Óscar Romero and the Politics of Sainthood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v5i3.265Keywords:
Oscar Romero, Contemporary Catholicism, Liberation Theology, Romanization, El Salvador, SaintsAbstract
In this article, we explore the debates surrounding the proposed canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero, an outspoken defender of human rights and the poor during the civil war in El Salvador, who was assassinated in March 1980 by paramilitary death squads while saying Mass. More specifically, we examine the tension between, on the one hand, local and popular understandings of Romero’s life and legacy and, on the other hand, transnational and institutional interpretations. We argue that the reluctance of the Vatican to advance Romero’s canonization process has to do with the need to domesticate and “privatize” his image. This depoliticization of Romero’s work and teachings is a part of a larger agenda of neo-Romanization, an attempt by the Holy See to redeploy a post-colonial and transnational Catholic regime in the face of the crisis of modernity and the advent of postmodern relativism. This redeployment is based on the control of local religious expressions, particularly those that advocate for a more participatory church, which have proliferated with contemporary globalization
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———. 1991. “Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field.” Comparative Social Research 13: 1–44.
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Harvey, David. 1989. The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell.
Jameson, Fredric. 1991. Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
John Paul II. 1993. “Opening Address.” In Santo Domingo and Beyond: Documents and Commentaries, edited by Alfred T. Hennelly, 41–60. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
Lacefield, Patrick. 1981. “Oscar Romero: Archbishop of the Poor.” In El Salvador: Central America in the New Cold War, edited by David Mermelstein, Patrick Lacefield, and-Marvin Gettleman, 131–135. New York: Grove Press.
Lernoux, Penny. 1980. Cry of the People. New York: Doubleday.
Levine, Daniel. 1981. Religion and Politics in Latin America: The Catholic Church in Venezuela and Columbia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
———. 2009. “The Future as Seen from Aparecida.” In Aparecida: Quo Vadis? edited by Robert S. Pelton, 173–190. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press.
Mainwaring, Scott. 1986. The Catholic Church and Politics in Brazil, 1916–1985. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
McBrien, Richard P. 2008. The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism. New York: HarperCollins.
Pelton, Robert S. 2009. “Medellín and Puebla: Dead or Alive in the 21st Century Catholic Church.” In Aparecida: Quo Vadis? edited by Robert S. Pelton, 25–48. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press.
Peterson, Anna L. 1996. “Religious Narratives and Political Protest.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64: 27–44.
———. 1997. Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion: Progressive Catholicism in El Salvador’s Civil War. Albany: State University of New York Press.
———, and Manuel A. Vásquez. 1998. “The New Evangelization in Latin American Perspective.” Cross Currents 48: 311–329.
Recinos, Harold J. 1993. “The Politics of Salvadoran Refugee Popular Religion.” PhD Dissertation, American University, Washington, DC.
Ribeiro de Oliveira, Pedro. 1979. “The Romanization of Catholicism and Agrarian Capitalism in Brazil.” Social Compass 26: 309–329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003776867902600206
Romero, Catalina. 2001. “Globalization, Civil Society and Religion from a Latin American Standpoint.” Sociology of Religion 62: 475–490. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3712437
Romero, Oscar. 1985. Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
———. 1987. La voz de los sin voz. San Salvador: UCA Editores.
———. 1990. Su diario: del 31 de marzo de 1978 al 20 de marzo de 1980. San Salvador: Archdiocese of San Salvador.
Russell, Philip. 1984. El Salvador in Crisis. Austin, TX: Colorado River Press.
“Salvadoran Bishops Eager for Romero Canonization.” 2010. Zenit: The World Seen from Rome. January 26. http://www.zenit.org/article-28167?l=english. Accessed July 17, 2010.
Sobrino, Jon. 1987. Liberación con espíritu: Apuntes para una nueva espiritualidad. San Salvador: UCA Editores.
Theije, Marjo de. 1990. “ ‘Brotherhoods Throw More Weight Around than the Pope’: Catholic Traditionalism and the Lay Brotherhoods of Brazil.” Sociological Analysis 51: 189–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3710814
Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas. 1993. “De la locura a la esperanza: La guerra de doce años en El Salvador. Informe de la Comisión de la Verdad.” Estudios Centroamericanos 48(53): 153–326.
Weigel, George. 2005. “John Paul II’s Saints—and Us.” The Catholic Difference. 13 April. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0803.html . Accessed 17 July 2010.
Wills, Garry. 2000. Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit. New York: Doubleday.
Wirpsa, Leslie. 1997. “Salvador’s New Brigadier Causes Outrage—Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle Promoted by Salvadoran Armed Forces.” National Catholic Reporter, March 7.
Woodward, Kenneth L. 1996. Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint and Who Doesn’t. New York: Touchstone.
Allen, John L. 2005. Pope Benedict XVI: A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger. London and New York: Continuum.
Amesbury, Richard and Andrew Kirschman. 2010. “Salvador’s Saint.” America, April 26.
“Archbishop Romero’s Beatification Stalls on Martyrdom Question.” 2008. Catholic News Agency, February 19. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop_romeros_beatification_stalls_on_martyrdom_question/. Accessed July 20, 2010.
Armstrong, Robert, and Janet Shenk. 1999. El Salvador. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Benedict XVI. 2007. “Entrevista Concedida por el Santo Padre durante el Vuelo Hacia Brasil,” May 9. [Translation by the authors]. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2007/may/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20070509_interview-brazil_sp.html
Benedict XVI. 2009a. “Inaugural Address. Sunday, May 13, 2007.” In Aparecida: Quo Vadis? edited by Robert S. Pelton, 1–15. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press.
———. 2009b. “The Future as Seen from Aparecida.” In Aparecida: Quo Vadis? edited by Robert S. Pelton, 173–190. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press.
