Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Brasilia (Fides Service) - Following the brutal assassination of American born Sister Dorothy Stang of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame on 12 February in Anapu in the south west region of the state of Para, in Brazil, the Catholic Bishops of Brazil addressed a message of sympathy to Bishop Erwin Kräutler, Bishop of the Territorial Prelature of Xingu, Para state, expressing grief and repudiation for the brutal crime. “The murder of Sister Dorothy Stang, which coincided with the beginning of the Season of Lent and at the start of our Fraternity Campaign for ‘Solidarity and Peace’, confirms the need for serious national reflection on the causes of violence in out country and how to stop it; the need to increase social solidarity in Brazil by means of policies which promote respect for the dignity and rights of every person and guarantee peace and justice for all; the need to disarm hands and spirits without succumbing to intimidation, making a patient effort to promote a culture of peace”.
The Bishops express sympathy with Sister Stang’s family and religious congregation and the Prelature and they say this cowardly assassination brings the theme of violence tragically to the fore and the urgent need to solve longstanding, serious social problems, such as land reform, demarcation of indigenous people’s land, active presence of public authorities in new areas of land occupation and careful surveillance to ensure respect for the law.
At the end of the Message the Bishops say “violence can never build a society of peace”, only a culture of solidarity, respect and justice can build peace. The Bishops say they hope Sister Stang’s sacrifice will not be in vain and that her example may be an encouragement for all who work for the poor and the excluded, all who believe in the power of truth and love ”.
Sister Dorothy Stang, aged 73, a missionary from the United States, had worked for more than 20 years with the Commission for Land Pastoral of the Brazilian Bishops, accompanying with passion and dedication the life and struggle of plantation workers particularly in the Trans-Amazon region of Parà. Sister Stang had received threats to her life since 1999 because she denounced violence by “fazendeiros e grileiros”. According to a statement by the Goiânia national office of the Land Pastoral Commission, last week on 9 February during a public hearing in Belem in the presence of Minister Nilmàrio Miranda of the Special Human Rights Office and Agrarian Auditor Gercino Filho and Parà state authorities, Sister Stang reported that she had received threats to her life.
Sister Stang had recently acquired Brazilian nationality. In 2004 she was made an honorary citizen of Para in recognition of her service to the poor and received the “José Carlos Castro award from the Brazilian Order of Lawyers for her work to promote respect for human rights. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 15/2/2005; righe 35, parole 501)
