Engaging The Theology Of Oscar Romero

In Lasallian schools the core principle of concern for the poor and social justice invites students and staff to be in solidarity with the poor and advocate for those suffering injustices. This means that people should have awareness of the poor and those who are victims of injustices and respond to their needs by means of community service and advocacy. This core principle is illustrated in the novella, “Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr” by Miguel de Unamuno. The main character, Don Emmanuel is the parson of the city of Valverde. The congregation of this parish look up to Don Emmanuel, admire him, and are overtaken by his words in mass. However, the narrator reveals that Don Emmanuel was not a man of faith. “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, presents a story of a young man who one day wakes up and is transformed into a bug. As a result of this transformation, he is mistreated by his family and considered useless in society. In the case of Saint Emmanuel the Good Martyr, there is a character that does not believe in God, yet practices concern for the poor and social justice on a daily basis. On the other hand, we have a character that yearns what Don Emmanuel gives to the citizens in Valverde, care and concern.

“The spokesman of Amnesty International said that the victims’ bodies characteristically appeared with the thumbs tied behind their backs.” Romero is using people that have a reputation and are well-known so his claim is more trustworthy. “I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army, and specifically to the ranks of the National Guard, the Police and the military.” His audience knows who all of the people are stated in his speech. That way they understand his statement and he sounds more knowledgeable. Reputation is significant in his speech because the people trust what he is saying since they know the problem and the people who are causing it. It makes it easier for them to follow along to what he is

For instance, one of the passages. For instance, when Lupe says, “And when they changed, we also began to change. It was nicer that way. Knowing that someone called existed. The right to health care, to food and to schooling for our children” (Argueta 31). This illustrates how the people did not view religious figures as ordinary people. Instead, Lupe states that when the liberation theological movement started to occur that the priest started to demand the rights to the poor. This was unheard of during those times. Therefore, it was a relief that the priest started to demand health care, food and schooling. Furthermore, Lupe goes on to say, “Previously, they used to instill fear in us; we believed they were like magicians who could annihilate us with the simplest gesture” (Argueta 23). In other words, Lupe is see’s the priest different because previously the priest acted as a superior towards the people. Hence, this changed has opened the eyes to the lower class. Thus, priest are now fundamentally important in opposing the oppressive regime in El Salvador. This shines the light on liberation theology and how it has changed the the roles of several;

About 85% of churches are not fully active with their community. Statics have higher throughout the years, about 40 years ago Mexicans were being treated unfairly due to poor working conditions. This unbarring situation leads to a fellow leader, Chavez to step up and build a firm foundation to led us Mexican-Americans to success. Chavez had many helpers from different communities, but his own. The Mexican-American organization was let down by their own church. This escalated to such an overwhelming experience. In Chavez’ speech, “The Mexican-Americans and the Church insinuates the catastrophe of the church's involvement. Chavez explains his purpose thoroughly to the audience, uses pathos and has an effective tone to allow him to build his organization.

In this contemporary era more people do not identify with God and in turn have become more skeptical of God. This shift can be seen in Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason; which is an excellent example of deism. Paine spares no detail on why he does not believe in the Bible and why he does not believe God is continually working in the world. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, A Divine and Supernatural Light, on the other hand, adamantly believes in the Bible and that God is actively present in the world. Edwards’s provides an excellent example of Christianity. These two authors create a snapshot of the prevailing, in Edwards’s case, and emerging, in Paine’s case, worldviews of their respective era.

As I read this article, I was immediately reminded of the political situation of Jesus’ day. On one front, the Romans had conquered the

April 23, 1993 was the day a messenger had told his people that Cesar had died “ha muerto Cesar, ha muerto Cesar.” (Analya,29) When people heard the messenger say that they couldn’t believe him. People would hear his words “Rise mi gente rise.” (Analya,30) echo across the land. This meant that he would tell his people to stand up for themselves.

right, true, and just, which made him the Archbishop that people remember and make movies about.

