On February 23, 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador. His appointment was met with surprise, dismay, and even incredulity. While this appointment was welcomed by the government, many priests were disappointed, especially those openly aligning with
Marxism. The Marxist priests feared that his conservative reputation would negatively affect
liberation theology’s commitment to the poor.
On March 12, a progressive
Jesuit priest and personal friend
Rutilio Grande, who had been creating self-reliance groups among the poor
campesinos, was assassinated. His death had a profound impact on Romero who later stated, “When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought, ‘If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path’”.
[5] Romero urged
Arturo Armando Molina’s government to investigate, but they ignored his request. Furthermore, the
censored press remained silent.
[6]
Tension was noted by the closure of schools and the lack of Catholic priests invited to participate in government. In response to Fr. Rutilio’s murder, Romero revealed a
radicalism that had not been evident earlier. He spoke out against poverty,
social injustice, assassinations and torture. As a result, Romero began to be noticed internationally. In February 1980, he was given an honorary doctorate by the
Catholic University of Leuven. On his visit to Europe to receive this honor, he met
Pope John Paul II and expressed his concerns at what was happening in his country. Romero argued that it was problematic to support the Salvadoran government because it legitimized terror and assassinations.
[6]
In 1979, the
Revolutionary Government Junta came to power amidst a wave of human rights abuses by paramilitary right-wing groups and the government. Romero criticized the
United States for giving
military aid to the new government and wrote to President
Jimmy Carter in February 1980, warning that increased US military aid would “undoubtedly sharpen the injustice and the
repression inflicted on the organized people, whose struggle has often been for their most basic human rights”.
[1] Carter, concerned that El Salvador would become “another Nicaragua” ignored Romero’s pleas and continued military aid to the Salvadoran government.
—Statements on persecution of the Church— Archbishop Romero denounced what he characterized as the
persecution of the Church:
In less than three years, more than fifty priests have been attacked, threatened and slandered. Six of them are
martyrs
, having been assassinated; various others have been
tortured, and others expelled from the country. Religious women have also been the object of persecution. The archdiocesan radio station, Catholic educational institutions and Christian religious institutions have been constantly attacked, menaced, threatened with bombs. Various parish convents have been sacked.
[7]
– Oscar Romero
