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CNS Story:
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POPE-MARTYRS Mar-26-2007 (370 words) xxxi
Pope recalls Archbishop Romero, prays for missionary martyrs
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI recalled the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar A. Romero and prayed for the many missionary martyrs of recent years.
Speaking at his noon blessing March 25, the pope noted that the previous day marked the 27th anniversary of the slaying of Archbishop Romero. The March 24 date has been chosen for fasting and prayer for all missionaries who have given their lives for the faith.
"These are bishops, priests, men and women religious, and laypeople, cut down while fulfilling their mission of evangelization and human promotion," the pope said.
"They are a hope for the world, because they show that love of Christ is stronger than violence and hatred. They didn't seek martyrdom, but they were ready to give their lives to remain faithful to the Gospel," he said.
The Vatican said 24 missionaries, most of them priests, were slain in 2006. Eleven were killed in Africa, the continent with the highest number of missionary deaths.
Archbishop Romero was shot and killed in 1980 as he was celebrating Mass in a San Salvador hospital chapel. After El Salvador's 12-year civil war, a truth commission found that a group of army officers and rightist businessmen planned the archbishop's murder.
Archbishop Romero's sainthood cause has been under study at the Vatican for several years. Sources have said the Vatican is satisfied that the archbishop's writings, homilies and speeches were free of doctrinal error, but a remaining question is whether it was the archbishop's faith or his politics that led to his assassination.
The pope, in his Angelus talk to thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, only briefly referred to Archbishop Romero and did not talk about the circumstances of his death or his sainthood cause.
The pope said the martyrdom of Christians through the ages represented a radical "yes" to the Gospel, similar to the assent of Mary at the annunciation, when she agreed to be the "servant of the Lord" and give birth to Jesus.
"When the Virgin said 'yes' to the angel's announcement, Jesus was conceived and with him began the new era of history," the pope said.
END
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