POPE RECALLS ARCHBISHOP ROMERO, PRAYS FOR MISSIONARY MARTYRS
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0701676.htm

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.