Pope Francis “unblocks” Romero’s beatification

Some excellent news from the Vatican via National Catholic Reporter:

A Vatican official responsible for the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador announced yesterday that the cause has been “unblocked” by Pope Francis, suggesting that beatification of the assassinated prelate could come swiftly. ….

Romero was shot to death while saying Mass in El Salvador on March 24, 1980. While he is seen as a hero to many because of his solidarity with the poor and his opposition to human rights abuses, his cause has also been viewed with suspicion in some quarters, partly because of Romero’s links to the controversial liberation theology movement.

Although both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have said publicly that Romero was a martyr for the faith, there’s also been some question as to whether his death meets the classic test for martyrdom of being killed in odium fidei, meaning “in hatred of the faith,” or whether the motives were more social and political.

If Romero is judged a martyr, he could be beatified without having a miracle attributed to his intercession.

This is good news in its own right, and better news if it indicates that under Francis the Vatican will re-examine a hasty dismissal of some of the insights of liberation theology.