BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO,
MAY 23, 2015
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Pope Francis has raised expectations for an impending canonization of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero, by alluding to a trip “around Central America” in informal comments to the President of Costa Rica.
Leaving an
audience with the Holy Father, the Costa Rican president invited him to visit
Costa Rica, which is the practice of many heads of state when they visit the
pope. Francis replied, “There is something that I'm thinking about
around Central America... So it's possible, it's possible...” The
comment suggests that the “thing” that the pope has in mind is the canonization
of Archbishop Romero, who was beatified last year.
With the
caveat that I do not have inside information on the subject, I will engage in a
mental exercise on the pope’s words, which leads me to think that the pope is not
talking about a trip to El Salvador to canonize Archbishop Romero.
For me, “around Central America” is a very heavy
phrase. He did not say “I'm thinking about going to Central
America.” First of all, we can eliminate Costa Rica, because that is where he
was invited, and he seems to have demurred. But he also did not refer directly
to Central America, but said “around
Central America.” I think he's saying that he is thinking of going to a
country close to the isthmus, but not to Central America itself. Is there a known
possibility that fits the bill? Yes. The Pope has accepted a visit to Colombia
for “the first quarter of 2017”, without setting a date. Colombia is 740 miles
from Costa Rica; it can be called “around
Central America” and the “thing” he is going to do may be to celebrate
the peace agreements with the FARC.
Moreover,
neither the cause of Archbishop Romero nor the cause of Father Rutilio Grande (his,
for beatification) appear to be ready. In the Romero case, the Church is looking
for a miracle, and the Archdiocese of San Salvador announced that they have
sent six to Rome (three last year and three more in recent months) that have
yet to be studied. Additionally, the Salvadoran Church reports to have no inkling of an impending trip, which would seem unlikely if one was in the works.
But I repeat:
in truth, I do not know. And, after all, Francis is the pope of surprises ...
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