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Foros de religión => San Romero de los pobres de América => Mensaje iniciado por: 💠🎋Lanina🎋💠 en 22 de Agosto de 2019, 02:57:24 pm
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Archbishop Romero’s Diary-1979
January 1979 (http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/drupal/sites/default/files/diary/Ashepherdsdiary.pdf)
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Monday, January 1
Not much activity during the day, since almost everything took place during the night I was able to rest a little at the farm belonging to the Oblate Sisters of Divine Love.
This evening I celebrated the usual Holy Hour in the chapel of the Divine Providence Hospital. The attendance was unusually large. I talked to them about the meaning of time in the biblical sense: the experience of God visiting human beings and the human obligation to respond to time as a visit from God.
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Tuesday, January 2
When the workers return to their tasks, the chancery resumes its normal routine. I took care of several private audiences. In the afternoon, the taping of the interview program I have every Wednesday.
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Wednesday, January 3
A great deal of activity in the archdiocese. Among the most important visits was that of Miss Doris Osegueda, who has taken charge of the communications office. An interview with Ingeniero Galvan to talk about concentrating all our efforts so that this year we will improve the organization of our diocesan curia.
An edition of one of my homilies is being prepared in the secretariat, the one from the first Sunday of Advent. We hope to continue issuing the rest of the homilies in booklets, but I wanted to do this first one as a token of appreciation for all of those who have been so kind as to remember me with greetings at Christmas and New Year's and to congratulate me on my nomination for the No bel Peace Prize.
I also received a visit from the International Red Cross delegation to talk about the kidnappings of the two men from England and the one from Japan, Mr. Suzuki. The Red Cross cannot act as intermediary if there is already another intermediary and, in this case, the Commission on Human Rights has been mediating. At the request of the kidnappers, I have been made part of the Commission.
In the evening, during dinner, I had an interesting conversation with the rector of the seminary, Father Gregorio Rosa, who informed me about the activities of the other bishops with regard to the seminary, which they want to educate only the seminarians from the suffragan dioceses, thus eliminating the group from the archdiocese which, according to the other bishops, is the one that is causing problems.
Naturally, the seminary team reacted in a very ecclesial way, saying that they are at the service of the Church as regards the formation of priests and that the Holy See had issued a directive that it wanted an interdiocesan seminary. I was pleased by this ecclesial reaction from the team, as well as by the reports given to the apostolic visitator, who was here investigating the archbishop's actions and the pastoral work of the archdiocese.
Finally, very late in the evening, a visit from Dr. Roberto Lara Velado [82] and Dr. Napoleon González, members of the commission that is acting as intermediary to try to resolve the kidnapping of the two Englishmen and the Japanese gentleman. They told me that today a formal petition, signed by many of our people, was presented to the Legislative Assembly. It asks the government for a general amnesty for political prisoners and abolishment of the Law for the Defense of Public Order. They talked with the president of the Assembly, who indicated his desire to help with the petition, but made them understand that, because of his political position, he cannot do anything more. We discussed how to support this petition since the extremist groups engage in violence, which could weaken the requested petition for amnesty.
In the chancery there was a meeting of parish priests and of the seminary commission. It was very interesting to see the concern of all the priests that the seminarians from our archdiocese be understood, be supported in their concerns and be formed in the way they should be as priests, in the way that the pastoral work of our archdiocese needs them to be. Father Sigfredo, rector of the minor seminary, was put in charge of continuing to coordinate reflection on this problem. All the priests present will have to take part in this reflection, as well as those who want to continue collaborating in this great concern, which is the principal one of our diocese-the formation of a clergy which is at the proper level and ready to respond to the needs of the present time.
82 An important figure in the Christian Democratic Party, president of the Commission to Investigate Political Assassinations and Disappearances
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Thursday, January 4
I went to the village of La Junta, in the parish of Concepción in Quezaltepeque, where Father Eduardo Alas [83] is doing very efficient pastoral work. In the village of La Junta, there had been a sacrilegious robbery of the Blessed Sacrament, and we went to celebrate an act of atonement. It turned out to be very impressive. Beginning at the entrance to the town, a group of children with little flags, the colors of the Church, announced the joy and warm reception that the bishop and the parish priest inspire there. Also the collaborating catechists, women religious-the Spanish Carmelite Missionary Sisters work there with Father Alas with great intensity-and a large number of the faithful were waiting for me at the edge of the village to take me to the shrine. Because it is not large enough, we had to celebrate the Eucharist on the porch of the rectory, above the plaza, shaded by some picturesque almond trees.
In the eucharistic message, I spoke to them about the presence of Christ in our midst, which he has revealed in diverse forms: in the Church community, in its ministers, in the proclamation of his word, and, especially, in the Eucharist; about how many times the Lord's loving presence is answered by indifference, persecution and slander; and how, therefore, atonement is necessary.
After Mass, we held a eucharistic procession. After I gave the benediction, I invited them to join in a moment of fellowship-that is, for the different communities which had brought beautiful signs to come to the microphone and read their signs or express their feelings in ecclesial communion. And it was very impressive to hear their different voices: men, women, adults, young people expressing their feeling of profound solidarity with the Church and its pastor. As Father Alas told me, 'Through these gatherings, one grows in faith."
I returned home, having truly grown, feeling confirmed in my desire to serve this noble people of God that the Lord has entrusted to me.
When I got back I found some important messages about matters of the life of the archdiocese waiting for me, and also a confidential message transmitted to me directly by someone who has received information about threats against me. With the help of God, I hope to overcome this and continue loyally to serve the gospel and our people.
83 Later the first bishop of Chalatenango.
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Friday, January 5
In the morning, we had a meeting of the archdiocesan communications office. The new executive secretary is Miss Doris Osegueda, who worked with me a long time ago in San Miguel. Today, skilled in her chosen profession and with a degree in journalism, she has left her job at the university and will add her services to this important office, which we tried to restructure in this morning's meeting. Along with the Secretariat there will be an advisory group which will give advice on the direction to take and will also serve to advise the hierarchy itself. Under the Secretariat, there is the radio, publishing house and all other information services. They also will try to increase the circulation of the newspaper Orientación, [84] and especially to interpret in the newspaper as well as on the radio the ideological direction defined by the archbishop. It was a very constructive meeting and comforting as regards the possibilities for diffusion of the Church's message.
I also had a brief interview with a North American journalist who showed great admiration for what he has seen in our archdiocese. He thinks that this direction of the Church is the one that can attract people, since a spiritualized emphasis-disembodied, unconcerned with the realities of the earth-would no longer be very credible in the present situation. I thanked him for his words of encouragement. And to his questions about the religiosity and the problems of the country, I tried to respond with the loyalty with which I have always tried to do so.
Also another interview with a woman religious from Ciudad Barrios, who told me about the conflict that has arisen at Don Carlos Boillat's farm. It is a conflict on a coffee plantation where the owner, someone very well respected, many times does not realize what his underlings-the administrators and foremen-are up to. Conflict occurred and resulted in the death of one person in that city.
In the afternoon, I visited the community of San Jose Villanueva, where the Passionist sisters work. We had a very interesting dialogue with them, and with the catechists of the parish of Huizucar, of the communities of Huizucar, from Nuevo Cuscatlan and San Jose Villanueva and from several other villages, about their pastoral activities and about the difficulties and, at the same time, the hopes, and the projects the parish priest, Father Benito Tovar, directs there. The meeting ended with some delicious pupusas [85] and hot chocolate served to all those attending.
In the evening, in the Divine Providence Hospital, a visit from the representatives of the Commission on Human Rights to talk about the matter of the kidnappings, which still doesn't show any signs of being resolved.
84 The archdiocesan weekly newspaper.
85 A typical Salvadoran pastry usually filled with pork, cheese or beans.
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Saturday, January 6
Today, after a long time, we had an advisory breakfast. I was still asking for advice about my appearance at Puebla. They gave me a great deal of information and made many suggestions. We are hopeful because several bishops and experts who agree completely with the pastoral direction of our archdiocese will attend. We also tried to analyze the current situation of the country, the results of the apostolic visitation the archdiocese had recently, the problem of the seminary and other topics. Consultation on these topics with these priests and laypeople greatly enriches my pastoral criteria.
At noon, a meeting with Father [Rafael] Moreno and Beto Cuellar to put together the information on the week's events and comments for tomorrow's Sunday homily.
In the afternoon, a visit to the parish of Apopa, where Father Oscar Marten had prepared the Confirmation of some young people and a dialogue with the pastoral agents .
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Sunday, January 7
We celebrated the Mass for Epiphany in the cathedral. I took the title for my homily from the Bible readings-"Christ: Epiphany of the Saving Love of God."
I presented it in three parts: first, how the Epiphany shows us a transcendental salvation (I spoke of the need for any movement of revindication to make itself part of the salvation that God can provide and that Christ alone came to carry out).
The second thought was that the Epiphany offers us a universal salvation: No one is excluded, for there are no distinctions in the saving love of God.
And the third thought, the necessity of faith (of which the three wise men are an example) in order for us to make the salvation revealed and offered in the Epiphany our own. The cathedral was full of people-as usual, thank God!
In the afternoon, I attended the installation of Father Samuel Orellana as the new parish priest of Mejicanos, and of Father Octavio Ortiz as vicar of the area, replacing Father Manuel Barrera, who has asked for a temporary leave of absence.
This was also a beautiful ecclesial event. The church was completely full; a great deal of affection was shown to the priests, a great solidarity with the pastoral direction of the archdiocese. The three priests spoke and all of the priests of the vicariate attended.
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Monday, January 8
This morning a week of study of our priestly identity began at the seminary, San Jose de la Montaña. More than seventy priests were there, but there were some unexplained absences and those priests will be asked to come. The participants have been asked to stay for the entire week and to be punctual, since the topic is a problem that concerns our priestly ministry so profoundly in order to be able to fulfill it as God wants us to-and the Church needs us to-at this time. The survey made about the pastoral direction of the archdiocese and the actions of the archbishop is being used as a base.
