El Salvador may have signed peace accords in 1992, he said, but there's a lot of hurt that remains because justice has been elusive.

"I tell people all the time that a lot of my politics and a lot of the way I think about things, was influenced by them," McGovern said, speaking of the Jesuits.

Politicians, educators and social justice leaders are remembering Charles Currie, S.J., whose passion for seeking justice in Central America made him a trusted adviser in Washington, D.C.

The martyrs, who were murdered nine years after St. Romero was killed while celebrating Mass, were believed to have been targeted due to their outspoken calls for a cease-fire between government and rebel forces.

The archbishop of San Salvador says water is “monopolized and contaminated by industries,” and there needs to be a guarantee of access for “the multitudes.”

The killing has shaken Catholic Church officials, who say they still do not know what led to the assassination or what it means for the church.