Scott Wright is the coordinator of the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA) and co-author of Oscar Romero: Reflections on His Life and Writings. In this sobering biography, he examines the life and ministry of Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador (1917 - 1980). The paperback is richly illustrated with photographs by Octavio Duran, who served as Romero's personal photographer, accompanying him on many excursions.

Romero started out as a very traditional Catholic and "nothing in his childhood, training for the priesthood, or his first twenty-five years as a priest offers any indication that Romero would become a prophet-martyr in his three last years as archbishop of San Salvador." He was radicalized in response to the great suffering and anguish of the Salvadoran people who were terrorized by the police and military forces of their own right-wing government. The question which perplexed him and eventually turned his life around was: "How do we speak of God in the midst of unjust suffering?"

To answer this poignant question, we have selected some of the many quotations by Romero in this biography — including excerpts from his last homilies.

• On Hatred
"Who knows if the murderers that have now fallen into excomunication are listening to a radio in their hideout, listening in their conscience to this word. We want to tell you, murderous brothers, that we love you and that we ask of God repentance for your hearts, because the church is not able to hate."

• On the Poor
"I am glad, brothers and sisters, that our church is persecuted precisely for its preferential option for the poor and for trying to become incarnate on behalf of the poor. And I want to say to all the people, to rulers, to the rich and powerful: If you do not become poor, if you do not concern yourselves for the poverty of our people, as though they were your own family, you will not be able to save society."

• On Justice
"Everyone who struggles for justice, everyone who makes just claims in unjust surroundings is working for God's reign, even though not a Christian. The church does not comprise all of God's reign; God's reign goes beyond the church's boundaries."

• On Resurrection
"I have often received death threats. I must tell you that, as a Christian, I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me I will rise again in the Salvadoran people."