The survey was my suggestion and was carried out by the Priests' Senate. In this encounter of priests, it will be studied from sociological, theological and pastoral points of view, leading us to a priestly identity that will truly reflect the thought of the Church in our archdiocese.
The participation, the group reflections, the plenary sessions have already been very promising from the first day. The problem has been examined very deeply. Father Carlos Mejia, priest of the parish of La Asunción Flor Blanca, reported on the survey. Fathers Octavio Cruz and Walter Guerra, both specialists in sociology and members of the diocesan clergy, presented the survey from a sociological perspective. Father Astor Ruiz, representing the Pastoral Commission, is in charge of the week.
In the evening, Mass in the church at Colonia Miramonte, with the participation of all of the parish priests of the Vicariate of Mejicanos and Zacamil. Memorial Mass for the mother of Father Rogelio, priest of the parish of Zacamil, attended by ....[86]
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Monday, January 8, continued
After returmng from the church in Colonia Miramonte at nine o'clock at night, a press conference with a Mexican journalist, another from Costa Rica and another young woman who was also Mexican. Our conversation about the situation of the Church in our country was very interesting
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Tuesday, January 9
The week on priestly identity continues at the seminary, San José de la Montaña. In the morning the plenary continued, drawing conclusions and discussing very interesting topics of our pastoral work-about the relations between the bishops and the priests and many concrete aspects of our pastoral work. Immediately afterwards, Father Jesus Delgado gave a theological interpretation of the survey that we are studying. Seen from a theological perspective, the survey seems rich in details about our pastoral work.
At noon, we had a meeting on the seminary. Present were the commission on the seminary, parish priests who have seminarians from their parishes and the seminary formation team. Discussion was primarily about the six students from the archdiocese whom the team is trying to remove from the seminary and whom the parish priests and communities are defending because they consider them to be hopeful signs for the Church through their pastoral work in the towns and small villages. The formation team promised to study the problem of these six seminarians again. Father Sigfredo will be in charge of calling a new meeting to reveal the results.
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Wednesday, January 10
Today was the third day of the week on priestly identity. Father Torruella was responsible for presenting the central theme, a pastoral interpretation of the survey. The pastoral aspects were very interesting and they praised the concern on all sides to find the true position of the Church, and to be in solidarity with the direction that historically was begun during the time of Archbishop Luis Chavez y Gonzalez and has been continued by the present archbishop. The discussion in the plenary session was also very interesting, the theme of the search for the true concept of poverty prevailing. I said that I thought that it was all a matter of conversion, that the poor person is one who has been converted to God and puts all his faith in him, and that the rich person is one who has not been converted to God and puts his confidence in idols: money, power, material things. And that all of our work should be directed toward truly converting ourselves and all people to this authentic meaning of poverty. For Christ said that the secret is this: You cannot serve two masters, God and mammon.
In the evening, I went to a dinner given by the sisters of the Colegio de la Asuncion. Their community has been increased by the sisters who have come from Santa Ana and from Guatemala to take part in an educational program.
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Thursday, January 11
This day in the week on pastoml identity was spent on a synthesis. The groups worked according to the different vicariates, reviewing all the rich material of the previous three days to arrive at a synthesis to present to the plenary session. The result was a rich abundance of ideas. There were suggestions about the nature of the pastoral work that can enable us to live our priesthood in its true identity of service to our people.
I took advantage of the meetings in smaller groups to take care of different appointments. The most important audience was one at noon with the ambassadorfrom Venezuela. We spent a long time remembering my former Venezuelan companions in Rome with whom I got along better perhaps than with any other group. The ambassador also showed great interest in learning about the situation of our country and of our Church.
In the evening, I went to bless the home of Dr. Guerra, a professional and very good friend, who was celebrating his fourteenth wedding anniversary and, at the same time, his wife's birthday .
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Friday, January 12
We have come to the end of the reflection on our priestly identity. The plenary session from yesterday continued for a long time yet this morning. Afterwards I gave my presentation, which I used to thank, congratulate and encourage my dear brother priests. And I took as the subject of my reflection the different chapters indicated by the Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops, [87] telling the priests how happy I was to find such wonderful parallels between the points that we have brought up in our reflection this week and the indications that, under the different aspects of the episcopal ministry, the Church gives the bishops.
I presented, as the decree does, a perspective on the Church on which our identity as priests is to be modeled. Then, the offices of teacher of the faith that we, together with the priests, have to live, always being careful that our preaching and our doctrine be the true doctrine of Christ. As minister of the liturgy, together with the priests, we must sanctify. All our liturgy must be appropriate and must respect the hierarchical understanding. Therefore we must obey the norms that make our worship, the administration of our sacraments, the celebration of our Mass a true act of rational obedience to the discipline of the Church, searching always for the greatest good and edification of the people. I also spoke here of the rich popular religiousness among us, of our personal devotion, of being sure that we also know how to profit from the sacraments in our individual lives.
The bishop as center and minister of the hierarchical society that is the Church, together with the priests, have to care for all the people of God and be united among ourselves: Here I tried to emphasize the multiple reflections that had been made about the relationship between the bishop and the diocesan clergy, as well as between the religious clergy and the life of the diocese. We must work to bring the women religious, the laity and everyone who is part of the people of God closer and closer in the unity that Christ wants.
Then the decree presents the bishop as president of the community of love and charity and speaks to us of promoting the sense of Christian love and also of social justice. I emphasized how in our time we cannot overlook this aspect of educating our people: promoting awareness and a critical sense among our people that can lead to the more just society God wants.
And finally, about the organisms of the curia, the vicariates, the parishes. The priests have a principal role in these realities and I asked them for all the cordiality of their service to the people-and to our Lord, of course.
We ended at noon around the altar of the parish church of San Jose de la Montana. And this Mass, concelebrated by all the priests, was quite impressive. At the end of the Mass, in a ceremony truly reflecting the mission of our priests to their parishes, the ministerial licenses were awarded after we had renewed our ordination vows. We had lunch together and there was a true sense of sacramental brotherhood that seemed to have increased as a result of this successful week of reflection and spirituality.
After lunch, the vicars stayed to have a preliminary meeting to organize the Pastoral Council of the archdiocese, which has been one of the most profitable initiatives to come out of this week on the priestly identity. The women religious who work in the pastoral life will also be represented, as well as the laity. Father Astor Ruiz was named executive secretary. He will be in charge of this commission or council of the arch diocesan pastoral work which is so necessary to coordinate all the pastoral richness and activities in the archdiocese.
A journalist from Norway interviewed me for an article in his newspaper and for the radio of his country, asking about different matters of the life of our Church and about its relationship with the people and with the government.
In the evening we celebrated the Mass for Peace in the cathedral. Bishop Arturo Rivera Damas, Bishop of Santiago de Maria, was there because he is also president of the National Commission on Justice and Peace. This commission had organized this evening, which turned out splendidly, with Mass con celebrated by several priests and a talk by Bishop Rivera that received much applause, especially at the end when, in conclusion, he repeated the desires expressed in the pastoral letter that he and I have published about the popular political organizations and their relationship to the Church. His conclusions referred to support for the petitions that are being made at present for amnesty for political prisoners, for free entry into the country for those in exile, for abrogating the Law for the Defense of Public Order and also for the freedom of those kidnapped. The cathedral was filled and, when we were leaving, we spent some very cordial moments with the people, who have a great deal of confidence in our Church.
87 From the Second Vatican Council.
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Saturday, January 13
There was a gathering of catechumens in the Franciscan church in Planes de Renderos. I was not able to go. I have spent my time in reflection and personal tasks since I had no time during the week. At noon, I had lunch with Father Moreno and Bachiller Roberto Cuellar to prepare the report that we give every Sunday in the homily.
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Sunday, January 14
Mass at the cathedral was well attended and there were ' representatives of the foreign press. After the Mass I was interviewed by some of these journalists. Then I left for San Antonio Abad, where I celebrated the Mass as part of the novena [88] that the community is holding in preparation for its patronal feast. I talked to them about an effort to achieve unity and to overcome any difficulties like those which, unfortunately, they have suffered previously.
In the afternoon, without having made plans to do so, I decided to visit the San to Cristo of Esquipulas [89] in the parish of San Bartolome Perulapia. I surprised Father Luis Montesinos, who was very flattered by my visit and introduced me at the microphones at the romeria.[90] I had to say a few words, and I spoke of the popular religion and of profiting from these popular centers and devotions to grow in our faith.
In the evening, I visited another sanctuary of our diocese in honor of the Christ of Esquipulas. It was in the parish of Colon, where Father Nicolas Menjivar had invited me to celebrate a Mass for youth in honor of the Holy Christ. After the Mass, during which I directed my message to the large group that filled the church to visit the Holy Christ, we shared an enjoyable time with the pastoral agents .
88 Nine days of prayer.
89 A popular shrine and pilgrimage site in Guatemala containing the statue of the "Black Christ" of Esquipulas. Here Romero refers to other statues of the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas.
90 Pilgrimage.
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Monday, January 15
Monday the fifteenth, Feast of the Lord of Esquipulas, the parish of Aguilares celebrated the crucified Savior under the title "Lord of Mercies" as its patronal feast. Invited by Father Octavio Cruz and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, I presided over the Eucharist attended by nearly all the priests of the vicariate and many other people, since they have great devotion there to the Black Christ. I took the opportunity to explain a passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews that speaks to us of the sacrifice of Christ and of his entry as redeemer and savior of humanity into the perfect sanctuary, heaven.
Among those attending were many people who belong to popular political organizations. I tried to orient them so that the strength for justice of their organizations does not deviate from a Christian sense, but may rather be included in the profound and universal redemption of Jesus Christ-that is, that it begin in liberation from sin.
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Thursday, January 18
I had a breakfast meeting for consultation with my usual advisers in which we focused, at my request, on an outline for my participation in the Bishops' Conference in Puebla. Also we talked some about the reality of the situation of the country. These meetings are very useful. I have been neglecting them a little but, on returning from Puebla, I will have these meetings on a more regular basis.
