Romero on violence

Wednesday is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. This week, I'm sharing some of his words on the blog, courtesy of this online version of some of Oscar Romero's writings.

The church is calling to sanity,
to understanding,
to love.
It does not believe in violent situation.
The church believes in only one violence,
that of Christ,
who was nailed to the cross.
This is how today's gospel reading shows him,
taking upon himself all the violence
of hatred and misunderstanding,
so that we humans might forgive one another,
love one another,
feel ourselves brothers and sisters.

The picture is from my trip to El Salvador in 2007. This "San Romero" sign is on the grounds of the library in El Sitio Cencinero, a village where many former refugees from the civil war have resettled.