Today we commemorate the
thirtieth anniversary of the brutal murder of six Jesuits and their housekeeper
and her daughter in San Salvador. A
group of highly trained soldiers entered the campus of the University of
Central America in San Salvador shortly past midnight on Nov. 16, 1989. Their target was the president of the university,
Ignacio Ellacuría Beas Coechea, S.J., the rector of the university. Killed along side of him were: Ignacio Martín-Baró, S.J., vice-rector of the
university, a leading expert on Salvadoran public opinion; Segundo Montes,
S.J., dean of the department of social sciences; Juan Ramón Moreno, S.J.; Joaquín
López y López, S.J.; Amando López, S.J.; Elba Ramos, their housekeeper; and Celina
Ramos, her sixteen-year-old daughter.
These brutal murders shocked
the world and called people called for immediate retribution. Those charged were tried and only two were
found guilty of the major charges the others were given lesser charges. They were
murdered because they were labeled communists and were reported to be in
solidarity with the poor. The civil war
in El Salvador lasted 12 years and claimed some 75, 000 lives.
These eight people joined Sisters
Dorothy Kazel, OSU; Maura Clarke, MM, Ita Ford, MM and Jean Donovan (an
Ursuline volunteer), as well as Archbishop Oscar Romero who were killed in the
civil war also.
These senseless murders call
for us to reflect on the value of every human being and challenge us to be
persons of peace and justice. May the
cry for justice for all people be heard and respected for all.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment