Dorothy Mae Stang (June 7, 1931 – February 12, 2005) was an American-born Brazilian member of the

Congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

of the

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) are a Catholic institute of religious sisters, founded to provide education to the poor. The institute was founded in Amiens, France, in 1804, but the oppo ...

. She was murdered in

Anapu Anapu is a city in Pará, Brazil. Its population in 2020 was 28,607 inhabitants. The territorial area of Anapu is 11,895 km². Anapu's rain forests are subject to massive clearcutting. Anapu attracted international attention on February ...

, a city in the state of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

, in the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

of Brazil. Stang had been outspoken in her efforts on behalf of the poor and the environment and had previously received death threats from loggers and landowners. Her cause for

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

as a martyr and model of sanctity is underway within the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

Life

Born on June 7, 1931, in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, but naturalized Brazilian, she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in 1948 and professed final vows in 1956. From 1951 to 1966, she taught

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

classes at St. Victor School in

Calumet City, Illinois Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq and French word for ...

, St. Alexander School in

Villa Park, Illinois Villa Park is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, within the Chicago metropolitan area. The population as of the 2020 Census is 21,113. Villa Park is a western suburb of Chicago. History When Ovaltine established its fact ...

and Most Holy Trinity School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. She began her ministry in Brazil in 1966, in Coroatá,

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins a ...

. Stang dedicated her life to defending the Brazilian

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

from depletion from

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. She worked as an advocate for the rural poor beginning in the early 1970s, helping peasants make a living by farming small plots and extracting forest products without

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

. She also sought to protect peasants from criminal gangs working on behalf of ranchers who were after their plots. Dot, as she was called by her family, friends and most locals in Brazil, is often pictured wearing a T-shirt with the slogan, "A Morte da floresta é o fim da nossa vida" which is Portuguese for "The Death of the Forest is the End of Our Lives".

Death

On the morning of February 12, 2005, Stang woke up early to walk to a community meeting to speak about the rights for the Amazon. Ciero, a farmer Stang invited to the meeting, was going to be late. Ciero was a couple of minutes behind Stang, but he was able to see her and hid from the two armed men who followed her. She progressed on and was blocked by the two men, Clodoaldo Carlos Batista and Raifran das Neves Sales, who worked in a livestock company. They asked if she had any weapons, and she claimed that the only weapon would be her

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

. She then read a passage from the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mir ...

, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." She continued a couple of steps but was suddenly stopped when Ciero called her " sister", as she was held at gunpoint by Raifran. When Clodoaldo approved of discharging at Stang, Raifran fired a round at Stang's abdomen. She fell face down on the ground. Raifran fired another round into Stang's back, then fired all four remaining rounds into her head, killing her. She was 73 years old.

Investigation and trials

The US Attorney's Office, Transnational Crime Unit, in Washington, DC, pursued an indictment of the four people (three in custody, one at large) under Title 18, USC 2332, a statute on international homicide. The key elements of this statute require 1) the victim be a US citizen, 2) that the murder takes place outside the US, and 3) that the murder was carried out to influence, pressure, or coerce a government or civilian group. Stang's murder met all the key elements. In June 2005, two men were charged with conspiracy to murder an American outside the United States in connection with her death. These men, Rayfran das Neves Sales and Clodoaldo Carlos Batista, were convicted on December 10, 2005. On May 15, 2007, a court in the city of

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...

sentenced Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, aged 36, to the maximum term of 30 years in prison for paying gunmen to shoot Stang. Stang's brother David, who was at the trial, said: "justice was done." In a second trial, Moura was acquitted of all charges, because the gunman, Rayfran das Neves Sales, declared in court to have killed Dorothy Stang for personal motivation. The prosecution appealed, however, and Moura was found guilty, and re-sentenced to 30 years in prison, on April 12, 2010. Rayfran das Neves Sales was retried on October 22, 2007. He was again found guilty, and a judge in Belém sentenced him to 27 years in prison–the same punishment as in the first trial in 2005. Prosecutors said Moura had ordered Stang's death because she had sent letters to the local authorities accusing Moura of setting illegal fires to clear land, which led to his receiving a substantial fine. At a third trial, on May 6, 2008, Rayfran das Neves Sales was sentenced to 28 years in prison. Regivaldo Pereira Galvão, a rancher suspected of ordering the killing, was arrested in December 2008 and was to be charged with the murder. He had been arrested previously for the murder but released. On April 7, 2009, the Court of Justice, in

, decided to void the third

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

. The same court decided to put Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura back in jail but Moura's

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

appealed that decision. A new trial was to be scheduled. On April 22, 2009, Superior Court of Justice of Brazil set Vitalmiro Moura free until a final decision about his request of

Habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...

. Roniery Lopes, a witness in the trial of Regivaldo Galvão for

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...

, was shot in November 2009, just before he was to testify. On February 4, 2010, Superior Court of Justice revoked Vitalmiro Moura's

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...