The ecumenical week has begun. It is principally the Baptists and the Catholics who, with great enthusiasm, have organized a week of prayer for Christian unity. Tonight was the opening ceremony in the First Baptist Church. I was asked to participate in the welcome-to greet those attending, who were very numerous. A Baptist minister gave the principal address about how the Holy Spirit is a unifying force and how we have great confidence in him and ask for his enlightenment and his strength for the objectives of the ecumenical movement.
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Friday,January 19
In the afternoon, we had an inte,esting meeting on the problem of the seminary, where six young men have been singled out by the formation team. According to the team, they should not return to the seminary, but parish priests and base communities who know the work of these young men oppose this judgment and have asked us to intercede so that these vocations are not lost. The discussion was very interesting and we are inclined to continue to support the vocation of these seminarians unless we receive evidence to the contrary
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Saturday, January 20
A very tragic day. It dawned with the news that there had been a military operation in El Despertar in the parish of San Antonio Abad. It was at a house frequently used for retreats designed to deepen the participants' Christian faith. Father Octavio Ortiz, along with Sister Chepita, as they call the Belgian sister who works there, was leading a program of introduction to the Christian life for some forty young men. But at dawn today, the National Guard with a riot squad set off a bomb to break down the door and then entered violently with armored cars and shooting. Father Octavio, when he realized what was happening, got up just to meet his death, as did four other young men. The rest of the group, including two women religious, were taken to the headquarters of the National Guard.
We did not learn about the murders of Father Octavio and the other four young men until the afternoon, when their bodies already had been taken to the morgue at the cemetery. Father Octavio's face was very disfigured; it looked like it had been run over and flattened by something very heavy. He was taken to La Auxiliadora funeral home along with three of the others (one of the bodies had already been claimed by relatives, but these three had not yet been identified by their families). We had them taken to the funeral home to be prepared and then to the cathedral for the viewing of the bodies. There they would be identified by their families, who then would take charge of them.
In the evening, this tragic funereal cortege was taken to the cathedral. A great many people were there; the cathedral was almost full. There were many prayers for the slain and gospel messages preached to the crowd. I got there at about eleven p.m. The crowd greeted me with applause. I led an intercessory prayer for Father Octavio and the others and also explained to the crowd how we would proceed the next day. I invited all of them to come to the eight a.m. Mass at the cathedral. All the priests will be there, having suspended their normal Sunday schedules to concelebrate this Mass for their brother priest.
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Sunday, January 21
The Mass concelebrated at the cathedral was beautiful and filled the whole morning. There were more than a hundred priests around the casket of their dead brother, Father Octavio. The other three caskets were there too, those of the young men that the Church had arranged to bring there from the cemetery morgue.
We could not celebrate the Mass inside the cathedral, so we set it up in the street and the park. At the time for the Mass to start, it was very moving to see such a concentration of people, especially because of the pious way in which the crowd participated in the prayers for the dead. A representative of the bishop of Cleveland was at my side, and there were other priests from the United States. In my homily, I analyzed the crime perpetrated against Father Octavio and the four who had been sacrificed with him. I called for a rational response rather than resorting to violence and force. I protested this attack on the dignity of our Church. I reminded my listeners of the sentence of excommunication destined for those who planned, as well as those who carried out, this crime against a priest. Among the crowd, there were people from all the parishes of the archdiocese and also representatives of many communities from other dioceses.
Father Octavio's casket and those of the other young men were moved back into the cathedral after the Mass so that they could continue to be viewed by the faithful, who expressed their affection through prayer and reflection as they filed past the caskets.
The community of San Francisco, in Mejicanos, asked permission to bury Father Octavio's body in their church. And after talking over the situation, figuring out how to avoid anything that could provoke a violent situation, we decided that they should move the body secretly. His body belongs to them, since it was there that he was ordained and it was there that he worked during his five-year ministry. I was the one who ordained Father Octavio on March 3, 1974, representing Bishop Luis Chavez y Gonzalez.
By afternoon, Father Octavio's body had been moved to his parish of San Francisco in Mejicanos, and I went there to preside over the concelebration. There were forty priests and the crowd was huge. The street in front of the church was not big enough to hold the numerous crowd that had come from all over. Because of this, the celebration was held out of doors and, after Mass, the visitation of the faithful to Father Octavio continued with lines that stretched all the way to the furthest stop of the Mejicanos bus line-a truly wonderful demonstration of solidarity, suffering and love, of surrender to the cause of Jesus Christ. The crowd expressed great affection to the priests and to their bishop, greeting him with applause, kissing his hands, etc. I left there filled with a spirit of satisfaction, thinking how well people respond to those who know how to love them! Father Octavio's body remained on view until the line of people, which was still very long then, had all entered
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Monday,January22
At 8:20p.m. I left for Mexico on a Pan American flight to attend the Puebla meeting. When we stopped in Guatemala City, we greeted the priests who met us there and were interviewed briefly by a journalist who was particularly interested in the declarations just made in Mexico by the president of the republic,[91] who said that the Church is not persecuted in El Salvador. He also wanted details of the attack on the youth retreat center where Father Octavio was tragically killed.
In the Mexico City airport, too, when they realized that the archbishop of San Salvador was arriving, there was a press conference with Mexican journalists, television crews and representatives of the press who also were interested in the situation of the Church in El Salvador and its relationship to the government. In this interview, we clarified certain inaccuracies in the declarations made by the president in Mexico. One of the journalists told me in confidence that the visit of [Salvadoran] President Romero and, above all, his departure for El Salvador had been very cold-"icy," the journalist said.
We were warmly received by the Carmelite sisters of St. Theresa, who had been notified of my arrival time by the sisters of that congregation at the Divine Providence Hospital in San Salvador. They came to meet us at the airport and took us to their novitiate in Colonia Santa Marfa de la Rivera. I was accompanied by Fathers Jesús Delgado and Astor Ruiz; Father Rafael Moreno had also come with me, but he went to stay with his Jesuit brothers. We have been in constant communication because he is in charge of reporting to the public information secretariat of the Archdiocese of San Salvador on the Puebla meeting and all the events of this trip.
After resting for a little while in the sisters' house, I went with my two priest companions to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, making our first offering on this trip to her. It was six in the evening and a group of pilgrims was to arrive from the market. I asked the chaplain of the basilica to let my two companions and me concelebrate. He was very nice and let us participate in the celebration that had been prepared to welcome the pilgrims.
At night, we talked with Father Moreno, who came to where I was staying to tell me about the relationships he was establishing with bishops and other priests. I also received a telephone call from the bishop of Cuemavaca [Mexico], Don Sergio Mendez Arceo, who told me that there was going to be a meeting of magazine editors, that he was going and that we could talk there. I told him that I would be very happy to go, because I wanted to talk with him also. He was to confirm this early the next day.
On television at ten o'clock that night, I saw part of my interview at the airport. I also learned that Cardinal Pironio [92] had arrived and been interviewed. Also Father Moreno told me that the bishops from Chile would arrive tonight as well as other bishops. He will keep me informed.
91 CarIos Humberto Romero
92 Argentine archbishop and prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Religious.
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Tuesday, January 23
After a night of rest and peace, thank God, I celebrated Mass in the small sanctuary of the novices, where we also shared some reflections on the word of God, meditating on its implications for this moment that is so important for Latin America. And I asked them to be a living force in their prayers, so that the Puebla meeting and the visit by the pope to our continent would mean a true Pentecost for our peoples, who have such hope in the Church.
I greeted the Dominican provincial, accompanied by Father Jose Luis, who is staying with them and has come to help me with reports for our communications office so that our people will receive the true account of the pope's visit and especially of the Puebla meeting. We went with them to get their press credentials; these were being given out at an office that has been set up to help the archdiocese and CELAM communicate with the media.
At eleven-thirty a.m., I went to meet Bishop Mendez Arceo, who had asked me to meet him at that time in the house where the magazine directors were meeting. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, but shortly before I had to leave, I was able to talk with him briefly. It was obvious that he was glad to see me and that we support each other in our position as pastors of a Church that wants to be faithful to a gospel at the service of the poor. He
told me some of his adventures as a pastor, of his meeting with Pope John Paul II and of his joy at being able in this way to serve the people of God.
In the evening, I was invited to the motherhouse of the Carmelite Sisters for dinner. After dinner, we saw on television some scenes of the preparations for the pope's arrival.
Also in the evening, I was visited by two journalists with whom I talked in greater depth about my ideals of service to the Church and the problems that this creates.
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Wednesday, January 24
I went to see Mexico City Cathedral and the immense plaza of the Zócalo where the Holy Father will meet with the peoples of Latin America. They were preparing the cathedral with stands of seats in the choir section and in the main part of the church for the crowd that will attend the Mass celebrated there by the pope. While we were there, we heard the song of a choir that was rehearsing-a wonderful choir accompanied by an orchestra and the organ.
In the evening, a press conference. Alan Riding[93] had invited a group of journalists-actually, correspondents from press agencies. We were not expecting so many people, but I was glad to see before me some fifty journalists with their television cameras, photographers and, especially, with a series of very interesting questions. They seemed to have a special sympathy for the Church. There was respect and also sincerity in the questions asked.
I began by thanking them for this opportunity to project my voice on behalf of the voiceless and to make the thought of the Church known through the diffusion of its messages, a Church that wants to be true to the gospel. I described briefly the economic, social and political situation of my country and how, in such a difficult atmosphere, the Church tries to carry out a prophetic mission that will awaken the conscience of the Salvadorans so that they will react not merely as a mass, but rather as true sons and daughters of God, formed into communities ruled by true love. This is why the Church denounces everything which destroys individual dignity and especially whatever limits our ability to build a country which has love, justice and peace as its foundation.
After the press conference, I had the satisfaction of hearing some very positive comments: how many of them didn't know anything about the reality of El Salvador before and how, thanks to this interview, they had learned what the Church is able to do in that difficult situation.
In the evening, we again went to have dinner with the superiors of the Carmelite congregation. There we also saw on television the final hours that the pope spent in Rome before his trip. The television encouraged everyone to continue watching since, at one a. m. Mexican time, they would be transmitting the pope's departure for America live. He will be flying directly to San to Domingo.
93 Latin American correspondent for The New York Times.
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Thursday, January 25
In the brief homily of the Mass I celebrated in the Carmelite novice house, I reminded them of the events taking placing in these days: the pope's visit to America, the bishops' meeting in Puebla (beginning that very day) and the eight-day period of prayers for Christian unity that concludes today-the feast of Saint Paul's conversion-with special prayers which, in San Salvador, will be held in the cathedral. We prayed strongly for these intentions and I asked them to pray especially for the Puebla meeting.
Today is the day scheduled for us to assemble in Puebla. A Carmelite sister very kindly drove us from Mexico City to Puebla. We arrived at noon, at lunchtime, at the home of a very warm Salvadoran, Arquitecto [94] Gonzalo Yáñez, who, along with with his wife, Maria Teresa, and his daughter, offered us a very cordial welcome and fed us a delicious meal.
Afterward, close to five p.m., they took me to the Palafoxian seminary, headquarters of the Third General Conference of the Latin American Bishops. I registered; they gave me the materials to study and put me in room 325. Many cardinals, archbishops, periti, [95] priests and laity, as well as deacons and women religious, had already arrived. It will be a good representation of our Church to deliberate on evangelization in America both now and in the future. When I had finished registering, I went with Father Jesús and Father Moreno to see the downtown area, which is very nice. We visited the cathedral and then we had a cup of coffee in the plaza.
When we got back to the seminary, I saw several bishops I knew: Cardinal [Raul] Primatesta [of Cordoba, Argentina], who went to school with me; the chancellor of the diocese of Puebla, Father Miguel Navotrato, who embraced me effusively; the bishop of León, [Nicaragua] Bishop [Manuel] Salazar; the archbishop of Panama, Archbishop [Marcos] McGrath; some bishops from Chile and several other bishops who I felt showed sympathy for me and my archdiocese. There are still many other bishops to make contact with, but tonight at dinner I was able to continue to greet casually others to whom I have not yet been introduced.
94 A title used for one who holds a degree in architecture. 95 Advisers to particular bishops.
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Friday, January 26
This morning we celebrated our first Mass. The place we will use for the plenary sessions will also serve as the chapel; it is a large room parallel to the dining room of the Palafoxian seminary in Puebla. The whole day was spent in registration, preparation, getting acquainted with the building and, naturally, making contact with different participants. In the Saint]oseph Hospital of the Josephite sisters, there is a Maryknoll priest from the United States who used to be in Opico. He greeted me very affectionately and I promised him I would go see a companion of his who was ill and in the hospital. Unfortunately, the time and my lack of familiarity with the city prevented me from going to visit him.
Father Jesús Delgado, who was traveling with me to act as secretary, as well as Father Moreno, as adviser for information and communication with the press, are staying in the home of Arquitecto Gonzalo Y anez, where his wife, Maria Teresa, has treated them very well, giving them a place to stay and taking care of them.
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Saturday, January 27
The high point was the pilgrimage that we made by bus from Puebla to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City to concelebrate with the Holy Father. Our arrival at the basilica after a reflective journey, saying the rosary and singing to the Virgin, was quite complicated. We had great difficulty getting down the wide Avenue of Guadalupe because it was filled with people who were waiting for the Holy
Father to pass by. The people greeted us very affectionately, for they recognized our buses as those of the bishops who were meeting in Puebla. The crowd was even greater in the plaza and it was very difficult to get through. All the bishops even had to climb over a railing in order to get into the old basilica, where we were to vest for the concelebration. This unexpected development delayed us and when we got to the old basilica the Holy Father was already in front of it because he was also going to vest there. He was carried on top of a specially prepared open van decorated in red. His white figure stood out, affectionately greeting the crowd, who never tired of applauding him.
From the old basilica, the procession of priests and bishops seemed unending in the midst of the crowd, which by then had been better organized so that the concelebrants could get through to the new basilica. With the applause and the singing, emotion was increasing as the . procession went by, culminating with the Holy Father in his pontifical vestments. In the basilica, a very impressive choir welcomed the episcopal procession when the Holy Father entered. Those in the procession were seated in the seats or presidential chairs behind the altar and also filled the pews, since just the bishops of CELAM and those from Mexico and other places who had come to this solemn opening ceremony of the bishops' meeting filled a good part of the section of the basilica intended for the people. The Holy Father gave a homily in honor of the Virgin and emphasized the solemnity of the inauguration of the meeting at Puebla. His homily is contained in a special volume published by CELAM that includes all of the speeches made by the pope on his trip to Latin America.
On the way back to Puebla, on the bus I was on, the different bishops and priests from various countries talked about the devotion to the Virgin that is typical of our countries. I was very glad to be able to give testimony in honor of Our Lady of Peace.[96]
When I got back to Puebla, I went out again in the evening to take tickets to Fathers Moreno and Chus Delgado and the family they are staying with so that they can attend the pope's Mass at the seminary in Puebla. I realized that many people from nearby towns have come to wait for the Holy Father to arrive. They are sleeping on the sidewalks while other Catholics who have come from farther away or who are a little better off have parked their cars in places near the seminary where His Holiness is going to celebrate Mass.
96 The title under which Mary is venerated in El Salvador.
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Sunday, January 28
The whole morning was filled with expectation of the pope's arrival at the seminary in Puebla, where bishops, priests and participants in the meeting were ready for his arrival. Prior to that, we had had Morning Prayer and a concelebrated Eucharist, since the pope will celebrate the Mass in the seminary alone. The large sports field of the seminary was completely full. According to the calculations of the experts, there were around a hundred fifty thousand people.
From Puebla, and from neigh boring areas, many Catholics have come with a natural eagerness to see the pope. Many who could not come here were able to see him and greet him along the highway from Mexico City to Puebla, which had been reserved exclusively for the travel of the pope and his retinue. The pope traveled in the open van so that he could greet all the people who had gathered along the highway. Naturally, the crowd was even greater in the towns and amazingly so at the entrance to the town of Puebla and along the whole route through the city to the seminary.
In the cathedral we were anxiously awaiting him; the lights had been turned on. But the pope arrived an hour late and was very sorry not to be able to satisfy everyone, since it is like him to try to understand and comply with all the wishes of the people. An hour later than expected, that is, at one p.m., the Holy Father arrived at the seminary and, after putting on his pontifical garb, he came out to a great acclamation from the bishops, who filled the hallway running from the platform prepared for the celebration, and from the people, who were on the other side, facing the altar. The applause, the enthusiasm typical of the city of Puebla, were so overwhelming that it brought tears to the eyes. The pope, very moved, greeted the people and began the Mass. The archbishop of Puebla, Archbishop [Rosendo] Huesca, welcomed him and the pope began the eucharistic sacrifice.
In the homily, the pope discussed the theme of the family from a very interesting social focus. When it came time for the Presentation of the Gifts, it was very moving to see representatives of the indigenous peoples and their native customs bringing him the products, flowers and fruit that are typical of these fertile lands. The pope seemed very moved when he received them and presented these offerings to the Lord in the symbols of the bread and the wine. It was a shame that they had not planned for a practical way to distribute Communion and that, therefore, only a group of seminarians was able to receive Communion from the hands of the Holy Father.
In the dining room of the seminary, we had the honor of having lunch with the Holy Father. He seemed very tired from the trip from Mexico City to Puebla and from the celebration, and soon retired to the room that had been prepared for him so that he could rest for a while. At four or five p.m., in the hall used for the plenary sessions, we had the honor oflistening to the pope's message to the bishops gathered at the Third Conference. It was the principal address given by the pope during his trip to America, for that was the specific reason for his trip; he had been specially invited to give it. The pope's address is also in the collection ofthe speeches he made in Latin America. The speech provided direction for the work of the Puebla meeting.
Afterward, the pope took leave of the bishops and returned to Mexico City quietly. Archbishop [ Girolamo] Prigione, the apostolic delegate, who previously had been nuncio in El Salvador, was travelingwith the pope, and I had the pleasure of greeting him. Archbishop Hector Santos, president of the bishops' conference of Honduras and archbishop of Tegucigalpa, presided at the Vespers service. The way we are to proceed in our work had been announced previously, but it was now announced that the entire next day would be used to learn about the system of .... [97]
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Monday, January 29
In Puebla, at the Third Conference of the Latin American bishops. At eight a.m. we celebrated Lauds [98] and the Eucharist and afterwards we began our work in the first plenary session. Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider, president of CELAM, along with Cardinal [Sebastiano] Baggio and the archbishop of Mexico, Archbishop [Ernesto] Corripio, were the copresidents. Cardinal Lorscheider made a presentation of the goals and of the working document. The general secretary, Bishop Alfonso López Trujillo, discussed how the working document was prepared: consultation with all the bishops' conferences, the reference material, the working text, the meetings, etc. In this way, then, we have come to this moment in which the assembled bishops will evaluate their pastoral work through discussion of the theme: evangelization in Latin America now and in the future.
The associate secretary, Father Hector Urrea, read from the list of the participants in the Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops. Presiding: Cardinal Baggio, Cardinal Lorscheider, the archbishop of Mexico, the general secretary; as vice-presidents, Cardinal [Juan] Landázuri of Lima and Bishop Luis Manresa of Quetzaltenango [Guatemala].
The presidents of the different departments of CELAM were: Archbishop Luciano Cabral Duarte, archbishop of Aracajú, Brazil, and president of the Department of Social Action of CELAM; Bishop Francisco de Borja Valenzuela of [V alparaiso] Chile, president of the Bishops' Conference and of the Department of Catechetics; Bishop Darío Castrillón of [Pereira] Colombia, of the Department of Social Communications; Archbishop Carlos Quintero Arce of [Hermosillo] Mexico, president of the Education Department; Bishop Antonio Quarracino of [Avellaneda] Argentina, president of the Department of Laity; Bishop Romeu Alberti from Brazil, president of the Department of Liturgy; Bishop Roger Aubry from Bolivia, president of the Department of Missions; Bishop Jose Gottardi of [Montevideo] Uruguay, president of the Department of Men and Women Religious; and Bishop Roman Arrieta Villalobos from Costa Rica, president of the Department of Vocations and Ministries.
In addition to the departments, CELAM also has sections and those in charge are: Archbishop Samuel Carter from the Antilles, in charge of the Section on Ecumenism; Bishop Ovidio Perez Morales from Venezuela, in charge of the Section on Nonbelievers; and Bishop Willem Ellis from the Dutch Antilles, in charge of the Section on Youth. Also, the financial committee, under the presidency of Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez from Puerto Rico. These, then, are the nineteen cardinals and bishops who are presiding over this meeting, or are presidents or heads of the different divisions of CELAM.
Participants from number twenty to 187 include the bishops who are presidents of episcopal conferences or who were elected by their conferences to represent the different countries of Latin America; some of them were named directly by the Holy Father. The list continues from 188 to 211, including priests who are also representing their countries or who were named directly by the Holy Father. Then there are four permanent deacons and the list continues from numbers 216 to 235 with religious representing different regions or named by the Holy See. From number 236 to number 266 a list of laymen and -women, also representing the different regions or approved by the Holy See. Numbers 267 to 271 are religious from CLAR, the Latin American Confederation of Religious.
Afterward come the invited guests beginning with number 272: first those who are part of the Commission for Latin America; then other dignitaries from the Holy See or superiors general named as papal representatives by the Holy See; representatives of the episcopal conferences of the United States and Canada, from Europe, Africa and Madagascar, and Asia; representatives of national episcopal organizations that provide aid to the Churches of Latin America, up through number 329. And there are the observers who are non-Catholic Christians, whose status is only that of observers, from the Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, the Methodist Church and also Judaism. That makes five observers. And finally, certain experts nominated by the episcopal conferences, and thus we arrive at the number 350, which is the total number of participants.
If anyone wants to know their names, where they are from or other data in greater detail, they will find all of this in the records of the meeting that are preserved in the files of our archdiocese.
When Cardinal Lorscheider presented the working document to us, he also gave us a summary that will help in the work that we are being asked to do. It is a large sheet of paper that we have informally begun to call the "bed sheet"; it lists different themes and aspects of the working document arranged by main ideas, by topics, so that some provisional alphabetically grouped committees can try to deal with the working document and see if they agree with the topics proposed or if they want to omit some or suggest others, with the idea of beginning to establish the topics around which the final committees will be organized.
My group, naturally, is composed of those whose last names begin with R: among them, Archbishop Maximino Romero de Lema, secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy; Cardinal [Agnelo] Rossi, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Archbishop Ladislao Rubin, secretary-general of the Bishops' Synod; Bishop Andres Rubio, a bishop from South America [bishop of Mercedes in Uruguay] whom I met at some previous meeting.
A committee called the Interface Committee will collect the fruits of today's work in order to organize the definitive outline for the document we will write later, working in committees organized according to the number of main ideas and themes that come out of today's work. Bishop Francisco de Borja Valenzuela, president of the episcopal conference of Chile, presided over the Vespers service.
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Tuesday, January 30
At the Puebla meeting. The whole day was spent on the hierarchical ministry, as yesterday was spent on the unity of the Church. Cardinal Agnelo Rossi, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, presided over the celebration of Lauds and the Eucharist. The reciting of the psalms and the celebration of the Eucharist were very fervent, even sublime, with the participation of the seminary choir and a choir of women religious. It turned out really to be a celebration that filled the spirit and made the presence of God felt in this meeting. In his homily, Cardinal Rossi talked about the hierarchical ministry and also directed it toward the missionary task of the Church.
In the plenary session the way in which we will work was explained. Two well-known experts will be in charge of it, the Jesuit priest Manuel Vela from Colombia and Father Jose Marins from Brazil. They are going to organize the committees to study the topics outlined in yesterday's work. The participants can choose which committee they want to be on based on the topic which most interests them. But in case it is necessary to make any changes because of numbers, we were each given two other slips of paper on which to indicate, in case we could not have our first choice of a committee, our second and third choices.
In the afternoon, with the committees organized according to the preferences each of us had expressed, they announced where we would meet and which topics we would work on. So we began the work of writing the final document, which will go through four lengthy revisions. For now, we are to look for the different aspects of the topic that need to be covered, taking into account the working document and the suggestions or proposals that might come up in the committee. In this work, which will produce an outline for each topic, we spent the entire afternoon. It ended with the Vespers [99] service conducted by Bishop Roman Arrieta from Costa Rica, who also spoke to us about ministry, giving special emphasis to the work of encouraging vocations.
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Wednesday, January 31
Today was spent talking about the religious life. Because of this, the Eucharist was presided over by Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, who previously was secretary-general and then president of CELAM, a prelate who is very highly regarded in the Puebla meeting. His homily, with his characteristic fervor, urged a great spirituality of the Mystical Body of Christ, in which he singled out the religious life for its way of following the Lord.
The work of the study committees will last all day and will produce a preliminary draft (called that because it is not exactly a draft, but rather an outline that will have to be developed into a draft). This work will be turned over by the different coordinators to the Interface Committee, which will make its comments and return it to the committees for a second draft.
There are twenty-one committees working on this first draft and they include the following themes: first, the pastoral vision of reality; the second committee, Christ as the center of history; third, the Church; fourth, the dignity of human beings; fifth, evangelization as a universal destiny and the criteria for it; sixth, the one I am working on, is evangelization and human promotion.
I want to mention that on this sixth committee, I have had the pleasure of finding among the seventeen bishops and priests that make it up Archbishop Helder Camara [of Olinda and Recife, Brazil] and my good friends Gerardo Flores from [Vera Paz] Guatemala; Domingo Roa Perez [Archbishop of Maracaibo, Venezuela]; Constantino Maradei from [Barcelona] Venezuela and Manuel Talamas of [ Ciudad Juarez] Mexico. The topic of our committee is very important for, as part of it, we will study liberation theology.
The seventh topic is evangelization, culture and popular religion; the eighth topic is evangelization, ideology and politics; the ninth, the family; the tenth, Christian base communities, the parish, the local Church and communion with the universal Church; the eleventh committee will study the hierarchical ministry; the twelfth, the religious life; the thirteenth, the laity; the fourteenth, vocations; the fifteenth, prayer, the sacraments, liturgy, popular piety; the sixteenth, catechesis, witness, education, media; the seventeenth, dialogue for communion and participation; the eighteenth, the preferential option for the poor; the nineteenth, young people; the twentieth, action for the foundations of a pluralistic society. And the twenty-first committee, which is the last one, is studying the topic of action in relation to national and international reality.
All the participants in the Puebla meeting are divided up into these twenty-one committees, studying through this division of labor, as can be seen, the different topics that all together will make up the definitive document.
The evening Vespers was presided over by Bishop Claude Angenor, Bishop of [Les Cayes] Haiti, a black bishop. Since it was the day devoted to men and women religious, he talked about the Mystical Body and the different charisms in that Body.
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February 1979
Thursday, February 1
Today has been spent on the topic of the laity and lay ministries. Morning Prayer and the Eucharist were presided over by Cardinal Juan Landázuri, president of the Episcopal Conference of Peru. There were many representatives of the laity from Puebla in the chapel, and Cardinal Landazuri talked in his homily about the great possibilities for the Church among the laity of Latin America. We continued to work in the groups or committees organized yesterday, studying the document passed out to the twenty-one committees that correspond to the topics projected for that document.
In the afternoon we had free time and could spend time on personal things. I went to find the priests who are staying with Arquitecto Yáñez and it was a restful afternoon. I also went to the cathedral where I was surprised to meet Father [Juan] Ramón Vega,[100] who told me that he wants to go work in Nicaragua again, in the diocese of León. The bishop of León, Bishop Salazar, who is at the conference, has suffered problems with his diabetes and has been hospitalized. It seems to have gotten worse and there is even danger that they may have to amputate his foot.
100 A Nicaraguan priest who headed the Salvadoran lnterdiocesan Social Secretariat and the Justice and Peace Commission.
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Friday, February 2
Today is called the Day of Reconciliation and Peace. It is the day on which we celebrate the feast of the Virgin of Candelaria, [101] as is the custom in our countries. A procession with candle went from the front of the seminary to the chapel, and Cardinal A velar Brandiio Vilela, who is president of the General Council of the Commission on Latin America, presided over the Eucharist. It was a very intense day of work. The different committees progressed in their drafts. They will present tomorrow, without fail, the second draft.
101 The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, called in English Candlemas Day because candles are blessed on this day.
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Saturday, February 3
Today is the day devoted to the family. It was impressive to see so many families in the chapel husbands and wives who came with their children to pray for the bishops and to hear a message from the Latin American bishops and to pray for all the families of the continent. Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez from Puerto Rico presided over the Eucharist and spoke very beautifully about the mission of the family and the Church's hope in it for the evangelization of the continent.
Today we have written intensely and will present the second draft, which is already finished, tonight. Vespers was celebrated this evening by Bishop Angelico Melotto from [Sololá] Guatemala.
I forgot to say that every day this week I have had appointments with journalists who wanted to ask me questions about the situation of the Church and of El Salvador. Some of them have been broadcast on television on Channel13, where every night they broadcast the program Seven Days; others have been printed in the newspapers-not only in Latin America but also in Europe and the United States. I have felt great satisfaction at being able to bear witness to the life of my Church on a world level.
Unfortunately, today they also published a statement by Bishop Aparicio in which he blames the Jesuits for the violence in El Salvador and accuses them of having come to Puebla to defend the archbishop's position, which, according to his statement, is "indefensible" since (he says) the archbishop in his actions has even personally offended the government-which is false.
The Jesuits, whose superior general, Father [Pedro] Arrupe, is here with us, have expressed their resentment at his making such dangerous statements publicly, especially when there is so much repression in El Salvador and so much prejudice about the work of the Church. Father Arrupe and I talked about this situation. He is going to consult with his Jesuits and they will arrive at some decision-not so much to defend ourselves personally, but rather for the good of the Church and to avoid the danger that this statement could release against the Company of Jesus.
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Sunday, February 4
Today is the day devoted to the ministry of the word. At the Puebla meeting they had the good idea to take the bishops to different parishes of the diocese. It was inspiring to see the vans that came from each parish with groups of parishioners, many of them young people, to accompany the pastors to visit and share the morning, the Eucharist and lunch with the parishes to which each bishop went.
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Monday, February 5
Today was titled the "Day of the Beatitudes." The archbishop of Mexico, Archbishop Ernesto Corripio Ahumada, presided over the Morning Prayer and the Eucharist. Then the task for today was explained to us. It is what they call "interchange," that is, the different committees are going to divide up into delegations to go to other committees, to supplement in this way the documents written last week. We have in our hands a very thick folder with the twenty-one topics that have been written by the twenty-one committees and on which we have to report in the different "interchange" committees.
At noontime, I visited the group of theologians who are working at 14 Washington Street at the call of the bishops, giving us valuable collaboration, advising us on theological matters. The other night I had dinner with them. Archbishop Helder Camara was also there and other bishops who indicated their appreciation for the self-sacrificing work that these priests and religious are doing.
Also at noon I had a television interview for a program that is famous in Mexico: 24 Hours. They asked me about the situation in El Salvador and were interested in the process of our meeting in the seminary of Puebla.
Today I spoke by telephone with Monsignor Urioste to ask him about the situation at the archdiocese; I was especially interested in knowing the reaction to the declarations made by Bishop Aparicio. And frankly, it is a shame, because in El Salvador it is being used against the Church and has created a dangerous situation for the Jesuits. But Monsignor told me that tomorrow there will be a meeting of the clergy and the Senate to discuss what measures to take. I gave them my authorization, only asking that they not do anything that would make the present situation worse. He promised me that they will approach the matter very calmly and that they will always act for the good of the diocese and not compromise their bishop. He also informed me about the situation at the seminary. I thank God that the problem of the seminarians who had been removed has been resolved.
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Tuesday, February 6
We called today the "Day of the Poor." Cardinal José Clemente Maurer from Bolivia presided over the liturgy in the morning, and there was a large group from the old people's homes, where many poor people are cared for by women religious. The day was spent, in the morning, finishing up with the "interchange" committees, supplementing in this way all the themes of the document. And, in the afternoon, the plenary session began so that everyone could bring in all the documents.
At noon, I had an interesting visit with some journalists and television reporters, mostly European correspondents who are here in Mexico for the program 24 Hours.
In the afternoon the bishop from Havana, Cuba, Archbishop Francisco Oves Fernandez, presided over the liturgy. In the evening entertainment was provided by the people of Puebla, who were very warm .
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Wednesday, February 7
Today was a special day because it was devoted to ecumenism. Among those attending the meeting are representatives of other Christian Churches as observers, among them the abbot of Taizé,[102] who has become a good friend of mine. Cardinal Pablo Muñóz Vega, archbishop of Quito, Ecuador, celebrated the morning liturgy. Today has been quite intense. There were plenary sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Many people have taken part because they didn't allow more than three minutes per participant. Many topics were discussed. There were also contributions from the advisers, who are outside the meeting and are giving valuable service.
In the afternoon, Vespers was an ecumenical celebration in which ministers from other faiths participated dressed in clerical garb, and Archbishop Samuel Carter of the Antilles presided over the Eucharist.
At noon I also was interviewed by journalists and learned that yesterday they had been expecting me in a press conference, which I thought it wiser not to attend because Bishop Aparicio's statements were so recent and I didn't want to be involved in any conflict. So I have postponed it until next Friday. The Central American Provincial of the Jesuits, Father Cesar Jerez, has arrived and we had lunch with him, as well as with our friend Julian Filochowski from England, who has been giving me valuable assistance with the press and with establishing relationships with other bishops. He knows a good number of the South American bishops.
From Father Jerez I learned about the scandal caused by the news of Bishop Aparicio's statement and about the letter that he, as provincial, wrote respectfully protesting and asking him to do something to neutralize the danger of the threat resulting from his declarations. I know that several of the Jesuit bishops have gone to the president of CELAM to ask for an audience with Cardinal Baggio to explain to him this very painful situation; those who have commented to me privately on this situation tell me that it has been the undoing of Bishop Aparicio, for it has created a very bad impression in the atmosphere of the Puebla meeting.
What I have done is to ask the Lord to help us be above these human miseries of the Church and I said that today when I transmitted to YSAX by telephone the dialogue that we have every Wednesday (thank God it has not been interrupted). Father Sigfredo interviewed me by telephone from El Salvador and told me of the interest there was to know what role I was taking in the meeting, what the atmosphere was like-here inside-and what were my reactions to the expulsion of Father Plácido.[103] I tried to give an optimistic and hopeful message in spite of the difficulties. I also dictated by telephone an article for Orientaciim called "From Puebla to My Archdiocese." May God bless this effort to take advantage of the different kinds of media so that the message of the gospel may continue to encourage our dear archdiocesan community.
102 An ecumenical monastic community in eastern France. Its prior and founder is Brother Roger.
103 Plácido Erdozain, a Spanish priest expelled by the Salvadoran government while Romero was at Puebla.
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Thursday, February 8
Today was designated to honor the Eucharist. Cardinal Raul Primatesta from Argentina presided over Morning Prayer. The whole morning was spent reading so that we could prepare the new draft of the document. The afternoon was free. In the afternoon, I was interviewed for German television and by the Times of London. And I was invited to have lunch with my old schoolmates from Pio Latino[104] by special invitation from the archbishop of Mexico, Archbishop Ernesto Corripio, who also had studied with me, but other circumstances prevented me from having this pleasure.
In the evening we had dinner with several bishops and some of our theological advisers at the house at 14 Washington Street. It was a great comfort for me to be able to tell them about the loneliness that a pastor feels when he tries to be faithful to all the instructions given us by the gospel, Vatican II and Medellin, and how colleagues such as those who have come with me from El Salvador to Puebla think differently. The response to my testimony was very warm. Father [Luis] Patiño suggested that they write a letter expressing their solidarity with me and with the bishops of Guatemala and Nicaragua who are in similar circumstances.[105] The idea was approved and signatures will be collected from bishops who wish to express their solidarity.
104 Colegio Pio Latinoamericano, Roman secretary for Latin America, founded in 1859.
105 The bishops of Guatemala and Nicaragua were in conflict with the governments of Lucas Garcia and Anastasio Somoza, respectively.
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Friday, February 9
The problem with my vision has persisted. I thought it was merely that something got in my eye, but when I saw the oculist, he found a small wound on the retina. He has ordered me to rest my eyes and given me some medicine that will force me to keep my eye closed. I canceled the other appointments that I had with journalists. Thank God, the Josephite sisters who run the San Jose Hospital have received me warmly and I spent the whole day Friday at the hospital. At seven p.m. in the evening, however, there was a press conference that had been postponed from Tuesday and, with the approval ofthe oculist, I went. It turned out to be a real tribute to my archdiocese. I went with Father Plácido Erdozain and Father [Jose Luis] Ortega [106] in testimony to the expulsion of priests from my country. I invited them to share the pastoral experiences of an archdiocese that can give testimony to suffering as well as to the fruitfulness of sacrifice. There were some very interesting questions; the room was completely full. And, at certain moments, there was enthusiastic applause; especially, when I was leaving, there was a chorus of "Nobel, Nobel!" Several of them wished to continue with private interviews. I tried to oblige them and then returned to the hospital, where they gave me the first treatments.
106 A Spanish Jesuit expelled from El Salvador in May 1977
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Saturday, February 10
I spent the whole day in the hospital. Resting my eyes and my whole body has been very good for me.
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Sunday, February 11
Again today I was not in the meeting at the seminary but rather in the San Jose Hospital where I shared prayers and the Mass with the community.
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Monday, February 12
The doctor gave me the good news that the wound was healing, that I could uncover my eye-continuing, nevertheless, a treatment with colyrium and vitamins. And so at noon I returned to the seminary to rejoin the meeting of the bishops.
The atmosphere was so optimistic about the documents that they had already begun to vote, although there was strong pressure from the conservative bishops. Nevertheless, we have a good committee for writing and interface, and it is holding to the ideals of an evangelization along the ine of the demands of our people. I have also seen the outline of the message to the Latin American people; the television and the press have asked me for it. I have had the occasion to share moments of great trust with the journalists, very interesting questions. I have become friends with the majority of them. With the theologians I have shared some very useful ideas; those who came from El Salvador were sharing very cordially this evening. I have begun to pack my suitcase for the return trip.
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Tuesday, February 13
We have come to the end of the Third General Conference of the Latin American Bishops. We spent the morning polishing and refining the final text of the document. It is clear, however, that everyone is ready to prepare for their journeys home. Nevertheless, those in charge of the writing are working feverishly so that everything will be finished by this afternoon.
At four p.m. the final plenary session started. The last topics were passed out and, together with the first part, will be put to a final vote after Mass.
We left the plenary already vested for the closing concelebration. Today everyone is wearing a miter that was given to each of the bishops by Mexico. The Mass was celebrated facing the seminary fields, since the public had been invited and were waiting for the arrival of the bishops in great numbers and greeted them enthusiastically. It is estimated that there was a crowd of no less than fifteen thousand people.