Author Edward T. Brett argues that Romero had a very “prophetic approach [that] was a highly effective method of leadership during his three-year tenure of office” (Brett 717). He uses the term “prophetic” to refer to the similar ways in which Romero preached his sermons to the underprivileged campesinos in order to also publically represent them, much like Jesus preached to the poor to represent the persecuted Christians. However, the term itself can be problematic because also like Jesus, Romero was tormented by his fellow bishops for catering to the needs of the poor. Not all bishops and clergymen at the time had captured the essence of liberation theology teachings and feared they were too radical to preach to the campesinos. However, Romero believed that the equality of Salvadorans was more important than their integration into the elite society. He focused many of his preachings on the need to put an end to violence and determine a right from wrong. In Romero’s last sermon, just before “he called for soldiers to refuse to obey orders,” (Wood 27) he gave special attention to the need to reinstall distinct human rights within a country in “its own exodus” (Romero 3) and that both groups alike should call for, “respect for the dignity of the person, hope for humanity’s common good, and the transcendence that look before all to God and only

One important indicator on the Catholic Church’s stance on Liberation Theology and general social activism in Latin America will be to see if Archbishop Oscar Romero is accepted into sainthood. The iconic and controversial religious leader worked tirelessly to help the lower-class in El Salvador. His teachings and beliefs that the marginalized peasants should be treated justly made him a living legend among his countrymen and isolated him from the nation’s corrupt elites. Although he never specifically condoned violence, his sermons played no small part in fomenting a bloody peasant uprising and civil war that raged for over a decade. In the last few years, a strong effort has been made to canonize Romero. Although he is revered not only in his own country but throughout the world, there exist a few issues that could possibly preclude him for becoming a saint. He is still strongly disliked by the vast majority of the wealthy and powerful ruling class of El Salvador, he, indirectly and inadvertently, helped bring about a violent conflict that ravaged his nation and, perhaps most importantly, his canonization may appear to be a carte blanche validation of Liberation Theology and the Marxist uprisings that were often associated with the movement. The canonization of Oscar Romero will redefine the seminal ideal of a modern-day saint and could quite

Arising out recent class discussion topics touching on the ideas of James Cone’s ideas on Liberation Theology and the relationship between the Cross and the Lynching Tree, our group decided to focus the topic of our presentation around Liberation Theology. However, in order to create a counter argument to stimulate further discourse, we introduced the Theology of Prosperity, as an opposing theological concept, to our presentation. Hence, we came up with the topic of Liberation Theology vs. Theology of Prosperity.

STOP! We’re human beings, we’re human beings!” (Romero, 1.26:12). With all of the effort that he puts in, Romero could not physically do anything being trapped inside his jail cell. In this situation, Romero hears a desperate cry for help evoking a reaction inside him to help his fellow man. By not being able to really do anything, somehow, Romero was being tortured as well: by not being able to do anything but listen to a man be subjected to such horrid pain. The response that Romero felt was person and his action automatic causing him to act ethically.

As industry was booming, the mass immigration into the cities proved to be hurtful for some parishes that did not have the space to hold many parishioners. Money from the upper class, however, erected new churches and places of worship, large enough and accommodating for most, but now discriminatory against the lower class. Religious leaders thought that lucrative churches would solve the economic problems of the time, but all it really did is widen the gap between social classes even more.[4] Religion was no longer about faith, but rather it became a business, aiding to the rich, taking from the poor. Karl Marx saw a need for equality without religious interference, and he expressed it in the Communist Manifesto, stating, “Society could no longer live under this bourgeois.”[5]

Many Americans flocked to see Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” On over 2.000 screens across America the viewed the “harrowing depiction of Jesus' last 12 hours in wide-screen vivid color.” (Allen 2004) People viewed images of Jesus being flogged, crucified and left to die. This violence caused some Christians discomfort with theology, and some Jews’ fear that it will “incite violence against them because of its portrayal of Jews’ involvement in Jesus’ death.” (Allen 2004)

Romero made a really important decision when he decided to help out the poor because he now became an enemy against the government. Romero grew immensely throughout the entire movie, his love for the people and his conscience (soul, ego) grew as well. Our notes tell us that love requires work it is not just a feeling you have. Romero did a lot work to find his love; he also made a lot of sacrifices. Some of the sacrifices that Romero made were, going into the church when it was taken over by the military Romero still went in knowing that he may be killed, but I think the biggest sacrifice that Romero gave his people was that he gave up his life so that maybe someday they could be free. This resembles Jesus very much, because Jesus gave up his life so that all of our sins would be taken away. Romero is a very brave man for doing this, I don’t know many people who would give their lives up so others could be free this is a very non-selfish act. In my opinion there should be more people like this on the earth because there are so many problems that the world has to deal with in this day of age. I think that Oscar Anglo Romero y Glades was a great man for dieing for something that he truly believed in. Romero may have hesitated for a while on what to do, but in the long run what he did to help out the country of El Salvador was a major impact for the government to change. I wish there were more people