Vatican Declares Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero a Martyr

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Slain Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was declared a martyr by Pope Francis. Romero was a champion of the poor. He was assassinated in 1980 by a right-wing death squad after criticizing El Salvador’s military government. For years, the Vatican had blocked his becoming a saint because of his allegedly leftist leanings, but Francis removed that barrier. Romero’s martyrdom paves the way for his beatification, the last step before sainthood.

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