. Moura was arrested on February 7, after surrendering voluntarily to police. On April 12, 2010, he was convicted again by a jury and sentenced to 30 years in prison. On May 1, 2010, Regivaldo Galvão was also convicted of having ordered the murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. On August 21, 2012, the

Brazilian Supreme Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for const ...

conceded a Habeas Corpus to Regivaldo Galvão. The defense attorney claims that the jury decided to condemn Reginaldo before all the legal recourses available to the defendant were exhausted. Regivaldo Galvão was freed the following day. On May 15, 2013, Brazil's Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Vitalmiro Moura. On September 19, 2013, Moura was convicted of the murder for a fourth time and sentenced to 30 years in prison by a court in

State.Reuters. (September 21, 2013). "Brazil: Rancher Convicted Again in Nun's Death," ''The New York Times'', p.A6. In July 2013, das Neves Sales gained early release from prison. On September 20, 2014, Neves Sales was arrested again facing accusations of having killed a young man and woman with whom he had a drug deal. They supplied 50 kilograms of cocaine from Bolivia, but instead of paying them for the consignment, Sales fatally shot them.

Documentary

On March 2, U.S. Ambassador

John Danilovich John Joseph Danilovich (born 25 June 1950) is an American business executive. He has also held roles as a senior United States government executive, diplomat, and ambassador, and he is currently secretary general of the International Chamber of ...

met with Dorothy Stang's brother David, Daniel Junge, who was traveling with Stang to film a documentary, and Sister Mary Ellis McCabe, a member of Dorothy's religious congregation who was stationed in

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

, Brazil. Stang and Junge were in Brasília to meet with Minister of Justice Marcio Thomaz Bastos after visiting the site of Stang's sister's murder in Para state. Stang thanked the Ambassador for the Embassy's support and said that he was pleased with the Brazilian federal government's reaction. He was very critical, however, of Para state authorities for failing to protect his sister and for failing to offer their condolences during his visit. In 2008, the American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Daniel Junge Daniel Junge (born ) is an American documentary filmmaker. On February 26, 2012, he won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for the film '' Saving Face'', which he co-directed along with Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chin ...

released a documentary titled '' They Killed Sister Dorothy''. The film is narrated by

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

in the version in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and by Wagner Moura in the version in Portuguese. The film received the Audience Award and the Competition Award at the 2008

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

Festival, where it had its worldwide première.

Opera

In 2009, Evan Mack composed an opera based on the life of Sr. Dorothy Stang. ''Angel of the Amazon'' depicts her life's work, her devotion to her mission with Brazilian peasant farmers, and the events that sent her on a path of martyrdom.

Encompass New Opera Theatre Encompass New Opera Theatre is a professional opera company located in New York City which specializes in premiering new productions, and reviving 20th century operas by American and international composers. A member of Opera America, Encompass was ...

developed the opera in 2010.

Other notable mentions

A brief overview of the circumstances and murder of Sister Dorothy Stang is discussed in the movie '' Cowspiracy'' (2014). A center for social justice activism at Notre Dame de Namur University is named for her. In 2021, a species of owl discovered in the Amazon rainforest was named ''Megascops stangiae'' after sister Stang.

Posthumous United Nations Human Rights Prize

Dorothy Stang received the United Nations Human Rights Prize posthumously on December 10, 2008.UN: Press Conference By 2008 Recipients Of United Nations Human Rights Prize. December 10, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2021. https://www.un.org/press/en/2008/081210_HR_Prize.doc.htm

References

Notes

#
reference to an Article in the January 2007
issue of

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

#
Article in the July/August 2005 issue of Maryknoll
(maryknoll.org)

External links

*

* ttp://www.studentnunamazon.com/ The Student, the Nun & the Amazon (www.studentnunamazon.com)
Dorothy Stang Center
at

Notre Dame de Namur University Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) is a private Catholic university in Belmont, California. It is the third oldest college in California and the first college in the state authorized to grant the baccalaureate degree to women. In 2021, the ...

, Belmont California
Angel of the Amazon
An opera based on the life of Sr. Dorothy by Evan Mack
Amazonia, Dorothy Stang's Struggle
A Net for God documentary in 22 languages (also available in YouTube) * * Wikileaks.ca ** http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/03/05BRASILIA606.html ** http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2008/05/08BRASILIA640.html ** http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/03/05BRASILIA821.html ** http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/03/05BRASILIA532.html ** http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/02/05BRASILIA464.html ** http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/02/05BRASILIA437.html ** https://web.archive.org/web/20110204070244/http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/02/05BRASILIA369.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Stang, Dorothy 20th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns Brazilian anti-poverty advocates Assassinated American activists 21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns People from Dayton, Ohio Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Roman Catholic activists Deaths by firearm in Brazil American people murdered abroad People murdered in Brazil 1931 births 2005 deaths American emigrants to Brazil Female Christian missionaries Forestry in Brazil Forest conservation American environmentalists Brazilian women environmentalists American women environmentalists Brazilian environmentalists Female murder victims Environmental killings Naturalized citizens of Brazil Brazilian Servants of God 21st-century venerated Christians Activists from Ohio Catholics from Ohio 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns