TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE
http://ncrcafe.org/node/1081

Shortly after 11:00 am Rome time, roughly two hours into his flight
to São Paulo, Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI came back to the press
compartment of the papal plane for a brief news conference ... The
pope offered an opening statement, then took a total of 11 questions
from reporters, including ... about... the beatification of the late
Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. The questions had not been
submitted in advance, and the pope's replies were extemporaneous ...
questions were posed in Italian, and Benedict gave all of his replies
in Italian; the following is therefore an NCR translation.

QUESTION FROM I. MEDIA IN FRANCE:

Your Holiness, we're arriving in the continent of Archbishop Oscar
Romero. Many people are talking about the process for his
beatification. Can you tell us where we're at? Is he ready for
beatification? How do you see this figure?

POPE BENEDICT XVI:

I don't have the latest information from the competent congregation.
I know there are many cases moving through the process. I know that
the cause [of Romero] is going forward very well. Bishop Paglia of
Terni has written a very important biography, which clarifies many
points that had been in question. [Romero] was certainly a great
witness to the faith. He was a man of great Christian virtue, who was
committed to peace and against the dictatorship. He was killed during
the moment of consecration, therefore it was a truly incredible
death, a testimony to the faith.

The problem is that some political factions wanted to claim Romero
for themselves, like a banner, unjustly. As [Paglia] spotlights very
well, the figure [of Romero] himself liberates us from these unjust
attempts.

That Romero as a person merits beatification, I have no doubt. But we
have to look at the context, and I'm waiting for what the
congregation says to me.