Archbishop Oscar Romero

Today is the first ever official feast day for the Archbishop Oscar Romero, this year the Episcopal Church added the Salvadorean martyr to their calendar of saints, twenty seven years after his death at the hands of death squad mercenaries trained and funded by America.

God rest his soul, and have mercy on his executioners.

"I would like to appeal in a special way to the men of the army, 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 should prevail that says: Do not kill! 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. The Church, defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of the dignity of the human person, cannot remain silent before so much abomination.

We want the government to seriously consider that reforms mean nothing when they come bathed in so much blood. 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!"

- Saint Oscar Romero, August 15th 1917 – March 24th 1980