[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 15 (Thursday, February 9, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SISTER DOROTHY STANG

 Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Sister Dorothy Stang, who was brutally murdered nearly a year ago on 
February 12, 2005. Two hired assassins shot and killed her while she 
was traveling to visit a remote rural settlement near the Trans-Amazon 
Highway. She was 73 years old.
  In May 2005, I introduced a resolution here in the Senate to honor 
Sister Dorothy--known as Dot to family and friends--for devoting her 
life to the cause of justice for the dispossessed in Brazil. Refusing 
to back down in the face of death threats from those who opposed her 
efforts, she doggedly continued assisting impoverished families and 
worked to protect the rain forest. Her life exemplifies the highest 
ideals of reverence for human dignity, compassion for those who lack a 
voice in their own society, and respect for nature.
  Born in Dayton, OH, Dot was one of nine children. While she was 
growing up, she expressed a wish to one day become a missionary. Her 
siblings say their sister was always a strong, adventurous woman who 
truly loved life.
  After joining the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1948 and taking 
her final vows in 1956, Sister Dorothy taught elementary classes at St. 
Victor School in Calumet City and St. Alexander School in Villa Park in 
Illinois and Most Holy Trinity School in Arizona. She began working in 
Brazil in 1966, and in the early 1980s, she moved to a rural area 1,300 
miles north of Rio de Janeiro. There, she worked with the Catholic 
Church's Pastoral Land Commission, an organization that seeks to 
eradicate poverty and protect the environment by helping impoverished 
Brazilians to secure land.
  Sister Dorothy's passionate commitment to this mission was an 
inspiration to many. She was known for riding a motorcycle and camping 
outside the offices of local officials when they refused to meet with 
her. She lived her lifelong passion for teaching by organizing peasant 
groups and educating hundreds of families about sustainable farming 
techniques, land tenure issues, and the importance of conservation. Her 
extensive knowledge of Brazilian law, which was entirely self-taught, 
won her great respect from locals and other activists.
  While she worked hard, she did not see her endeavors as a sacrifice. 
Rather, she professed a love for the region and its people, becoming a 
Brazilian citizen and instructing her family that she would someday 
like to be buried in the place about which she cared so deeply.
  Last year, Sister Dorothy testified before a Brazilian congressional 
committee on deforestation and did not hesitate to name companies that 
were engaged in illegal logging. Furthermore, only days before her 
death, she met with Brazilian human rights officials to voice her 
concern about the dangers that she believed some loggers and landowners 
posed to the peasant farmers with whom she lived.
  Although she received death threats for years, she told those around 
her that the Bible was the only weapon she needed. Sister Dorothy lived 
her commitment to her faith in the bravest of ways, demonstrating 
courage and determination to the end. Witnesses recall that, when the 
gunmen confronted her, she read to her killers from the Bible before 
she was murdered.
  Sister Dorothy was a much beloved figure in the communities where she 
worked. Last year, the Brazilian state where she spent more than two 
decades of her life named her ``Woman of the Year,'' and the Brazilian 
Bar Association honored her with its Humanitarian of the Year award. At 
her funeral, thousands of peasants mourned the loss of a woman whom 
they knew as both a determined leader and a fun-loving friend.
  The Brazilian Government sent troops to stabilize the area following 
the tragedy, and it also has honored Sister Dorothy's legacy by setting 
aside disputed lands for a sustainable development program that she 
supported. In addition, President Lula da Silva denounced the killing 
and restated his government's commitment to defending Brazil's rain 
forests from destruction and environmentally unsound development.
  Despite these positive signs, many peasants in the areas where Sister 
Dorothy worked remain landless; Brazil has one of the world's largest 
wealth gaps. Violence also continues in the region, which is widely 
recognized as a place where federal Government control is often 
tenuous. During the past two decades, hundreds in the area have died in 
violent clashes between poor settlers and landowners who resent 
government attempts to resettle landless families and prohibit illegal 
logging.
  Sister Dorothy recognized the many daunting obstacles that face 
Brazil's poorest people and, rather than simply hoping for conditions 
to someday improve, happily devoted her life to fighting for what she 
believed was right. There is much to be done, but she has set an 
outstanding example of how one person can make a difference in the face 
of hopelessness. It is up to us to keep her memory alive and never 
forget her determination and her commitment to helping those most in 
need.

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