Baylor University The Parable of the Good Samaritan in Social Advocacy: A Comparative Study of Oscar Romero and Martin Luther King Jr. Ariel Wright LAS 4350: Oscar Romero & Latin American Environmental Freedom Dr. Matthew Whelan 1 May, 2023 Advocating for the marginalized is what Oscar Romero and Martin Luther King dedicated their lives to. Although they came from different backgrounds and worked for different causes, they shared their commitment to the church and to advocating for others in the face of injustice and adversity. Both Romero and King viewed social responsibility as the solution to the various injustices their people were facing; both utilized the Gospel as evidence for their strong commitments to social responsibility as a means of resolving social injustice. Although King was a Southern Baptist and Romero was a Catholic, they both shared the Christian belief that one who loves God must also love their brothers and sisters, specifically brothers and sisters require help. This mutual love is the basis for their approach to leadership and how their social movements gained traction. Both leaders considered love as the driving force behind their actions, even in the face of opposition from their adversaries. They believed the ultimate show of compassion was protesting against violence with peace, preserving a tough mind while keeping a tender heart. Their shared …show more content…
This preferential option for the poor, prioritizes the empowerment of the most powerless in societ, in this case the majority of Salvadorans. This fraternal love is not only for the poor in this context, but also for the oppressive and combative minority. Although Romero and his followers understood that maintaining this fraternal love was necessary for them to achieve change, they did not let this love soften their devotion to the improvement of the social and economic condition of