We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
Oscar RomeroRead
When we struggle for human rights, for freedom, for dignity, when we feel that it is a ministry of the church to concern itself for those who are hungry, for those who have no schools, for those who are deprived, we are not departing from God's promise. He comes to free us from sin, and the church knows that sin's consequences are all such injustices and abuses. The church knows it is saving the world when it undertakes to speak also of such things.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the church's role in advocating for human rights and addressing injustices as an expression of faith.
Oscar Romero's quote articulates the belief that the pursuit of human rights, freedom, and dignity aligns with the mission of the church. He asserts that to concern oneself with issues like hunger, education, and deprivation is to fulfill God's promise, as these struggles are intimately connected to the fight against sin and its worldly consequences. The church's involvement in social justice isn't separate from spiritual ministry; rather, it is a vital aspect of the faith that seeks to heal and uplift communities.
Themes
Human RightsFreedomDignityChurchSocial JusticeInjustice
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on human rights, one might quote Romero to emphasize the church's responsibility in social issues.
More from Oscar Romero
All quotes →Beautiful is the moment in which we understand that we are no more than an instrument of God; we live only as long as God wants us to live; we can only do as much as God makes us able to do; we are only as intelligent as God would have us be.
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When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises.
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Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
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A Christian's authenticity is show in difficult hours it is in difficult hours that the church grows in authenticity. Blest be God for this difficult hour in our archdiocese. Let us be worthy of it.
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The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the rights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history.
Oscar RomeroRead
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