24 March was celebrated as the Feast of St. Oscar Romero, commemorating the day in 1980 when he was brutally gunned down while celebrating the Eucharist in his native El Salvador. A fiercely outspoken critic of his government, the military and the fascist elements of his country for their continued exploitation and exclusion of the poor, it was they who killed him.
He visibly and vocally took sides with the marginalized, the vulnerable, the exploited and all who were victims of injustice, and his martyrdom spontaneously made him a saint for millions of his people. It was estimated that more than 250,000 were present at his funeral as a sign of gratitude to the man who did so much for them and whom they deeply loved.
In his homily, a few moments before he was assassinated, Romero said:
“Many do not understand, and they think Christianity should not get involved in such things. But, to the contrary, you have just heard Christ’s Gospel, that one must not love oneself so much as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life which history demands of us, that those who would avoid the danger will lose their life, while those who out of love for Christ give themselves to the service of others will live, like the grain of wheat that dies, but only apparently. If it did not die, it would remain alone. The harvest comes about because it dies, allows itself to be sacrificed in the earth and destroyed. Only by destroying itself does it produce the harvest.”
The night before his murder, Archbishop Romero made a personal but powerful appeal in a desperate attempt to place some sort of moral obstacle before the escalating pace of the killing in El Salvador. He spoke directly to those soldiers who were most responsible for the growing horror, asking them to disobey their superiors.
“I would like to appeal in a special way to the men of the army,” he said, “and in particular to the troops of the National Guard, the police and the garrisons. Brothers, you belong to our own people. You kill your own brother peasants; and in the face of an order to kill that is given by a man, the law of God that says ‘Do not kill!’ should prevail. No soldier is obliged to obey an order counter to the law of God. No one has to comply with an immoral law. It is time now that you recover your conscience and obey its dictates rather than the command of sin…. Therefore, in the name of God, and in the name of this long-suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven every day more tumultuous, I beseech you, I beg you, I command you! In the name of God: ‘Cease the repression!’”
The applause that followed was so thunderous the radio station’s beleaguered audio technicians at first took it for a short circuit or feedback in the system that had knocked the good archbishop off the air. Sadly, that passionate appeal was his death sentence.
Three years earlier, on 12 March 1977, Archbishop Romero’s dear friend Jesuit Fr. Rutilio Grande was cruelly murdered by government thugs. Grande had been living in solidarity with the rural poor and speaking out against the military government. His death was a watershed moment for Archbishop Romero, as he realized that being a Catholic and being a priest meant standing with the poor and being a prophet against the establishment.
Romero ordered three days of mourning and a funeral mass in San Salvador’s cathedral, despite advice to the contrary from those who feared government repercussions. He experienced a profound conversion at the death of Grande, publicly declaring, “When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead, I thought… I, too, have to walk the same path.” He defended Grande’s work with the poor as rooted in faith, not politics, famously urging that the Church “cannot remain silent before such injustice.”
On 21 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly, in a fitting annual tribute to Oscar Romero, proclaimed 24 March as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims: to honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice; to pay tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in, the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all; and to recognize, in particular, the important work and values of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador, who was assassinated on 24 March 1980 after denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable populations and defending the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity and opposition to all forms of violence.
India today is steeped in untruth, injustice, corruption and communalism. Those who take a stand for justice and truth are harassed, incarcerated and even killed, like Romero. Corruption is mainstreamed: be it demonetization or the Electoral Bonds scam.
Minorities, particularly Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, are at the receiving end of a brutal system; divisiveness and discrimination rule the roost. Several political and so-called religious leaders use hate speeches and even resort to violence to nurture their lust for power and greed for wealth. People are kept divided and on the fringes of society for whimsical reasons.
Truth and justice are conveniently sacrificed for petty political gains; those whose primary duty is to propagate and protect our Constitution, our democratic ethos and pluralistic fabric simply abdicate their responsibility, feeling either too embarrassed or too frightened to take a stand, or just succumbing to the diktats of their masters.
The Election Commission is a classic case; the manner in which they have used the Special Intensive Revision to disenfranchise thousands of legitimate voters is in the public domain. Even sections of the judiciary are not beyond reproach.
Draconian, anti-Constitutional and anti-people policies and legislation abound: the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Education Policy, the three anti-small farmer laws, the four labour codes which are anti-worker, the anti-conversion laws, the Uniform Civil Code first in Uttarakhand and now in Gujarat, the weaponisation of the use of foreign funds, the treatment meted out to transgenders, and much more.
India needs a Romero today. Romero was never afraid to highlight the painful realities of his people and to take on the powerful of his land. He got out of his comfort zone and as a true disciple of Jesus, he stuck his neck out on behalf of his suffering people.
Some days before he was killed, Romero stated, “As a Christian, I do not believe in death without resurrection. If I am killed, I shall rise in the Salvadoran people.” His words are still chanted today: “They can kill me, but they will never kill justice.”
Today, our country and Church desperately need an Oscar Romero—not just one, but many. A Romero who is not afraid to speak truth to power, to take on the fascist, fundamentalist forces who are doing all they can to destroy the constitutional rights and freedoms of the ordinary citizen.
A Romero who is neither a hypocrite nor takes recourse to diplomatic niceties; who is not a puppet or a plaything for foreign regimes. Someone who can say no to war, violence and hate. A Romero who has spine, who exemplifies servant-leadership and has the prophetic courage to die for others, so that they may rise. Will a Romero—or many Romeros—emerge from among our bishops, clerics, religious and even laity?
Jesus reminds us, “Fear no one….” Wanted then: a Romero for India, today.
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*Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist and writer
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