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| Stanley Rother, U.S. Priest Killed in ’81 in Guatemala, Is Declared a Martyr | Stanley Rother, U.S. Priest Killed in ’81 in Guatemala, Is Declared a Martyr |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Rev. Stanley Rother, a soft-spoken Oklahoman who was killed in 1981 during Guatemala’s long and bloody civil war, has been declared a martyr, a step that could clear the way for him to become a saint, the Vatican announced on Friday. | The Rev. Stanley Rother, a soft-spoken Oklahoman who was killed in 1981 during Guatemala’s long and bloody civil war, has been declared a martyr, a step that could clear the way for him to become a saint, the Vatican announced on Friday. |
| Born in 1935 to a farming family in Okarche, Okla., Father Rother went in 1968 to serve in the Roman Catholic mission at Santiago Atitlán, a desperately poor area in the rural highlands in southwestern Guatemala. He became a champion of the indigenous community, which generally supported the leftist rebel groups that battled government paramilitary squads during the 1960-96 civil war. | |
| His journey from farm boy to clergyman was an unlikely one. He was not a natural student and he had struggled with Latin when he was at the seminary, according to the Catholic News Agency. | His journey from farm boy to clergyman was an unlikely one. He was not a natural student and he had struggled with Latin when he was at the seminary, according to the Catholic News Agency. |
| But in Guatemala, Father Rother was determined to reach out to local residents and learned the local Tz’utujil language, translating the New Testament. He taught residents in his parish to read and write, helped them with farming, and founded a hospital, a school and a radio station. His red beard and easy smile become a familiar presence in the area, where he became a beloved figure. | But in Guatemala, Father Rother was determined to reach out to local residents and learned the local Tz’utujil language, translating the New Testament. He taught residents in his parish to read and write, helped them with farming, and founded a hospital, a school and a radio station. His red beard and easy smile become a familiar presence in the area, where he became a beloved figure. |
| In 1981, amid warnings that he was on a death list and even after members of his parish had been targeted or had disappeared, Father Rother made a brief visit to Oklahoma but decided to return to Guatemala. “The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger,” he wrote in a letter in December 1980, cited by the Catholic News Agency. In another letter to a friend in Oklahoma, written in January 1981, he described his despair at seeing the abduction of a parishioner, a 30-year-old father of two small boys. | In 1981, amid warnings that he was on a death list and even after members of his parish had been targeted or had disappeared, Father Rother made a brief visit to Oklahoma but decided to return to Guatemala. “The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger,” he wrote in a letter in December 1980, cited by the Catholic News Agency. In another letter to a friend in Oklahoma, written in January 1981, he described his despair at seeing the abduction of a parishioner, a 30-year-old father of two small boys. |
| “I had just witnessed a kidnapping of someone that we had gotten to know and love and were unable to do anything about it,” he wrote in the letter. “They had his mouth covered, but I can still hear his muffled screams for help. As I got back in the rectory I got a cramp in my back from the anger I felt that this friend was being taken off to be tortured for a day or two and then brutally murdered for wanting a better life and more justice for his pueblo.” | “I had just witnessed a kidnapping of someone that we had gotten to know and love and were unable to do anything about it,” he wrote in the letter. “They had his mouth covered, but I can still hear his muffled screams for help. As I got back in the rectory I got a cramp in my back from the anger I felt that this friend was being taken off to be tortured for a day or two and then brutally murdered for wanting a better life and more justice for his pueblo.” |
| He added, “That makes 11 members of this community that have been kidnapped and buried here.” | He added, “That makes 11 members of this community that have been kidnapped and buried here.” |
| Father Rother would soon suffer a similar fate. On July 28, 1981, three masked men entered the parish rectory and shot him twice in the head. He was 46. No one was ever charged. | |
| The 2013 election of Pope Francis — who was born in Argentina and is the first pope from Latin America — has helped draw attention to priests killed in Latin America under brutal authoritarian governments. | The 2013 election of Pope Francis — who was born in Argentina and is the first pope from Latin America — has helped draw attention to priests killed in Latin America under brutal authoritarian governments. |
| The process to become a saint can be long and arduous, and it normally cannot begin until five years after the person’s death, though the waiting period can be waived by the pope, as happened with Pope John Paul II, who was elevated to sainthood in 2014, and Mother Teresa, who became a saint this year. A miracle must also be attributed to the person. | The process to become a saint can be long and arduous, and it normally cannot begin until five years after the person’s death, though the waiting period can be waived by the pope, as happened with Pope John Paul II, who was elevated to sainthood in 2014, and Mother Teresa, who became a saint this year. A miracle must also be attributed to the person. |
| Father Rother’s warmth and courage are remembered in Oklahoma and in Guatemala. “How a 46-year-old priest from a small German farming community in Oklahoma came to live and die in this remote, ancient Guatemalan village is a story full of wonder and God’s providence,” wrote María Ruiz Scaperlanda in a biography, “The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run,” published last year. | Father Rother’s warmth and courage are remembered in Oklahoma and in Guatemala. “How a 46-year-old priest from a small German farming community in Oklahoma came to live and die in this remote, ancient Guatemalan village is a story full of wonder and God’s providence,” wrote María Ruiz Scaperlanda in a biography, “The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run,” published last year. |