US court to probe death of Archbishop Romero

Catholic World News has the story of the US (Fresno California) based law suit against the accused assassin of Archbishop Oscar Romero. The Archbishop was gunned down in the Cathedral in San Salvador as he celebrated a mass on March 24th, 1980. An amnesty in El Salvador means that his suspected assassin will never be tried there. Alvaro Rafael Saravia, now a resident of Modesto California, is said to have committed the assassination, but right-wing politician Roberto D'Aubuisson is widely believed to have instigated the killing. Romero, a dearly beloved Archbishop, was assassinated because he had preached a number of fiery sermons denouncing the activities of military and para-military "death squads" which terrorised the peasant and working class population at that time. His words and the few recordings of his homilies and radio broadcasts were iconic in the movement to free El Salvador from its oppressive oligarchy.