Word: weres
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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"They were men that were dedicated to their struggle for peace and justice," said Father David Hollenbach of the Weston School of Theology, an associated school of Harvard University. "That was not easy. They were threatened with death."
What has been most shocking to acquaintances of the victims is that they were not politicians, but academics. But the forces behind the massacre reveal a brutal history in Salvadoran politics that frequently leads to academic repression.
"But he also loved his faculty, particularly his younger ones. It was like they were all on this mission together. It was palpable. He was so enthusiastic," Mullaney says.
Although their friends fiercely affirm that none of the priests were politicians, the nature of their academic studies and UCA's prominent efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement to the Salvadoran war made them highly political targets of the Salvadoran right wing.
"Because of the war, I think some of the more extreme right-wing supporters targeted people who were visible and outspoken about a peaceful solution to the war," says Pablo Mateu-Llort, a United Nations advisor working in El Salvador. "Definitely those priests were more outspoken supporters of dialogue."