Arturo Rivera y Damas
The Most Reverend Arturo Rivera y Damas Roman Catholic Church | |
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| Residence | San Salvador |
| Styles of Arturo Rivera y Damas | |
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Your Excellency | |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
Arturo Rivera y Damas (30 September 1923 – 26 November 1994) was the ninth Bishop and fifth Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. Msgr. Rivera's term as archbishop (1983–1994) coincided with the Salvadoran Civil War. He was the immediate successor of Archbishop Óscar Romero. During Romero's archbishopric (1977–1980), Rivera was Romero's key ally. He had been the auxiliary of Romero's long-reigning predecessor, Luis Chávez y González (1938–1977). He was also a friend of Mother Teresa, who stayed at his family home on her visit to El Salvador
Biography
Rivera was born in San Esteban Catarina, El Salvador, on 30 September 1923.[1] He was ordained a Priest of the order of Salesians of Don Bosco on 19 September 1953.[2] "I joined the Salesians", Rivera told the National Catholic Reporter, "because I wanted to work with the poor, and back then they were the ones who were doing that."[3]
He was appointed to his first tour as Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador on 30 July 1960.[2] At the same time, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Legia.[2] In light of the social foment that began in the archdiocese in the 1970s, Rivera supported the controversial pastoral work undertaken by Father Rutilio Grande in the rural outskirts of San Salvador.[4] According to Jesuit academic Rodolfo Cardenal, Rivera "supported the pastoral and theological innovations" being carried out by the Jesuits.[5] However, the Church hierarchy apparently disapproved because, when Archbishop Chávez retired in 1977, they overlooked Rivera, Chávez' auxiliary, and selected the more conservative Óscar Romero as Archbishop of San Salvador, to the liberals' dismay.[6] By that time, Rivera had been tarred as a "red bishop" because of his activism.[7]
In September 1977, Rivera was appointed Bishop of Santiago de María—filling Óscar Romero's old post.[1] During Romero's stormy tenure as archbishop, Rivera was often Romero's lone ally in the Salvadoran Bishops' Conference, which became divided over Romero's leadership. The bishops were split between a conservative sector, allegedly aligned to traditional institutions of power in Salvadoran society, and progressive groups influenced by the reformist doctrines of the Second Vatican Council and the Medellín Bishops Conference of 1968. Msgr. Rivera attended both influential synods.[8]
After Romero's assassination on 24 March 1980, Rivera was named
The UCA massacre put pressure on the government to end the war and sign a peace deal.[8] Rivera moderated the negotiations of the final Peace Accords signed between the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the Salvadoran government in 1992.[11] In the final years of his ministry, Rivera eagerly instituted a canonization process for his martyred predecessor.[10]
Rivera died on 26 November 1994.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Archbishop Arturo Rivera Damas [Catholic-Hierarchy]
- ^ a b c David M. Cheney. "Archbishop Arturo Rivera Damas [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Peace architect Rivera Damas dies at 71, 12/9/94 Nat'l Cath. Rep., cited in San Romero Yahoo! Discussion Group
- ^ Nat'l Cath. Rep., Ibid
- ^ NCR, Ibid
- ^ espanol.groups.yahoo.com
- ^ 12/12/94 Independent (London) obituary, cited in San Romero Yahoo! Discussion Group
- ^ a b c d e NCR, supra
- ^ a b Conferencia Episcopal de El Salvador - Reseña Histórica de la Conferencia Episcopal de El Salvador Archived August 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b 12/12/94 Independent obit, Supra
- ^ Ana Elizabeth Villalta
- ^ "Saludo a los catequistas". vatican.va. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
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