Text of 109th Congress
H. Con. Res. 89: Honoring the life of Sister Dorothy Stang
March 9, 2005
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
Mr. RYAN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. TURNER, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. FORD,
Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. KILPATRICK
of Michigan, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. KUCINICH,
Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. LANTOS,
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania,
Mr. EVANS, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Ms.
KAPTUR, and Mr. STRICKLAND) submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
Whereas Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Dorothy
Stang, moved to the Amazon 22 years ago to help poor farmers build
independent futures for their families, and was murdered on Saturday,
February 12, 2005, at the age of 73, in Anapu, Para, a section of
Brazil's Amazon rain forest;
Whereas, a citizen of Brazil and the United States,
Sister Dorothy worked with the Pastoral Land Commission, an organization
of the Catholic Church that fights for the rights of rural workers
and peasants, and defends land reforms in Brazil;
Whereas her death came less than a week after
meeting with the human rights officials of Brazil about threats
to local farmers from some loggers and landowners;
Whereas, after receiving several death threats,
Sister Dorothy recently commented, `I don't want to flee, nor do
I want to abandon the battle of these farmers who live without any
protection in the forest. They have the sacrosanct right to aspire
to a better life on land where they can live and work with dignity
while respecting the environment.';
Whereas Sister Dorothy was born in Dayton, Ohio,
entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in 1948, and
professed final vows in 1956;
Whereas, from 1951 to 1966, Sister Dorothy taught
elementary classes at St. Victor School in Calumet City, Illinois,
St. Alexander School in Villa Park, Illinois, and Most Holy Trinity
School in Phoenix, Arizona, and began her ministry in Brazil in
1966, in Coroata in the state of Maranhao;
Whereas, last June, Sister Dorothy was named `Woman
of the Year' by the state of Para for her work in the Amazon region,
in December 2004, she received the Humanitarian of the Year award
from the Brazilian Bar Association for her work helping the local
rural workers, and earlier this year, she received an `Honorary
Citizenship of the State' award from the state of Para; and
Whereas Sister Dorothy lived her life according
to the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame: making known God's
goodness and love of the poor through a Gospel way of life, community,
and prayer, while continuing a strong educational tradition and
taking a stand with the poor people especially women and children,
in the most abandoned places, and committing her one and only life
to work with others to create justice and peace for all: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the
Senate concurring), That the Congress hereby honors the life and
work of Sister Dorothy Stang.
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