " said Aguilar, 65. He remembers rushing the few blocks from his home in Aguilares to the church and seeing the bodies near the altar.
Aguilar recently relived his memories of that day when he traveled in January to El Salvador from his Los Angeles home for the beatification of Grande, Solórzano, Lemus and the Rev. Cosme Spessotto, an Italian friar shot dead by Salvadoran soldiers in 1980 as he prayed in his parish church. The ceremony represents the first step toward sainthood for the men, who were proclaimed martyrs last year, paving the way for their beatification without miracles being attributed to their intercession.
Martyrs of El Salvador are closer to canonization
Posted from ncronline.org
Religion
Christianity
El Salvador
Posted 2 y ago
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LTC (Join to see)
I can't believe John Belushi drove a 1966 Mustang to El Salvador? I have flown to El Salvador many times as a means of getting to see my mom and family in Northwest Honduras.
We have blessed Oscar Romero High School up here in Edmonton.
SGT (Join to see) MAJ Bob Miyagishima CPT (Join to see)
We have blessed Oscar Romero High School up here in Edmonton.
SGT (Join to see) MAJ Bob Miyagishima CPT (Join to see)
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LTC (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see) I did see the movie Romero when it came out. Back in the late 1970s, we could pick up television from El Salvador. I remember seeing the old 1960s TV series combat with Vic Morrow. After the show was over, the Salvadorian military junta would speak to the people. This was at the beginning of the Civil War. The in February of 2018,I drove through El Salvador, the former Communist Party was now doing its campaign with loudspeakers and red banners. The US was able to convince all sides to negotiate out of the Civil War and join the government.
SGT (Join to see) MAJ Bob Miyagishima CPT (Join to see)
SGT (Join to see) MAJ Bob Miyagishima CPT (Join to see)
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""On one hand, I felt happy about the beatification because it was a way to recognize how committed the church was to its communities," Aguilar said. "But at the same time, it was a moment where bad memories resurfaced."
Salvadorans in the United States hope the beatifications will inspire the church to honor the memory of Grande and Spessotto by focusing on the poor and marginalized as they did. Some also see the four as stand-ins for the 75,000 Salvadorans who died at the hands of government forces during their country's 12-year civil war. About 20 priests, four nuns and hundreds of catechists were killed during the conflict, according to Vatican News. About half a million Salvadorans fled to the U.S. in the 1980s.
"This recognition is the validation of the suffering we experienced," said Amanda Romero who migrated from El Salvador in the early 1980s.
webRNS-Amanda-Romero-03102022.jpgAmanda Romero (RNS/Photo courtesy of Romero)
Amanda Romero (RNS/Photo courtesy of Romero)
In El Salvador, Romero was immersed in Catholic church life, inspired by then-Archbishop Oscar Romero, a bold critic of the country's dictatorship. Being young and a Catholic "was a motive for persecution," she said. When Oscar Romero (no relation to Amanda) was assassinated in 1980, the violence of the '70s shifted into full-scale civil war. Romero, fearing for her life, fled to the U.S. soon afterward.
Many like Romero already regard the four martyred men as saints even if the church hasn't officially recognized them as such. Through their martyrdom, she said, "people outside El Salvador were able to learn of the level of violence and repression in El Salvador." She recalled the U.S. churches, of several denominations, that sheltered and advocated for Central American migrants as part of the sanctuary movement. This history of faith and martyrdom inspired Amanda Romero to be of service to immigrant families and unaccompanied minors.
Grande, who was born in a small town in El Salvador in 1928, is revered for organizing the poor, making enemies of landowners who found his ministry threatening as he formed local Christian base communities and equipped laypeople as pastoral agents. His Jesuit formation took him to Quito, Ecuador; Panama; and Spain. As a priest, he worked hard to ensure that the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, which called on Catholics to care for the marginalized, were accepted by the Salvadoran church.
These messages were thought as political by the military, the wealthy elite and conservative bishops who decided against advancing the social teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
St. Oscar Romero — a close friend of Grande's who was made a saint in 2018 — was deeply impacted by Grande's murder, igniting his opposition to the government."...
...""On one hand, I felt happy about the beatification because it was a way to recognize how committed the church was to its communities," Aguilar said. "But at the same time, it was a moment where bad memories resurfaced."
Salvadorans in the United States hope the beatifications will inspire the church to honor the memory of Grande and Spessotto by focusing on the poor and marginalized as they did. Some also see the four as stand-ins for the 75,000 Salvadorans who died at the hands of government forces during their country's 12-year civil war. About 20 priests, four nuns and hundreds of catechists were killed during the conflict, according to Vatican News. About half a million Salvadorans fled to the U.S. in the 1980s.
"This recognition is the validation of the suffering we experienced," said Amanda Romero who migrated from El Salvador in the early 1980s.
webRNS-Amanda-Romero-03102022.jpgAmanda Romero (RNS/Photo courtesy of Romero)
Amanda Romero (RNS/Photo courtesy of Romero)
In El Salvador, Romero was immersed in Catholic church life, inspired by then-Archbishop Oscar Romero, a bold critic of the country's dictatorship. Being young and a Catholic "was a motive for persecution," she said. When Oscar Romero (no relation to Amanda) was assassinated in 1980, the violence of the '70s shifted into full-scale civil war. Romero, fearing for her life, fled to the U.S. soon afterward.
Many like Romero already regard the four martyred men as saints even if the church hasn't officially recognized them as such. Through their martyrdom, she said, "people outside El Salvador were able to learn of the level of violence and repression in El Salvador." She recalled the U.S. churches, of several denominations, that sheltered and advocated for Central American migrants as part of the sanctuary movement. This history of faith and martyrdom inspired Amanda Romero to be of service to immigrant families and unaccompanied minors.
Grande, who was born in a small town in El Salvador in 1928, is revered for organizing the poor, making enemies of landowners who found his ministry threatening as he formed local Christian base communities and equipped laypeople as pastoral agents. His Jesuit formation took him to Quito, Ecuador; Panama; and Spain. As a priest, he worked hard to ensure that the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, which called on Catholics to care for the marginalized, were accepted by the Salvadoran church.
These messages were thought as political by the military, the wealthy elite and conservative bishops who decided against advancing the social teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
St. Oscar Romero — a close friend of Grande's who was made a saint in 2018 — was deeply impacted by Grande's murder, igniting his opposition to the government."...
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