Romero, Migration, and the Grammar of Creation

We are witnessing an era of unprecedented migration across the Americas, as people are forced to flee due to hunger, political and criminal violence, and climate change. This essay draws on the wisdom of the martyred and sainted archbishop of San Salvador, Óscar Romero, as well as Catholic social teaching, to understand how Romero responded to the migration of his era—and how Christians and people of good will might respond to migration today. We show that today’s migration is not entirely unlike the context in which Romero was writing. In his work, we find a powerful articulation of both the right not to migrate—the right to live in dignity in one’s home and the right to migrate when such conditions cannot be met. We also trace echoes of Romero’s vision in the pontificate of Pope Francis and in the myriad ways Christian communities in Latin America and the United States are responding to today’s migration.

Duke Scholars

Author Matthew Philipp Whelan Divinity School