Oscar Romero and the Role of the Catholic Church in El Salvador

As a result, Chavez’ purpose is to influence, the church to be open to change. The Mexican-American Organization, happily opened their arms to the California Migrant Ministry and it lead to an amazing outcome. Chavez wanted the church to adapt to society, he states, “We ask the church to sacrifice with the people for social change, for justice, and for love of brother. We don't ask for words. We ask for deeds. We don't ask for paternalism.” (Chavez). Chavez gets to the point of what him and the Mexican-American Community want. This is the purpose of the speech, the justification of what he expects from them. They don't need anything else

As Oscar Romero had said, “History will not fail; God sustains it.” In the speech The Last Sermon, Oscar Romero the Archbishop, is trying to get the men with more power to listen to what he has to say about the deaths they are casting upon the civilians. Oscar needs these men to obey the laws of god, otherwise they are ignoring higher authority.

The populist governments, seen in the 1950’s and 1960’s in South America, spurred industrial growth and a sense of “consciousness” amongst the inhabitants of the Latin American countries. The industrial growth greatly benefited the middle-class and the working-class; however, the poor were driven into shantytowns and rural areas. To illustrate the great poverty of this time in Latin America, people living in “shantytowns” resided in vast settlements built of cardboard and other available materials such as metal and sheets of plastic. These “towns” frequently lacked proper sanitation. One could imagine how living in these shantytowns would degrade the human spirit and foster a sense of worthlessness. The abrupt shift in the social classes

Over the course of history, the United States has a reputation of getting involved with other nations to sort out disputes, arguments, conflicts, wars, etc. One specific example of U.S. Military Involvement is the 1980 El Salvador Civil War. The El Salvador Civil War was a civil war that lasted from 1980 to about 1992. The war slowly arose due to little uprisings in society, promises to improve economy and lifestyles that were never fulfilled, and the push of communism beliefs onto the people who didn’t believe in them. The U.S. Military would not get involved unless their is a violation of human rights, or if mankind is being put into harm's way. The U.S. involved themselves in the Civil War of El Salvador because they had enough evidence and support for specific claims, had the appropriate authority, and fought for an outcome that suited the needs of humanity.

El Salvador has one of the strictest and most archaic anti-abortion laws in the world with a total ban on abortion, even in in cases of rape or incest, if the mother’s life is in danger, or if the fetus is not viable outside the uterus. Since 1998, the adopted legislation has increasingly made it more dangerous for women to seek medical attention when in reference to their reproductive health. These laws allow prosecutors to convert many abortion charges to aggravated homicide, which carries a sentence of 30-50 years.

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;

It is now obvious that countries in Central America have been plagued by civil war, economic crisis, election fraud to finally transition into a political system granting the population the freedom to elect their leaders. El Salvador is no different than Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. One might notice that such issues arise due to political unrest in the region (Central America), thus creating a pattern of social, political and economic instability.

To get a proper understanding of El Salvador’s civil war we need to begin in the 1930s, the Salvadoran government was generating a lot of profit from goods being sold, unfortunately the wealth was only given to 2% of the population. Augustin Marti formed the socialist party that led peasants and indigenous against the government. When the government heard this they gave the approval for military death squads, which would kill anyone who looked

Bartolomé de Las Casas presents, for its time, an astounding claim human equality before God. Defending the native people of the New World from the violence executed by Spain and the claims to authority given voice by Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Las Casas provides a precocious assertion of human rights and the limits on civil and church authority. In this paper I will argue that Las Casas makes a nuanced assessment of civil government, to which he gives a vital but limited authority. I further propose that Las Casas, even while holding to the traditional and scriptural authority of the church, ascribes a similarly circumscribed earthly authority. The effect of these positions is to afford to non-Christians rationality and the freedom of

The history of El Salvador begins with the time period in which indigenous peoples resided in the country. According to Roy Poland, in Culture and Customs of El Salvador, El Salvador was conquered by the Spanish in 1524; the spanish found the country was divided into three states (13). The spaniards hegemonic influence finally converted El Salvador into a Spanish colony after twenty six years of indigenous resistance(Poland 14). Such conquest brought violence, diseases, and poverty to the indigenous people. The invasion of El Salvador by the Spanish also resulted in mestizaje, racial mixing. The colonial period lasted until 1821(Poland 14). El Salvador finally became independent from Spain in 1821 and joined the United Provinces of Central America in 1823; however, in 1840 El Salvador gained full independence (Eileen Garron Batres 6), One of the most important crops in El Salvador during the 1800’s and 1900’s was coffee; during the 1900’s El Salvador was the third largest coffee producer internationally (Susan B. Hecht).

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

In the mid-nineteenth century Latin America experienced a number of political, economic, and ideological changes that had a major impact on relations between church and state. Nineteenth-Century liberals demanded freedom from restrictions that impeded each individuals

Located on the Pacific Coastline, El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and the most populated. The United States of America foreign policy on El Salvador is best explained by President Obama’s approach on Latin America where the United States is focused on economic growth and equality, energy and climate control, and regional and citizen security (Foreign Policy, 2012). This is best explained using the international level of analysis and neo-liberalism where the global structure and economic interdependence provides the foundation of America’s foreign policy. To ensure that one can see the transparency in United States methodology I will provide the history of El Salvador, the creation of United States interest in El

The church and the regime of general Pinochet were rivals throughout the regime of the general. There were enemies for many reasons. The regime used torture and disappearance. The church used love and peace for unity. The author William Cavanaugh argues that the church in Chile only gradually became the church Christ wanted and needed to be.

The last group to experience Grande’s controversial speeches was the church itself. The church in El Salvador had historically united itself with the wealthy of the country, further alienating and devaluing the poor (Status Quo 183). Grande fiercely defended the poor and argued against their maltreatment. He also strongly advocated for social change, which he believed should start with pastoral renewal (Brackley). All in all, Grande was more concerned with imparting Christian principles, and thus while his speeches were built on Liberation theology, his emphasis was on the Bible and its inherent ability to change the situation in El Salvador.