The other day someone expressed their doubt if Romero was actually a martyr or a case of political assassination. He was not contesting the canonization of the person but expressing a sentiment that one gets to see in quite some believers. The point is that he did not 'die' for 'religious' reasons. That the circumstances in which he was killed wasn't a question or threat to faith, rather a political turmoil.
I for one, firmly believe that Romero is a saint - so is anyone who takes a stand for some value, especially not for himself but on behalf of others, especially those who cannot really take that step. Romero is for me a saint who did not restrict himself to his office or Cathedral. As a priest, a bishop, he stood with his people. He stood against some of his own clergy who took up arms. He was not hesitant to call what is wrong, wrong. Even if it was the one's he was representing within the Church. He stood for values, not compromises.
Furthermore, he stood with his people, and distinctively with the poor. And as a bishop and minister of God, he used the sacraments as a means of pointing to the values, not as belittling them, as some accuse him of, but of pointing to what is right, what is good and true. Standing with his people, he upheld hope, and showed them, by example, what love truly entails - loving all, even those who cause harm. The same love also entails courage, the courage to stand up to oppression, injustice and violence, but not out of hatred but for love.
Last of all, if Romero's death was a mere political assassination, so was Jesus' crucifixion. The Romans did not sentence Jesus to death for any religious reasons - those accusations brought forth by the religious authorities meant nothing to the Romans. He was sentenced in order to avoid social unrest and political chaos. What marks out a martyr is not merely how he or she died, but how he or she lived as well. In that sense, Romero is a saint, not merely in the death he died but in the life he lived.
I for one, firmly believe that Romero is a saint - so is anyone who takes a stand for some value, especially not for himself but on behalf of others, especially those who cannot really take that step. Romero is for me a saint who did not restrict himself to his office or Cathedral. As a priest, a bishop, he stood with his people. He stood against some of his own clergy who took up arms. He was not hesitant to call what is wrong, wrong. Even if it was the one's he was representing within the Church. He stood for values, not compromises.
Furthermore, he stood with his people, and distinctively with the poor. And as a bishop and minister of God, he used the sacraments as a means of pointing to the values, not as belittling them, as some accuse him of, but of pointing to what is right, what is good and true. Standing with his people, he upheld hope, and showed them, by example, what love truly entails - loving all, even those who cause harm. The same love also entails courage, the courage to stand up to oppression, injustice and violence, but not out of hatred but for love.
Last of all, if Romero's death was a mere political assassination, so was Jesus' crucifixion. The Romans did not sentence Jesus to death for any religious reasons - those accusations brought forth by the religious authorities meant nothing to the Romans. He was sentenced in order to avoid social unrest and political chaos. What marks out a martyr is not merely how he or she died, but how he or she lived as well. In that sense, Romero is a saint, not merely in the death he died but in the life he lived.
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