Thursday 10 June 2010

Quotable Quote - Oscar Romero - the Church

Here are some words of Archbishop Oscar Romero about the nature of the church. Very challenging! I would have loved to have met him.


From The Violence of Love

A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed - what gospel is that? Very nice, pious considerations that don’t bother anyone, that’s the way many would like preaching to be. Those preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed, so as not to have conflicts and difficulties, do not light up the world they live in.

Oscar Romero



Archbishop Romero was outspoken about violations of human rights and social injustice in El Salvador and he became an advocate of liberation theology - which emphasises social justice and political activism. He was martyred in March 1980 whist taking a communion service in a hospital chapel.

A prayer of Archbishop Romero's can be found here.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks. This statement and life reminds me of a poem written by an English ex-patriot in China.

    "some men die of shrapnel,
    some go down in flames,
    most me die inch by inch
    while playing little games"

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  2. Thank you for all your comments - I am getting quite adept at using Google translate - but I have a feeling it loses something in the translation!

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  3. I really appreciate all the comments but I ask that you write your comments in English please, as the final writer has done, so that other readers of this site can understand them.
    Thank you very much.
    Kath

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