Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chávez has been auxiliary bishop of San Salvador since 1982. LATINAMERICA PRESS correspondent Paul Jeffrey spoke with him about the role of churches in the process of peacemaking and reconciliation in El Salvador.

During the war, churches played an important role in working for peace. Now that the war is over, but the country still suffers from violence, what is their role in building a culture of peace?

How easy it is to be a Christian in extreme situations. In times that are more or less normal, it is more difficult. In El Salvador it was very clear what we had to do during the war. What we have now is an undeclared war, because death is still present. Ours is the continent’s most violent country, in terms of homicides. We have the highest murder rate.

There is also the death caused by the neoliberal economic system, a slow, inexorable death that we must recognize as a Gospel challenge. One pending task for churches in El Salvador and Central America is that we haven’t taken up the challenge of reconciliation in the fullest sense—both personal and social — of the word. We must make reconciliation a priority. Our society signed peace accords, but doesn’t live peace in daily life. We aren’t reconciled. Worst of all, ours is a society in a crisis of hope, and that’s a serious problem, because the Gospel goes hand in hand with hope.

What did the Nov. 3 acquittal of two generals accused in the 1980 killings of four US missionaries [LP, Nov. 13, 2000] mean for the country?

During the three weeks that the trial lasted, El Salvador began to recover its memory. This case, which had been forgotten, returned to the fore. This is very important for us, because it was a symbol of a past that remains forgotten, which we must recover.

It opened up debate about how to achieve reconciliation after a war, how to face the past, and the way the debate was opened indicates that our country is not reconciled. There were nervous reactions from people in the government who said we shouldn’t open old wounds. It’s the typical reaction of those who want to forgive and forget. There were also people who said we should
heal 
the wounds well. And between the two was a large group of people who
were 
indifferent, which indicates that this issue must be handled through
education.

Although the jury acquitted (the generals), one thing was clear: human 
rights have no borders. These two generals felt safe and sound in
Florida. 
They had forgotten the case of (former Chilean dictator Augusto)
Pinochet, 
which was the first high-profile case that showed that human rights have
no 
borders. These are interesting lessons that must be pursued, because
they open 
up great possibilities for us.

How has this affected debate about martyrs in El Salvador?

I’m glad that during this Jubilee year the pope has said that we should 
remember the martyrs, because they are the best of the church. This
allows El 
Salvador and Guatemala to begin an interesting process of recovering
their 
memory. This has brought us back into contact with the best of our
history.. 
The martyrs are an inspiration, because they dreamed of the reign of God
and 
gave their lives for it. 

We must still recover the memory of the anonymous martyrs, who are the 
majority, the people who spilled their blood without fanfare, with the
same 
simplicity with which they lived. It is our duty to recover this memory, 
because it is also a way of honoring the poor and their best
representatives, 
their own martyrs.

What progress has been made toward canonization of Bishop Oscar A. 
Romero?

The celebration of the 20th anniversary (of his death) [LP, Sept. 18,
2000] 
was admirable. El Salvador was amazed by what happened. First, the
Romero 
Foundation did an excellent job of preparing during the preceding year. 
Second, there was noteworthy ecumenical participation. Everyone was
there, 
and this was very important for us. It reminded me of our best
ecumenical 
experiences during the war. Third, after 20 years, El Salvador’s youth 
responded in an unexpected way. We were afraid that those who hadn’t
lived 
through that time had never discovered the bishop, but we were
pleasantly 
surprised. And fourth, the canonization process made a qualitative leap 
forward.

It became more normal and natural to talk about Bishop Romero, who had 
been a taboo topic in El Salvador. He is undoubtedly the best-known
martyr 
of the 20th century, but he was a prophet without honor in his own land.
With 
this anniversary, however, many people returned, including some who at
the 
time disparaged or persecuted him. For many people there is a new 
understanding, given the seriousness of the moment, of the richness of
the 
person, doctrine and testimony of Bishop Romero.

With time we generally tend to forget people. In this case the opposite
is 
true. With time, the world has taken Bishop Romero as an inspiration. I
think 
time is on his side, but we must have a little patience, because
canonization 
will not happen as quickly as we would like.