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For Immediate
Release
Brazilian
Found Guilty of Ordering Murder
of
Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Dorothy Stang
Cincinnati OH – May 15, 2007
– Earlier today, in the state of Para in Brazil, Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura was
found guilty of ordering the murder of Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Dorothy
Stang. He was sentenced to 30 years
in prison.
Sister
Dorothy, a 73-year-old missionary who ministered for nearly 40 years in Brazil,
was murdered in 2005, as she traveled to Boa Esperança in the northern state of
Para.
At the time
of her death, she was working with the Project for Sustainable Development (PDS),
a government initiative created through Brazil's national institute for agrarian
reform (INCRA), which helps landless families benefit from sustainable farming
systems. The land was granted for the farms by the government, but was highly
coveted by the powerful ranchers.
Sister
Camilla Burns, international leader of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, said
of the verdict, "We remain committed to Dorothy's concern for effective
agrarian reform, for active protection of the forest and for the unpunished
murderers of farm workers."
Sister
Dorothy was a native of Dayton and had been a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur for
55 years. She was a member of the
congregation’s Ohio Province.
Ohio Province
Leader Sister Marilyn Kerber said while the verdict represents justice served,
it does not lessen the anguish of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
“Our community continues to share the grief of Sister Dorothy’s
murder. Losing someone so loving
and committed to basic human rights is a great loss for us and for the world.
It is especially painful for the poor farmers in Brazil – for whom
Sister Dorothy lived and ultimately gave her life.”
"All
Sister Dorothy ever wanted for her people was justice," said Sister
Elizabeth Bowyer, SNDdeN, congregational spokesperson. "This verdict means
there is hope for the poor and landless. It will also serve as fuel to continue
the work of Sister Dorothy and hundreds of others who fought and died in the
struggle to end poverty, hunger, and social injustice in Brazil.
Sister
Dorothy, who lived in the Amazonian region for 30 years, was named "Woman
of the Year" by the state of Para for her work on behalf of the people in
that Brazilian state. Shortly before her death, she received an "Honorary
Citizenship of the State" award from the state of Para.
Since her death, Sister Dorothy has been honored for her life and work by
organizations and governments around the world.
About the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
The Sisters
of Notre Dame de Namur are an international congregation founded in Amiens,
France in 1804. Today, 1,600 Sisters serve in 34 states throughout the United
States and in England, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe,
Congo-Kinshasa, South Africa, Nicaragua, Peru and Brazil.
The Ohio
Province, which is headquartered in Cincinnati, was established on October 31,
1840 and is the first Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in the United
States.
Sisters of
Notre Dame de Namur change lives by making known God’s goodness.
Throughout the world, we are committed to education and take a stand with
the poor, especially women and children in the most abandoned places. We
maintain a web site at: www.sndden.org.
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Contact: Sister Elizabeth Bowyer,
SNDdeN
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
513-679-8161
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