From left, Sisters Marion Raymond-Hurley, Elizabeth Bowyer of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Peggy Evans. (Photo by Lenora Sumsky)
MANCHESTER – Martyr or murder victim?
That was the question raised by Sister Elizabeth Bowyer on the fourth anniversary of the death of Sister Dorothy Stang, who was shot and killed on Feb. 12, 2005, in Brazil.
More than 700 students learned about the life and death of the Sister of Notre Dame de Namur recently at East Catholic High School.
Sister Elizabeth was invited to speak by Sister Marion Raymond-Hurley. Both are Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. East Catholic has been associated with the Sisters of Norte Dame de Namur since its founding in 1961.Sister Elizabeth, also a Sister of Notre Dame, described Sister Dorothy’s 23-year struggle to protect the rainforest and defend poor settlers against ranchers and illegal loggers. In what many describe as a mostly lawless and often violent region of the Amazon, the 73-year-old sister from Dayton, Ohio, was brutally shot, six times, at point blank range.
Sister Dorothy knew that it was dangerous to speak out against illegal logging in the state of Pará, Brazil, where it is estimated that 90 percent of timber from the region is logged illegally. Over the past 20 years, 520 rural workers, union leaders and human rights defenders have been shot.
Sister Elizabeth told students that Sister Dorothy knew she was on a death list but believed that she would be protected because of her age and because she was a sister.
"The summer before she was killed, I was talking with her in the driveway of the convent in Cincinnati, Ohio," said Sister Elizabeth. "I asked her, ‘Are you sure you want to go back?’"
"‘I have to go back. These are my people," Sister Dorothy told Sister Elizabeth.
"She could have stopped working for justice. She could have stopped working for the rainforest and her enemies would have left her alone. But she didn’t," said Sister Elizabeth. "She died for what she believed in; she gave her life freely."
"What is the difference between a martyr and a victim of murder?" Sister Elizabeth asked the students. "A victim of murder has no choice; a martyr willingly gives his or her life.
"She didn’t have to die that day," she went on. "She gave her life freely. Her blood spilled onto the Amazon soil because she was doing what she believed in."
People of faith may not give their lives, but many give of themselves freely because of their faith, Sister Elizabeth pointed out.
"That’s what life is all about," she said. "It’s that self-giving love that makes you do the things to give of yourself so that something bigger than you will happen – to really make a difference and build a better world."
Sister Elizabeth recalled the day her community learned that Sister Dorothy was killed. Several sisters were together when they received the phone call from Brazil. "Dot is dead," the caller said.
"In the beginning, I thought it was an accident," said Sister Elizabeth. "I thought she had been caught in the crossfire. Brazil is a very violent place and it could have happened."
Soon afterward, when the Associated Press and other news agencies began reporting on what had happened, we realized it was a murder, she said.
"All of a sudden, phone calls started coming in to us from all over the world: Switzerland, Germany, France, even from places where the story hadn’t run in the headlines," said Sister Elizabeth.
"It was just amazing. Our sisters asked each other, what’s going on here? And we knew that something very special was happening," she said.
At the time of her death, Sister Dorothy had just delivered food and clothing to families whose homes were burned down by ranchers and loggers. She was approached by two gunmen. Knowing her fate, she kneeled, took her Bible from a cloth bag, and began reading the beatitudes.
Five men were implicated in the death of Sister Dorothy Stang. Four men were convicted, including a rancher who was found guilty of ordering her death. Subsequently, the rancher’s conviction was overturned. Another rancher, also accused of ordering the killing, has not been tried.
Sister Dorothy was named Woman of the Year by the State of Pará, Brazil, and received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Brazil Bar Association for her work in the region. She was posthumously awarded the 2008 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in recognition of her outstanding contributions in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
An award-winning documentary film about the life and death of Sister Dorothy was released in 2008. The film, titled "They Killed Sister Dorothy," is narrated by Martin Sheen.
