A top Vatican official and humanitarian leader has received a prestigious award from the University of Dayton.
Tuesday night, U.D. awarded Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras with the Archbishop Oscar Romero Human Rights Award.
Romero was a prominent Roman Catholic priest in El Salvador during the 1960s and 1970s. He spoke out on behalf of the poor and repressed after witnessing human rights violations.
Earlier in the day, at a stop at Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, the Archbishop said he was pleased to accept the award just as Romero nears beatification, a step towards his formal sainthood.
“I am very happy and very grateful you know because Archbishop Romero was a martyr—he was killed 35 years ago and now the Holy Father Francis announces that he will be beatified quite soon. We are very happy and I feel honored by that,” Maradiaga said.
Cardinal Maradiaga is receiving the award for his work as president of Caritas Internationalis, a Vatican-based organization encompassing 160 charity organizations promoting justice. In 2013, Pope Francis appointed him as coordinator of the Council of Cardinals, which determines Vatican policies and priorities.
