In the old days saints often had to wait decades or even centuries to be officially canonized, but our age is quicker to recognize its spiritual elite. Within 24 hours of his death, the reigning consistory declared Salvador Allende Gossens a martyred victim to the Faith and awarded the halo. In any given period the Lives of the Saints are cut to a common pattern, and those of our progressiste communion are no exception. The internationally approved instant version of Allende’s runs as follows:
A sincere, humane, and intelligent man, committed to using only peaceful and democratic means, he sought office to bring equality and justice to his people. A conspiracy of landlords, capitalists, and fascists, backed by the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S.-based multinational corporations, deliberately wrecked the Chilean economy and provoked disorders. The military, acting in effect as their agents, seized power by a bloody coup and put Allende to death so that he could not become a rallying point for popular resistance.
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