Sister Dorothy Stang: a martyr for God’s poor and God’s creation
By Edward Judge | Contributing writer
On Feb. 12, , a year-old Catholic nun was accosted by two strangers as she walked to a meeting along a dirt road through the Amazon rain forest in Brazil. When the men asked if she had a weapon, she replied that her weapon was her Bible, and began reading to them from the Beatitudes. One of the men then shot her in the abdomen, and she fell forward on the ground. He then shot her again in the back, and four times in the head, ending the remarkable life of a truly remarkable woman.
The woman was Sister Dorothy Stang. Born in in Dayton, Ohio, she joined the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in , and from to she taught in Catholic grade schools in northeastern Illinois and Phoenix, Ariz. Feeling called, however, to serve God as a missionary among the poorest of his poor, she answered the call and went to Brazil in There she worked in Amazonia among the impoverished people, tending to their spiritual and physical needs and helping to open some 39 schools. She also fought to preserve the rain forest through a sustainable-development program that gave landless peasants small plot
Expanded Story of Sister Dorothy Stang
Sister Dorothy Stang decided early on that she would give her life to God as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. Her deepest desire was to serve the poor as a missionary and on her application she wrote, "I want to be a missionary in China."
But God's plan was not Dot's plan. After teaching in Chicago and Phoenix she was to serve in Brazil. She and four other Sisters went to Brazil in where she worked to help poor farmers build independent futures for their families until her murder in
The Fight Grows Dangerous
Over the years, the work became progressively more dangerous for the Sisters in Brazil and for the farmers and their families. As the world discovered the vast possibilities offered by the rich natural resources of the Amazon rain forest, people with more limited and self-centered goals began to plan ways to capitalize upon them. Gradually, loggers, ranchers, land speculators, and agribusiness became the dominant forces in the region, victimizing the poorer farmers and destroying the rain forest.
The Amazon rain forest is one of the largest remaining virgin forests on earth. Its original trees and vegetation comp
In memory of Sister Dorothy Mae Stang
Twenty years after her death, remembrance of Sister Dorothy Mae Stang, killed defending her Amazon rainforest
She was an American missionary nun, Sister Dorothy Mae Stang.
She returned to the Father&#;s House 20 years ago, but she is still remembered. Above all, she remained in the hearts of Brazil&#;s indigenous peoples, for whom she fought until the end.
She was killed, in fact, by six gunshots, for her passionate battle against deforestation.
Laudato si&#;, Pope Francis&#; encyclical on care for the common home, had not yet been written on Feb. 12, , nor had the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian region been celebrated, but she was already on the front lines defending her beloved forest.
A stumbling block for landowners and entrepreneurs, Sister Dorothy courageously continued to challenge them and thwart their trades.
She was part of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur and had been in Brazil since , where she died with a Bible in her hand. She is buried in the Boa Esperança camp in Anapu (Pará State), where she will live forever.
On January 10, the Community of Sant&#;Egidio orga
Sr. Dorothy Stang: Twenty years since her 'seed of life' was planted in death
Mar 03,
Sr. Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, carried out her mission among the poor in Brazil out of love for Christ
By Károly Koller – Brazil
For decades, Sr. Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, fought against deforestation and for the rights of small farmers and labourers, in the Amazon region.
The result was that the Sister of Notre Dame de Namur got caught in the crossfires of conflicts of interest and was repeatedly threatened. She was 73 years old when she was killed by an assassin on 12 February She died with a Bible in her hand.
“Dorothy’s pockets were always filled with seeds. Nowadays, wherever I go, I hear people say: ‘I got this cocoa plant from Dorothy. This is Dorothy’s palm’. The poor have carried her in their hearts,” according to Sr. Jane Dwyer, who worked alongside Dorothy Stang in the A
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