ROME (CNS) The beatification of slain Archbishop Oscar A. Romero of San Salvador still may be years away, but it was clear that he was killed because of his faith-motivated actions, not because of his politics, said an influential Jesuit magazine.
The magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, which is reviewed by the Vatican Secretariat of State prior to publication, briefly commented on the archbishop’s sainthood cause in an article looking at books published to mark the 25th anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s death.
The archbishop “still has great relevance and continues to be the object of deep veneration, but also of sharp criticism,” the magazine wrote in an early November article.
The magazine said that after meeting Pope Benedict XVI in June, Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca said the pope told him Archbishop Romero was a man of peace and dialogue and his cause must go forward. However, the pope also cautioned against using Archbishop Romero for political purposes.
The church traditionally has defined as martyrs only those who were killed after refusing to renounce their faith or were murdered because they were Catholic.
La Civilta Cattolica said that almost immediately after Archbishop Romero was murdered, people started comparing him to St Thomas Becket, the English archbishop martyred in 1170.
