International Day for the Right to Truth
Honour and justice to those who have given
their lives for the promotion and protection of human rights
The anniversary was established by the UN General Assembly in 2010 and falls on the day Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador was assassinated by a sniper while celebrating mass because of his commitment to denouncing violations of the human rights of El Salvador’s most vulnerable people.
Romero defended the principles of protection of life, human dignity and opposition to all forms of violence. This exposed him to government threats and also prompted the Catholic hierarchies of the small Central American country to distance themselves.
In his homilies and via the diocesan radio, he repeatedly asked soldiers to disobey orders to shoot innocent civilians. Through his commitment and evangelical radicalism he challenged the idea of a church linked to the ruling classes. At the behest of Pope Francis in 2018, Archbishop Romero’s canonisation process was brought to completion.