The Scripture readings narrated the origins of the apostolic college, whose successors are the bishops surrounding the altar of concelebration. The homily by Cardinal Baggio connected this reality with the prayers and demands of Christ when he chose his first twelve bishops. When it was time for the Offertory, all the documents that were going to be given to the presidents of the national bishops' conferences were presented as fruit of the conference. Each national president received them in the name of the bishops' conference of his country and under the protection of the national devotion to the Virgin. In this way, the giving of the documents was a real litany to the Virgin in Latin America. The people responded to the invocations to the Virgin: "Pray for us!" And the announcer said "Viva!" for each country.
When the Mass ended, the gathering became a celebration. The candles that all the faithful had brought were lighted. The Archbishop of Puebla commented on the event as if it were a celebration of Easter, saying that Christ's candle illuminates the roads of Latin America. Cardinal Baggio also reminded us of how the priests of the Council of Ephesus[107] went with a procession of candles when they proclaimed the divine maternity of Mary. Through this and other comparisons, this celebration of light comes to mean the faith of a people that accompanies and inspires the ministry of the Latin American bishops. Then explosions of fireworks, a rain of lights and great joy-a greeting to each of the bishops, who were lost in the crowd. Finally, we gathered again in the plenary session to take a final vote on the entire text of the Puebla document. The majority of it was approved.
In the dining room there were also farewells, Mexican songs appropriate to the occasion. Many of the participants have already left to have dinner with the families that have adopted them, and then the families will take them to Mexico City or to the airport. The press is anxiously awaiting the text. There weren't enough copies to go around, even for all of the bishops, and they were asked to come back in the morning to pick them up. I was affectionately received at the home of Arquitecto Yáñez with dinner and a long conversation in which we shared many memories of our homeland.
107 A fifth-century council which declared Mary Mother of God.
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Wednesday, February 14
The return trip to Mexico City was provided by the congregation of the Carmelites of St. Teresa, who sent their new van to pick us up and take us to our lodgings at the congregation's novice house. The superior general invited us to have lunch with her.
We were also invited to a meeting of Christian base communities held at the Marist school, where about one thousand Christians who are living the experience of ecclesial base communities in different parishes in Mexico have gathered together for an in-depth study of the phenomenon in our Church. And they asked me to tell them about the experience of my archdiocese. Along with Fathers Jesus Delgado and As tor Ruiz, I gave testimony of the life and suffering of our archdiocese. Among those attending were Fathers Ortega and Phicido, who have been expelled from El Salvador. They also talked about that reality, which really seemed to impress the listeners. They showed me affection and solidarity and I left this fraternal gathering very encouraged. Also, another bishop who had been invited talked about the situation of Chile.
In the evening, we were visited in our lodgings by representatives of the young people expelled from the country, who had taken over the Mexican embassy. Also other countrymen who have suffered the pain of exile in Mexico for a long time. We talked with them a great deal to encourage them in their situation; we see that their spirits are very good and that they are still optimistic. We tried especially to help those who have arrived only recently and are staying in a hotel under the protection of the Mexican government. This is only for a period of forty days, at the end of which they will have to prove to the Mexican government that they have obtained work in the country in order to be able to legalize their situation in Mexico.
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Thursday, February 15
Very eady in the morning, when I was getting ready to go visit the group of exiled Salvadorans, a large group of them came to tell me that, for my good and their own, perhaps it would not be a good idea for me to go to their hotel. And they thanked me and said they would accept the help which I had offered them and that, instead of my visiting them, they would come visit me later.
Father Vicente Nieto, who had helped us in training Father Elias Morales, paid me a visit. We discussed the result -or rather, the failure-of this effort, since Father Elias currently has left his ministry in Santiago de Marfa diocese. I went with Father Nieto to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, where, in no hurry, I spent the rest of the morning in prayer, ending with the celebration of the Mass.
And afterward, a visit to my old friends Tepito, as I call the adopted family of Father Antonio Aguade, a friend that I remember very dearly. We shared many pleasant memories. They invited me to have lunch and even gave me a place to take a nap. It was raining when I returned. Thank God I found a taxi that took me to the Carmelite Sisters' house, where I was staying.
In the evening, another visit from the exiles. I tried to encourage them with my words and offer them what help I could, given my situation. I will continue to offer help, not from any political ideas, but simply in a spirit of Christian brotherhood and charity.
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Friday, February 16
I had breakfast at the motherhouse of the Carmelites of St. Teresa, where I also celebrated Mass. I spent the morning packing my suitcase for my return.
The last thing that happened was a program in my honor by the novices, in which they sang several songs and talked about some very interesting ideas. One of the sisters took us to the airport and we began our return trip. There were many other participants from the Puebla meeting at the airport, also waiting for flights to different parts of Latin America and Europe.
Nothing special happened on our Pan American flight to Guatemala City. I was interviewed briefly for Guatemalan television about aspects of the Puebla meeting and about the situation of my country. When I arrived in El Salvador near seven p.m., I was surprised by my reception at the airport. A group of priests-Fathers Cortes, Victor Guevara and Fabian Amaya-were waiting for me at the foot of the steps from the plane, and they had a car ready for me, Father Guevara's car. The director of the airport himself took my passport to take care of all the arrangements for me and offered me the diplomatic lounge. But I saw that many people had come to the airport to wait for me, and so I didn't use the car to leave immediately. Rather I walked out to greet all my friends: nuns, priests and laypeople who greeted me very affectionately.
At that time, they told me that there was a Mass scheduled for seven-thirty p.m. in the cathedral. We invited everyone at the airport to come, and I headed straight to the cathedral. In reality, the cathedral was already full and, when people realized that I had arrived, they began to applaud. And the cries of "Viva!" grew stronger because the crowd also continued to increase. I vested for the Mass. Many priests were waiting for me to come in to begin the entrance procession and the Mass, while more priests and more people continued to arrive.
At the time for the reading of the Gospel, Father Cortes welcomed me warmly in the name of the clergy and the people. He received great applause because he interpreted in a simple but moving way the sentiments of the people who filled the cathedral.
In my homily, I expressed my thanks for the greeting and the welcome, and I talked about the theme of Puebla, making the following three points: First, how I went to Puebla as the representative of a diocese that was praying, and I emphasized this a great deal. As I thanked them for the prayers that I felt so strongly, I asked them to continue praying so that this would be the greatest strength of our diocese: prayer.
The second point was that in Puebla I gave testimony of a diocese that has a pastoral direction which coincides with what we studied at Puebla. I talked about the many examples in the life of the archdiocese that I thought of so often during the Puebla meeting. I thanked the vicar general, the other vicars, the parish priests and the communities for their pastoral work and for the way they continued to have a rich Christian life during my absence. And I told them how happy I was to have been able to tell people in Puebla about the living testimony of my archdiocese.
And the third point that I brought from Puebla to my archdiocese was the experience, richness and friendship of many pastors and dioceses of our continent and worldwide. The people interrupted me with affectionate applause several times.
When the Mass ended, I took leave of the priests, almost all of whom were present, and I went out through the acclamations of the people to greet those outside, for there were people all the way to the street outside the cathedral. It was a very caring moment of greetings, embraces and even kisses from some people, giving me such a welcome that I felt almost that they were my family, and that I was at home where I felt comfortable!
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Saturday, February 17
I went to the chancery and there was nothing out of the ordinary there. Work has proceeded normally. There was news of different events which have taken place that I had already heard about in Mexico.
In the afternoon, I prepared the homily for Sunday. In the evening, I had been invited by the sisters of the Assumption, and I went to greet their superior general, who is here with us. And I told her that her congregation is doing great good in the archdiocese. I also felt that I received a very cordial reception here, very much in the spirit of the Church, from these sisters who work in Colegio de la Asunci6n and in the communities of the marginalized zones and in Chalatenango.
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Sunday, February 18
For the eight o'clock Ma" the cathedrnl wa' as it has been on previous Sundays full of people. I presented, through the Scripture readings, the message of Puebla to the peoples of Latin America. I gave my homily the title: "Christ, the Word That Is Always New in the Church." I developed three points, based on readings from Isaiah, St. Paul to the Corinthians and the Gospel of St. Mark. First, historical reality: that God saves in history and how, through the readings, we see an Israel that leaves behind the history of the Exodus to refer to a moment in the history of Babylon and also how the Gospels show Christ in a specific historical situation, the struggle against the Pharisees. Thus the Church has been living the history of the world since that time up to the Puebla meeting, which is also a historical fact that God wills to use as a salvific moment for the peoples of Latin America.
The second point was a reflection on history, a theology of history. In the readings from Isaiah and the Gospel, I pointed out this meditation on history, how the only thing that matters is building the Kingdom of God, but how many human beings oppose it because of their sin. Here the message of Puebla served me wonderfully to show how historically sin is denounced, and not just in my preaching, but rather how all the bishops denounce the great sin in Latin America, especially the sin of social injustice.
And the third point is that in the reading from St. Paul, his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Christ is the constant yes from God and the amen from human beings. I tried to give a message of hope, the message the bishops wanted to communicate in the Puebla message, based on faith and hope in Christ, who always makes the salvation of peoples new. I suggested that we should trust in Christ and open our hearts to hope and all offer ourselves, each one in his or her own profession, to work for a more just world but with a great trust placed in Jesus Christ.
In the afternoon, or rather, when the Mass ended, I went to Tamanique, where Mother Juanita had prepared a group of catechists to be ministers of Communion. There were sixteen of them and I took the opportunity to explain the Sacrament of the Eucharist to the people and also the charisms that God gives to the people of God. I called on the families to encourage vocations as priests and nuns and for all the laypeople to look for their own gifts for service to the Church. Afterwards we shared some very happy moments in a truly fraternal spirit of agape love. The communities expressed thoughts, poems and songs, and it was clear there was a spirit of solidarity between the people and their pastor. I felt at home.
When I returned to the Divine Providence Hospital, I received a visit from the superior general of the Belgian nuns, who came with a counselor and two priests. I planned to intercede so that Sister Chepita, who had been captured in El Despertar in San Antonio Ab ad and then freed in the custody of the nuncio, might stay with us. The vicar general intervened at the right moment with the government, with the ambassador of Belgium, and she was not to be expelled as the government had wanted, but the superior general has decided to take her with her. And although I did everything I could to plead with her to leave Sister Chepita here, the decision has been made and they will leave tomorrow.
