“For nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered.”
“Nothing is secret that will not become known.”
“What I say in the dark, tell in the light.”
“What you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26–27)
One word comes to mind when I sit with this Gospel: “exposure”. And with exposure, at times, comes danger.
Saint Oscar Romero (1917–1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador, who served as the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador.
Week by week from his pulpit during his three years as Archbishop, Romero confronted the military regime governing El Salvador.
He denounced human rights violations, political violence, the corrupt system of justice, the iniquitous land tenure system, and the suffering of El Salvador’s poor.
On 23 March 1980, Archbishop Romero delivered a sermon over national radio: “In the name of this suffering people, whose cries rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beseech you, I beg you, I order you, in the name of God, stop the repression.”
The very next day, the archbishop was assassinated, shot dead as he celebrated Mass in the chapel of the hospital where he lived.
Oscar Romero was beatified by Pope Francis in 2015.
“Why does the bird sing?” said the Master.
“Not because he has a statement, but because he has a song.”