Gunshots echo in Diocese

"It is not often that one is gifted to know both a prophet and a martyr. Sister Dorothy was both," said Sister Connie James, SND, pastoral associate of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Cobleskill.

She was referring to Sister Dorothy Stang, SND, 73, who was murdered Feb. 12 in Anapu, Brazil. The two nuns, members of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, were acquaintances.

Sister Dorothy, a native of Dayton, Ohio, was an outspoken advocate for social justice and human rights issues. She had been a missionary for more than 40 years among rural peasants and farmers near Anapu, a remote town on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.

Conflict

Sister Dorothy's work put her at odds with large landowners and logging interests that are deforesting the area. Local authorities believe that is why she was killed. One suspect has been arrested in the case.

Sister Dorothy also worked with the Brazilian Bishops' Land Commission in an effort to halt deforestation of the Amazon and improve living conditions of poor workers in the area. She had previously warned the Commission and the Brazilian government of the ecological dangers that deforestation is causing.

In fact, reports said that she had contacted authorities just three days before her death about the increasing number of threats to farm workers.

Dangers

"Sister Dorothy is only one of about 1,400 people that have been killed by assassins hired by the ranchers and loggers," noted Sister Connie, who added that the Brazilian government has done little to quell the violence. "Sister Dorothy had been speaking out for a long time."

Sister Connie called Sister Dorothy's death "a great tragedy. What it has done is to give us a wake-up call. She had it 'together' a long time ago, that is, she knew -- before there were ever words to describe the conditions there -- what was going on and what her true mission was.

"She was a woman of great conviction and courage. She could have come back home, but she chose to stay. In fact, she became a citizen of Brazil because she had dedicated her life to living and working with the poor there. She deeply felt that it was her baptismal call to ministry to be where she was and do what she was doing.

"She was a prophet in the sense that she spoke out against the injustice, greed and violent oppression inflicted on the poor who could not speak for themselves."

Plea to peers

Last July, Sister Dorothy wrote to the sisters in her order about her deep concerns. Sister Connie provided The Evangelist with a copy of what Sister Dorothy wrote:

"This is a case where the voice of the poor cannot be heard because of the constant danger of assassination, but my belonging to an international Congregation has made it possible for their voices not only to be heard but to receive a favorable response....

"The greed of the invaders, loggers who take out the hardwoods and cattlemen who burn the forest, depletes the already low fertility of the land, causes erosion and temperature rise and lessens the rainfall. When the settlers attempt to defend their land,...their homes are burned...and a homesteader was killed.

"I can speak out when others cannot because of my relationship with the Church."

Bishops' support

Members of the Brazilian Bishops' Pastoral Land Commission said that Sister Dorothy's work had put her at odds with land barons and powerful economic groups.

The Commission also stated that Sister Dorothy had received death threats for nearly four years due to her activities on behalf of the rural workers.

After her death, the Conference called her yet "another victim of the fight of the poor for land."

(Some information in this article was obtained from Catholic News Service.)

(2/24/05)