In the evening, Sister Chepita came to have dinner and talk about her impressions. I tried to encourage her in such a difficult obedience and also to leave the door open for the hope that she could come back and work with us again.
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Monday, February 19
In the chancery I found that everything has gone on as usual. There is a lot of mail to be dealt with and it also needs to be organized so that I can look through it and answer it.
At night, I celebrated Mass in the Ana Guerra de Jesus Center to open a new course for women from the market.
I also went to the ultreya[108] where a group of cursillistas welcomed me warmly and where I explained the opinions that some of the Latin American bishops had expressed about the Cursillos de Cristiandad. Many of them complained that they are too set on their method and are not willing to adjust to the local pastoral situation. And I told them that my perspective was that, although I can say that some have been set on their method and have distanced themselves, I can count on a dedicated group of Christians who have matured and have identified themselves with the pastoral direction of the archdiocese. I congratulated them and encouraged them to continue on this path, which is the true one for the Church.
108 A reunion of cursillistas, people who have made the Cursillo, part of the follow-up program.
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Tuesday, February 20
In the morning, interviews with priests, with some laypeople and a journalist. In the afternoon I had an especially interesting press conference attended by nearly all the major media. I told them that the principal topic would be to inform them about the Puebla meeting, but many questions came up about the situation of the archdiocese, and especially about its relationship with the government. In my answers I reaffirmed the position of the archdiocese to be ready as the true Church to serve the people in the things that refer to God, and that its relationships with the government, as with any other organization that is part of the world, will always be in function of its mission as Church.
The interview, which turned out to be very cordial and very interesting, will be published in Orientacibn this week.
Later, I met with some people who have suffered in the jails and who, miraculously, were able to escape. They tell of such difficult situations and of the hope they have in the Church when it defends those who are suffering.
At eight p.m., I went to the Church of Carmen, in Colonia Roma, at the invitation of a Marriage Encounter group.[109] I addressed a word of hope to them and told them how the Puebla message considers work with married couples and families a pastoral priority.
109 A movement which organizes weekend meetings designed to improve communication between husband and wife.
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Wednesday, February 21
Among this morning's visits was one from the dean and the members of the School of Humanities of the National University to invite me to give a lecture on the Church in Latin America. I suggested to them that instead of a lecture it would be better to have a round table, and other member the idea. And they authorized me to get other participants on that same topic.
In the afternoon, I was visited by the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights[110] from Canada, who showed great interest in learning about the human rights situation in El Salvador, having already gotten a great deal of informative material from the Secretary of Information. I also talked with a Dutch journalist who asked about the same topic. At night, along with some of the Jesuits, we had dinner at the home of Doña Ana Margot Mendez and talked about very important topics on the life of the Church and about the UCA.
110 ICCHRLA, the Inter-Church Committee for Human Rights in Latin America.
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Thursday, February 22
Today the first meeting of the Pastoral Council took place in the parish hall of San Jose de la Montaña. I really wanted to attend, but something unexpected kept me from going to this meeting that is so vital for the diocese. I asked the vicar general, Monsignor Urioste, and the secretary of the council, Father Astor Ruiz, to take my place and lead this new instrument of arch diocesan pastoral work in a good direction. Unfortunately, many of the lay members who were to represent their different vicariates did not attend and a date was set for a meeting next month.
In the afternoon I went to a spiritual retreat of the seminarians in Apulo. I celebrated the Eucharist in the patio outside the church, where we shared around the altar, in the light of the word of God, our concerns about the pastoral vocation and the seminary. I was very pleased with the confidence and frankness with which the seminarians explained their concerns. These young people provide great hope for our archdiocese.
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Friday, February 23
In El Calvario parish in Santa Tecla, a meeting to prepare catechists and also to promote Christianity in the whole Vicariate of La Libertad is ending today. Father Benito Tovar, vicar of this department, along with Father Xavier, the priest of El Calvario parish, concelebrated with me. They have directed the Cursillo, which seems to have been very fruitful, based on the contributions of the participants during the Mass.
Today also Mr. Zeledón from the Toyota agency brought me the new car my current one is to be traded for, since they still estimate it to be worth a lot and because I need a car for my ministry.
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Saturday, February 24
In Colegio de la Asunción thece was a meeting of CONFRES to talk about the results of the bishops' meeting in Puebla. All of us who attended this general conference-that is, Fathers Jon Sobrino, Jesus Delgado, Jose Luis Bourguet and the president of CONFRES, Father Francisco Estrada. The attendance was extraordinary. I think that there were more than three hundred people, including men and women religious, and it was clear that there was a positive good spirit to adopt the document and make the conclusions from Puebla real in the pastoral work of our archdiocese.
I was glad to be able to say that Puebla was not a surprise for our archdiocese, for its pastoral directions, thank God, are along the same line as we have been working. And so I encouraged them to continue to be faithful in communion with the archbishop and to the entire pastoral line that we have inherited from Archbishop Chavez. And that, thanks to everyone's effort, it is making our archdiocesan community, our parish communities, our religious communities and Christian base communities flourish. I invited them to feed the diocese with the irreplaceable force of prayer and the testimony of a consecrated life that will be a faithful reflection of the presence of Christ among us .
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Sunday, February 25
The Mass in the cathedral is always well attended and very animated with a truly liturgical participation: alive, ecclesial. The answer that Christ gave to the criticism that his disciples did not fast while those of John and the Pharisees did gave me the theme of the homily: "Christ, Bridegroom of the Church." I talked about this newness, joy and enthusiasm, the hope that Christianity gives when there is faith that Christ lives with all his love within our Church.
After the Mass I received many visits from people from the villages, who always are anxious to speak even briefly with their bishop.
I had lunch with the sisters of the Colegio de la Sagrada Familia. In the afternoon, I participated in the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the parish of Zacamil in the Externado San Jose. Their work with the Christian base communities seems to be very fruitful, since the great crowd that filled first the theater and then the church of the Externado shows that there is a great consciousness of Christian and community life among the members of that parish. The celebration was attended by communities from different parts of the archdiocese.
In the evening I went to the Church of San Jacinto to turn it over to the new parish priest, Father Eduardo López Molina, who is going to substitute for Father Bobadilla, who is moving to Ilobasco. I spoke of the long tradition being established by the work of the Vincentian Fathers in this San Jacinto parish. I thanked them and I encouraged them to continue giving us the rich charisms of Saint Vincent de Paul in this part of the archdiocese.
I greeted the Sisters of Charity with great affection in their old people's home, where they have earned such great merit through the sisters who have given their lives for Christian charity. Also the enthusiasm of the faithful, especially of the children who approach the bishop, shows the care taken with the pastoral work in that area.
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Monday, February 26
This afternoon, I presided over the Mass in memory of Don Abraham Rodrfguez, an old friend from San Miguel, father of one of the sisters of the Sacred Heart. We were some fourteen priests who concelebrated, which really demonstrated the sympathy for the family.
In the evening I was visited by a young businessman who had been introduced to me by his mother before. He talked to me about the concern young business leaders like him have to talk with the Church about the very difficult situation of the country. I saw a desire to move closer to the Church that I really liked and, of course, I took advantage of this invitation and agreed to a meeting that will take place this very week.
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Tuesday, February 27
I had breakfst with Monsignor Urioste and Father Brito to talk I about the functioning of the curia during my absence. Ingeniero Galvan also came to evaluate the progress in the organization at the curia. Father Astor Ruiz was also present to report to us on his work in the pastoral counseling office.
I had lunch with the ladies of the archdiocesan Caritas and their coordinator, Father Tilo Sanchez, and other friends of Mrs. Trigueros in Colonia San Benito, where we shared a very Christian feeling.
In the afternoon, in the Maria Eugenia house of the Assumptionist Sisters in Planes de Renderos, I participated in Mass, celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary in the religious life of one of them. I talked to them about the relationships between the hierarchy and the religious. And afterward, we participated in a friendly party with family members. Sisters from all over the country were there. I realized the depth of the affection that they have for their pastor, and I thank them for it.
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Wednesday, February 28
It is Ash Wednesday and the principal event, in terms of liturgy, was the beginning of Lent at seven-thirty p.m. in the Coraz6n de Maria Church. The vicariate of this residential zone of San Salvador had invited me to celebrate the beginning of Lent with them, and I took advantage of the occasion to invite the whole archdiocese and give a diocesan character to the ceremony. This helped to fill the church completely, and the participation of the people added to the fervor. All the priests of the vicariate concelebrated.
The ceremony of penitential ashes turned out to be very impressive, the people of that neighborhood receiving the testimony of true humility and human equality of the ashes and the sense of penitence along with humble people from the villages. A general absolution with the appropriate cautions and a homily that reminded them of the sense of conversion to which the Church calls us-all this contributed to a fervent Lenten beginning. I hope, with the grace of God, that this will result in great blessings for the entire archdiocese.
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March 1979 (http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/drupal/sites/default/files/diary/Ashepherdsdiary.pdf)
Thursday, March 1
In the morning, a great deal of activity and many visits at the chancery. One of the most interesting was that by a group of pastoral workers who prepare people for Baptism who are coming to work with the catechumens[111] that already exist among us.
In the afternoon, celebration of the traditional Holy Hour at the Divine Providence Hospital.
I had dinner with Bishop Rivera, with whom I talked mainly about our life as bishops in El Salvador and about the Puebla meeting. We also talked about the visit to San Miguel that will take place soon, on March 10, when all the bishops will take the Puebla document to Our Lady of Peace. We agreed that we should provide a united front while, at the same time, expressing our disagreement with the anomalies of the Bishops' Conference.
I had a conversation with Dr. Semsch that was very helpful for me psychologically. At night, a meeting with the young business leader, Mr. Muyshondt, to plan the meeting that will take place tomorrow at his house in Colonia San Benito.
111 Candidates for Baptism.
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