Blood and Ink

Abstract

Blood and Ink is the story of the martyrs of the University of Central America “José Simeón Cañas” of San Salvador (UCA) interpreted as a sign of the mysterious presence of God in human history. In Robert Lassalle-Klein’s telling, God has visited El Salvador in the UCA martyrs, Monseñor Romero, and various other martyrs. The memory of the UCA martyrs finally confronts the American reader with God’s appearance there. This is a complex story whose point of departure is the historical reality of ElSalvador, which includes Washington’s military intervention in Central America, the role of the church in Latin America, the theology of liberation, and the Society of Jesus. As the reader delves into this rich historical material, he or she discovers why the UCA martyrs were killed and what they died for. This is the story of six Jesuits and two Salvadoran women, mother and daughter, told with respect and admiration, inspired by lives willingly dedicated to the liberation of a people. The fact that this occurred at a Jesuit university raises interesting questions. For how could a university, without ceasing to be what it is, be inserted at the historical crossroads of the Salvadoran people and, led by its commitment to justice, help to realize salvation in history?

The spirituality of the Society of Jesus and the theology of Jon Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuría offer answers to these questions. But going beyond these theoretical formulations, Lassalle-Klein emphasizes the encounter of these six Jesuits with the suffering of the Salvadoran people and with the Risen One. These encounters, which in reality comprise a single encounter with the crucified people of El Salvador, marked the lives and thought of these Jesuits. This is not a depressing story, however, for beyond the tragedy the reader perceives the hope of the resurrection of the Christ of God, which alone provides a nonillusory meaning to history. In the end, then, the question arises as to whether the follower of Jesus today is not also called to help take down from their crosses the crucified peoples of history.