SAN SALVADOR GETS A NEW ARCHBISHOP
http://luterano.blogspot.com/2008/12/san-salvador-gets-new-
archbishop.html

[This is an expanded version of the English language story reported
in Tim's El Salvador Blog.]

The Vatican has named a new archbishop for San Salvador to replace
the retiring Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle. He is José Luis
Escobar Alas, the current bishop of San Vicente. The post of
Archbishop of San Salvador is the head of the Roman Catholic church
in San Salvador, and the holder of the post is influential in this
country where the majority of the citizens are Roman Catholic.

The Bishop of San Vicente, Msgr. Jose Luis Escobar Alas, is only 49
years-old. He has had numerous administrative roles and was vicar
general of the diocese of San Vicente before being bishop, and has
experience as a seminary rector. He has studied in Mexico and at
Rome's Gregorian University, where Oscar Romero studied decades
before. [#]

Msgr. Escobar is a relative unknown in the Salvadoran church, despite
being the bishop of the country's second largest city. He was
praised by outgoing President Tony Saca and by the FMLN's
presidential candidate Mauricio Funes. Misnaming him as "Msgr. Alas"
(his proper last name is Escobar, or Escobar-Alas), Pres. Saca said
the new archbishop is a "profoundly spiritual" and "humble man."
Saca said Msgr. Escobar will be a conciliator on various issues. For
his part, presidential contender Funes said he hoped to speak to
Msgr. Escobar in the next few days, and hoped the new prelate would
be able to guide the Church "down the path of God and peace."

Reaction to the announcement made during the last days of the year
from El Salvador's civil society was muted, though there were some
grumblings that the job had not gone to the long-serving auxiliary
bishop, Msgr. Gregorio Rosa Chavez. Rosa Chavez worked with the
martyred archbishop Oscar Romero, and was a collaborator of wartime
archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas. At 66, Rosa Chavez would have been
able to serve for only 9 years before he, too, would reach the
mandatory age of retirement that forced the current changing of the
guard. By contrast, Msgr. Escobar is only 49 years-old and will
presumably be able to serve for a quarter century before he has to
retire. If his health allows, Escobar could put his stamp on the
Salvadoran Church for the new century.

Relations between progressive sectors of the Catholic Church and the
orthodox hierarchy have been tense at times, in recent years. There
was great distrust in the "popular Church" for the outgoing
Archbishop Saenz Lacalle, a member of Opus Dei and former vicar to
the Salvadoran military, which has been accused of war era crimes.
The Spanish-born Saenz was seen as close to entrenched interests and
sent by the Vatican to reign in the activist clergy. Recently, Rome
censured the Liberation Theology scholar Jon Sobrino for giving
greater emphasis to the political implications of the Christian
message than to spiritual concerns. In this respect, there is little
doubt that the new archbishop stands decisively in the "spiritual"
camp, whereas the auxiliary bishop, Rosa Chavez, is perceived as the
favorite of Catholics aligned with the Left.

Escobar is said to be close to the lay movement Lumen El Salvador, a
traditionalist group known for promoting well-produced "praise"
videos on the Internet and distributing Holy Week prayer cards for
popular devotional use. Escobar told El Diario de Hoy that, as
archbishop, he would seek to intensify the love of Jesus. He
lamented the corrosive influence of "sects," and the impact
of "currents of thought that mine the true faith and our traditions,
and lead us to the loss of values." He has elsewhere lamented the
prevalence of divorce in modern society. In May 2008, Bishop Escobar
visited the Opus Dei seminary in Pamplona, Spain. He was
accompanying Archbishop Saenz for the visit to the Opus Dei seminary,
which has ordained a number of Salvadorans.

More troubling is Escobar's April 2008 participation in a celebration
of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Msgr. Pedro Arnoldo
Aparicio. On the one hand, Escobar's participation may have been
obligatory, since Aparicio, the founder of national lay
organizations, was the first Bisho of San Vicente -- the most notable
predecessor of Escobar in that capacity. On the other hand,
Aparicio, in life, was an ardent opponent of Archbishop Romero, who
argued after Romero's death that Romero had been manipulated by a
small cadre of wayward priests. Aparicio also lent credibility to
false accusations against the clergy that they were involved in the
insurrection. These accusations may have lead to the assassination
of some priests, such as the UCA massacre. The government quoted
Aparacio in arguing to the OAS that, "There has been vigilance—not
persecution—of elements of the Church who have gone astray and
deviated from their pastoral mission … and if unfortunately some have
lost their lives, it is because they themselves have taken the path
of violence and challenge to the authorities." There is no
indication that Escobar partakes of these views. Instead, Escobar is
described as fair-minded, and faithful to the social doctrine of the
Church.

Escobar comes from a large family. He is one of 10 siblings, who
include a presiding judge of the law courts and, now, an archbishop.
Msgr. Escobar says his family has been supportive, and that his
mother is especially happy for him. He was notified of his selection
on Dec. 10, though the news was not announced to the world until Dec.
27.

Msgr. Escobar's promotion to Archbishop of San Salvador creates a new
vacancy for his old seat as Bishop of San Vicente. The Church has
not announced how it will fill that vacancy. Escobar is set to be
installed as Archbishop on February 14, and Saenz Lacalle, now deemed
the Archbishop Emeritus, has been contemporaneously named the
apostolic administrator of the San Salvador archdiocese. As such, he
is charged with running the San Salvador church until his successor
takes office.