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Standing for Peace - Oscar Romero

Standing for Peace - Oscar Romero
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   10.35

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    bookworm, pious, progressive, coworkers, killing, standing, commandment, well-respected, orthodox, aligned, biblical, then-president, bishop, repress, military, leadership
     content words:    Archbishop Oscar Romero, Roman Catholic, El Salvador, Roman Catholic Church, Renny Golden, Rutilio Grande, When Romero, Jimmy Carter, United States, El Salvadoran

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Standing for Peace - Oscar Romero
By Beth Beutler 		  
1     "Aspire not to have more, but to be more." This was the type of teaching done by Archbishop Oscar Romero, a well-respected civil rights advocate who was assassinated on March 24, 1980.
 
2     Romero was born on August 15, 1917. During the 63 years of his life, he became known for standing for peace and human rights while serving as a Roman Catholic priest in El Salvador. He urged people to follow the biblical commandment of "Thou shalt not kill," and he spoke up for the poor in his country. However, his approach was not supported by the leadership in the Roman Catholic Church or the government.
 
3     Very early in his career, Romero would not have been considered a likely candidate for so bravely speaking out in the face of opposition from his leadership and fellow priests. According to Renny Golden, who researched his life, Romero was "predictable, an orthodox, pious bookworm known to criticize the progressive liberation clergy so aligned with the impoverished farmers seeking land reform." However, that all changed when one of Romero's close coworkers, Rutilio Grande, the first priest to serve under him, was killed with two church goers. When Romero viewed the bodies, which included a seven year old boy and an old man, and met the people for whom Rutilio had taken a stand, something changed within his heart, starting a journey of principle and courage.

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