Former rebels, devout cheer as murdered archbishop beatified in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was beatified on Saturday, the final step before sainthood, 35 years after he was gunned down at the altar by a right-wing death squad for denouncing the oppression of the poor by the military dictatorship.

Catholics from around the world mixed with former Marxist rebels from El Salvador's brutal civil war as over 250,000 people gathered in the capital to celebrate the country priest who confronted the U.S.-backed government.