Pope Francis declares Oscar Romero a martyr, moves slain archbishop toward sainthood

David Gibson

(RNS) Pope Francis on Tuesday (Feb. 3) officially declared that Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated by a right-wing death squad in 1980 while celebrating Mass in El Salvador, was a martyr for the faith, clearing the way for his beatification.

The move ends decades of fierce debate over Romero’s legacy, but it was not a complete surprise: Francis, the first Latin American pope, has often said he thought Romero was a martyr worthy of consideration for sainthood.

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/02/03/pope-francis-declares-oscar-romero-martyr-moves-slain-archbishop-toward-sainthood/