Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9
Oscar Romero (1980)
“I don’t believe in death without resurrection”
Oscar’s life was threatened many times because he spoke out against the injustices perpetrated by the regime of his birthplace, El Salvador in Central America. The country was governed by a small elite who ruled through money and violence. Oscar was a man of prayer who was troubled by the violence of the regime and also by the Marxist beliefs of the Salvadorian resistance movement. For a long while he did not make any protest, but within a year of becoming archbishop of San Salvador he underwent a transformation. He started to speak out against the regime’s injustices and gave support to the resistance, much to the government’s displeasure. Two months before he died he wrote in a Mexican newspaper:
“My life has been threatened many times. I have to confess that, as a Christian, I don’t believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will rise again in the Salvadorian people… As a Shepherd I am obliged by Divine Law to give my life for those I love, for the entire Salvadorian people, including those who threaten to assassinate me. If they should go so far as to carry out their threats, I want you to know that I now offer my blood to God for justice and the resurrection of El Salvador…”
On 24 March 1980, just as he finished preaching, a shot rang out. He fell and died on the spot.
You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
C S Lewis (1898-1963), Mere Christianity