Sister Dorothy was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1931, one of nine children. She entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in 1948. After teaching in Catholic schools in the United States for 15 years, she began her ministry in the country of Brazil, where she spent 4 decades defending the rights of poor settlers and working to save the rain forest from powerful ranchers who were destroying it through deforestation. On February 12, 2005, less than a week after meeting with Brazil’s human rights officials about threats to local farmers from loggers and landowners, she was shot by hired gunmen and left to die on a muddy country road. She was 73 years old. She was posthumously awarded the 2008 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights. She also has been declared a martyr for the faith by the Vatican.
Jesus today speaks about those things that come from the human heart which defile us, things like murder, greed, malice, and deceit. From the greed of rich landowners and the disrespect of the rights of the poor farm workers, Sister Dorothy was murdered because she was seen as a threat. Knowing the risks she was taking, Sister Dorothy remained firm in standing up for the values of our faith. We honor Sister Dorothy today and the other martyrs who gave up their lives for the faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment