One of the better known figures in Latin America Catholicism is Archbishop Oscar Romero. Many know of his unlikely election as Archbishop, his courageous leadership over the three years he held that position, and the injustice of his swift and brutal execution at the hands of right-wing murderers in El Salvador. What has been almost completely missed by most that have read and studied Archbishop Romero is the theological and pastoral influence of Rutilio Grande, S.J. While the book When the Gospel Grows Feet largely treats of the life, ministry and death of Rutilio Grande, S.J., it also fills in some gaps in who influenced Archbishop Romero and how.
I would like to begin this brief reflection on the relationship of Fr. Grande and Archbishop Romero with a quote from Theresa Whitfield’s groundbreaking volume on the UCA martyrs, Paying the Price.
Rutilio Grande’s death was to prove a defining event for the Jesuits of Central America and for the Salvadoran Church under the leadership of Monsignor Romero. For the Jesuits, the internal disputes that had so characterized the painful years since the meeting in December 1969 were silenced by a unity born of persecution. For his part, Monsignor Romero emerged from his past to lead a Church under siege, but a Church that was unified by what many began to speak of as “the miracle of Rutilio.”[i]Much has rightfully been written on the life, ministry and death of Archbishop Oscar Romero. What has not been recognized in the English-speaking world, beyond a brief mention or a politicized sound bite, is the impact of the life, ministry and theology of Rutilio Grande, S.J. on Romero’s thought and ministry.[ii] I would argue that it is impossible to understand the ministry and sacrifice of Oscar Romero without the background of his close, personal friend whom he called “a brother.”[iii] This is evident from a brief look at the homily Romero gave at Rutilio’s funeral. In a way, this grounded the beginning of his time as Archbishop and speaks to the influence of Rutilio Grande.
The Homily for Rutilio
Romero introduced his homily at the funeral of Rutilio with two themes that played out during his time as Archbishop—both in his actions and his pastoral letters. The first theme, broadly considered was the Church and its proper relationship to the world. The second theme was the uniquely Christian contribution the Church could make to human development.[iv] In both cases, the term “liberation” was used. Both themes were framed by the question, “What does the Church provide in the universal struggle for liberation from so much misery?”[v] His response, in many ways, was a summary of the life and ministry of Rutilio, and Rutilio’s ministry was embodied in Paul VI’s Evangelii nuntiandi (EN). It is interesting to note that Rutilio’s article, “Aguilares: An Experience of Rural Parish Evangelization,”[vi] was written in March of 1975 about a mission that took place between 1973-75. Paul VI promulgated Evangelii nuntiandi in December of 1975. The almost identical approach to “Christian liberation” between Rutilio’s ministry lived out and Paul VI’s encyclical (in theory) is astonishing.
I will argue that Rutilio Grande, S.J. gave Romero a lived example of involving the Church in the work of liberation while also being perfectly consistent with the Gospel and “orthodox” in the eyes of Rome. Romero officially accepted that way of proceeding as leader of the Church of El Salvador at the funeral for his friend on March 14, 1977. I will demonstrate this by arguing how Rutilio anticipated, in writing almost nine months before Evangelii nuntiandi was promulgated, what he lived out in his mission to Aguilares from 1973-1975. He does this in four concrete and particular ways. First, he begins from the perspective that liberation can never be limited to the economic, political or social but must include the conversion of human hearts; second, the church cannot ignore the economic, political or social—but engaging those must begin with the Gospel; third, the starting point for engagement with the world mattered, and no human liberation could equal the Kingdom that only comes through God’s love; and fourth, violence cannot be used in the struggle for Christian liberation.
This September at the International Romero Conference at the University of Notre Dame, September 26-28 I will draw upon my research for When the Gospel Grows Feet and use original translations of Grande’s writings to make this case. I hope you can make it!
You can read more about the book at Tom at When the Gospel Grows Feet.
[i] Theresa Whitfield, Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuria and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador, (Temple University Press, 1994) 104.
[ii] There are exceptions to this: They would include Douglas Marcouiller, S.J., “Archbishop with an Attitude: Oscar Romero’s Sentir con la Iglesia,” in Studies in the Spirituality of the Jesuits, 35/3, May 2003 as well as most of the material in Teresa Whitfield’s Paying the Price. The most complete summary of Rutilio’s life and work in English is the first chapter of William O’Malley’s The Voice of Blood: Five Christian Martyrs of our Time, (Orbis Press, Maryknoll, NY, 1980) 3-63. Nearly all the chapter on Rutilio is unreferenced by the “anonymous Salvadoran author of the life of Rutilio Grande” vii. It was clearly written by someone with access to his homilies and letters.
[iii] Oscar Romero, “Homilia en la Misa Exequial del Padre Rutilio Grande,” (Homily in the Funeral Mass of Fr. Rutilio Grande) in Colección Homilías y Diario de Mons. Oscar Renulfo Romero, Second Edition (Imprenta Criterio, San Salvador, 2000), 1 (translation mine).
[iv] For the development of these themes in a variety of ways see Oscar Romero, Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements, Trans. by Michael J. Walsh, (Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, 2004).
[v] Romero, “Homily at the Mass of Fr. Rutilio Grande,” 2.
[vi]This article was published in Búsqueda, Organ of the Pastoral Commission of El Salvador, Vol. III, No. 8, March, 1975, 21-45.
No comments:
Post a Comment