IS LIBERATION theology—an ideological movement that emerged in Latin America in the 1970s and sought to combine Catholicism with revolutionary socialism—making a comeback? Pope Francis has made at least two gestures this month which may lead people to exactly that conclusion. Yesterday, on a flight back from South Korea, the pontiff expressed his admiration for a left-wing martyr: Óscar Romero (pictured), a former Archbishop of San Salvador who was murdered while saying mass in 1980. Francis confirmed that the process of elevating the slain bishop to the status of "blessed", which had been bureaucratically blocked till a year ago because of the cleric's suspected Marxist leanings, should now proceed swiftly. The pope said:
For me Romero is a man of God...there are no doctrinal problems and it is very important that the beatification [elevation to blessed status] be done quickly.
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