A civil art - The persuasive moral voice of Oscar Romero (Remarks on the public and political effects of moral or religious teachings)

When moral or religious teachings have public and political effects, analys is usually focuses on the message, but attention to the manner in which the teachings are communicated is equally important in understanding their pow er to influence the course of events. Oscar Romero's particular style of mo ral discourse was remarkably effective for three reasons: First, his moral reasoning resonated with Salvadoran identity. It was intelligible within th ose reigning assumptions about national history and territory that could ac tually move a public to action. Second, his moral judgments were timely. Ro mero sought to discern what was possible for the Salvadoran public at a giv en moment. Third, Romero had integrity as public figure. He lived in such a way that his life, and especially his death, became an exemplary embodimen t of the larger religious narrative that both grounded his ethics and gave meaning to the nation.