———. 2009c. “Address by the Holy Father, Apostolic Visit to the Czech Republic.” Meeting with the Civil and Political Authorities and with Members of the Diplomatic Corps. September 26. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20090926_autorita-civili_en.html
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———. 1991. “Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field.” Comparative Social Research 13: 1–44.
Brockman, James. 1989. Romero: A Life. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
Casaldáliga , Pedro. 2010. “Reflection by Archbishop Pedro Casaldáliga.” CAFOD. http://www.cafod.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/human-rights/romero-30-years-on/reflection-archbishop-pedro-casaldaliga-. March 23. Accessed on July 18, 2010.
Casanova, José. 1997. “Globalizing Catholicism and the Return to a ‘Universal’ Church.” In Transnational Religion and Fading States, edited by Susanne Hoeber Rudolph and James Pistori, 121–143. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
———. 2001. “Religion, the New Millennium, and Globalization.” Sociology of Religion 62(4): 415–441. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3712434
Civil Society Organization Las Abejas. 2010. “Communiqué, March 22, 2010.” Chenalhó, Chiapas, Mexico. http://sipazen.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/chiapas-the-an¬niversary-of-oscar-romero%E2%80%99s-death-commemorated-by-las-abejas/. Accessed July 18, 2010.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 1986. “Instructions on Christian Freedom and Liberation.” http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19860322_freedom-liberation_en.html.
Dada, Carlos. 2010. “Así matamos a monseñor Romero.” El Faro. March 22: http://www.elfaro.net/es/201003/noticias/1403/?st-full_text=1. English language ver-sion: “How We Killed Archbishop Romero.” March 25: http://www.elfaro.net/es/201003/noticias/1416.
Della Cava, Ralph. 1970. Miracle in Joaseiro. New York: Columbia University Press.
Erdozain, Plácido. 1981. Archbishop Romero, Martyr of El Salvador. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
Fraser, Nancy. 1989. Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Harvey, David. 1989. The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell.
Jameson, Fredric. 1991. Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
John Paul II. 1993. “Opening Address.” In Santo Domingo and Beyond: Documents and Commentaries, edited by Alfred T. Hennelly, 41–60. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
Lacefield, Patrick. 1981. “Oscar Romero: Archbishop of the Poor.” In El Salvador: Central America in the New Cold War, edited by David Mermelstein, Patrick Lacefield, and-Marvin Gettleman, 131–135. New York: Grove Press.
Lernoux, Penny. 1980. Cry of the People. New York: Doubleday.
Levine, Daniel. 1981. Religion and Politics in Latin America: The Catholic Church in Venezuela and Columbia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
———. 2009. “The Future as Seen from Aparecida.” In Aparecida: Quo Vadis? edited by Robert S. Pelton, 173–190. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press.
Mainwaring, Scott. 1986. The Catholic Church and Politics in Brazil, 1916–1985. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
McBrien, Richard P. 2008. The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism. New York: HarperCollins.
Pelton, Robert S. 2009. “Medellín and Puebla: Dead or Alive in the 21st Century Catholic Church.” In Aparecida: Quo Vadis? edited by Robert S. Pelton, 25–48. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press.
Peterson, Anna L. 1996. “Religious Narratives and Political Protest.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64: 27–44.
———. 1997. Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion: Progressive Catholicism in El Salvador’s Civil War. Albany: State University of New York Press.
———, and Manuel A. Vásquez. 1998. “The New Evangelization in Latin American Perspective.” Cross Currents 48: 311–329.
Recinos, Harold J. 1993. “The Politics of Salvadoran Refugee Popular Religion.” PhD Dissertation, American University, Washington, DC.
Ribeiro de Oliveira, Pedro. 1979. “The Romanization of Catholicism and Agrarian Capitalism in Brazil.” Social Compass 26: 309–329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003776867902600206
Romero, Catalina. 2001. “Globalization, Civil Society and Religion from a Latin American Standpoint.” Sociology of Religion 62: 475–490. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3712437
Romero, Oscar. 1985. Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
———. 1987. La voz de los sin voz. San Salvador: UCA Editores.
———. 1990. Su diario: del 31 de marzo de 1978 al 20 de marzo de 1980. San Salvador: Archdiocese of San Salvador.
Russell, Philip. 1984. El Salvador in Crisis. Austin, TX: Colorado River Press.
“Salvadoran Bishops Eager for Romero Canonization.” 2010. Zenit: The World Seen from Rome. January 26. http://www.zenit.org/article-28167?l=english. Accessed July 17, 2010.
Sobrino, Jon. 1987. Liberación con espíritu: Apuntes para una nueva espiritualidad. San Salvador: UCA Editores.
Theije, Marjo de. 1990. “ ‘Brotherhoods Throw More Weight Around than the Pope’: Catholic Traditionalism and the Lay Brotherhoods of Brazil.” Sociological Analysis 51: 189–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3710814
Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas. 1993. “De la locura a la esperanza: La guerra de doce años en El Salvador. Informe de la Comisión de la Verdad.” Estudios Centroamericanos 48(53): 153–326.
Weigel, George. 2005. “John Paul II’s Saints—and Us.” The Catholic Difference. 13 April. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0803.html . Accessed 17 July 2010.
Wills, Garry. 2000. Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit. New York: Doubleday.
Wirpsa, Leslie. 1997. “Salvador’s New Brigadier Causes Outrage—Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle Promoted by Salvadoran Armed Forces.” National Catholic Reporter, March 7.
Woodward, Kenneth L. 1996. Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint and Who Doesn’t. New York: Touchstone.
Published
2011-12-22
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Vasquez, M. A., & Peterson, A. L. (2011). Óscar Romero and the Politics of Sainthood. Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts, 5(3), 265-291. https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v5i3.265
