Oscar Romero

Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador was a great hero of the struggles for liberation in Latin America during that region's "long dark night," a period lasting from the 1960s through the 1980s. He was an archbishop very briefly, a mere three years, 1977-1980, and he was an unlikely hero. The upper hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America was firmly allied with the economic and political elite. But Archbishop Romero emerged as the "voice of the oppressed" in El Salvador after he reached the pinnacle of that hierarchy. His remarkable transformation into a defender of the poor and oppressed when he had reached such a privileged professional and institutional status marks him as one of the most extraordinary figures in history. His assassination elevated him to the level of martyr for almost all of the peasants and workers who fought in desperation to free themselves from the oppressive conditions they faced in El Salvador. His martyrdom is honored throughout many other countries in Latin America. Among religiously motivated North American opponents of neocolonialism, no name is more revered than Romero.

Romero's brief reign as archbishop and his transformation from a mild-mannered theologian into a hero of the struggle for "human rights" is chronicled, in a way, in a low-budget film, Romero.

Jonathan Harris

Poverty Analysis

Poverty Analysis

As Archbishop of San Salvador, Father Romero was a source of strength and hope for the poor and for the oppressed of his country, working with and for them, taking their struggles as his own. Romero wrote and spoke passionately and publicly of the need for Christians to work for justice, frequently faced with threat and danger from those who opposed his ideas. On March 24, 1980, while celebrating the Eucharist, Archbishop Romero was shot and killed at the altar by a death squad assassin, paying the highest price for the commitment about which he spoke so often and so eloquently. Because of his courageous stand for justice, he became a martyr not only for poor Salvadorians but for all struggling to overcome oppression and poverty. Today, his sermons are read as powerful reminders of Christians' obligation to fight for a just society. Shortly before he was murdered, Romero said: "It is my hope that my blood will be the seed of freedom and the sign that hope will soon be reality" The example of Romero's courageous life and ultimately death continue to inspire those who struggle for human dignity and justice.

It is hard for me to believe that the El Salvador government would let there people suffer like that. They feel as if Oscar Romero is the bad guy, and all he wanted all along is peace between the people.

World Poverty

This past September, world leaders gathered in New York at the UN Millennium Summit. They took stock of progress made toward the Millennium Development Goals in the last five years, and examined the realities we face if the MDGs are to be met in the next decade.

The UN Summit has come and gone. But the momentum it generated should not be lost. Reducing poverty in African and other developing countries worldwide is not an issue that the international development community can embrace only during global conferences. It is a task that demands an ongoing commitment. As a partner in the global effort to reduce poverty, the International Monetary Fund is fully committed to doing its part to help countries meet the MDGs and halve extreme poverty by 2015.

Most importantly,