Dorothy Stang

{{short description|American-Brazilian Religious Sister, educator and social activist (murdered 2005)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = | honorific_prefix = Sister | name = Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN | honorific_suffix = | title = | image = Dorothy Stang.jpg | caption = | church = | archdiocese = | province = São Luís do Maranhão | metropolis = | diocese = Diocese of Coroatá | see = | elected = | term = | quashed = | predecessor = | successor = | opposed = | other_post =  | ordination = | ordained_by = | consecration = | consecrated_by = | cardinal = | created_cardinal_by = | rank = | laicized =  | birth_name = Dorothy Mae Stang | birth_date = June 7, 1931 | baptised =  | birth_place = Dayton, Ohio, United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|02|12|1931|07|07}} | death_place = Anapu, Pará, Brazil | buried = | resting_place_coordinates = | religion = Catholicism | residence = | parents = | spouse = | children = | occupation = | education = | alma_mater = Notre Dame de Namur University | motto = | signature = | signature_alt = | coat_of_arms = | coat_of_arms_alt =  | feast_day = | venerated = | saint_title = | beatified_date = | beatified_place = | beatified_by = | canonized_date = | canonized_place = | canonized_by = | attributes = | patronage = | shrine = | suppressed_date =  | module = | module2 = | other = }} '''Dorothy Mae Stang''', SNDdeN, (June 7, 1931 – February 12, 2005)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/brazil-bolsonaro-supporter-works-to-imprison-dorothy-stangs-successor/|title=Brazil: Bolsonaro supporter works to imprison Dorothy Stang's successor|date=December 28, 2018|website=Mongabay Environmental News|language=en-US|access-date=November 19, 2019}}</ref> was an American-born Brazilian Catholic Religious Sister and missionary. She was murdered in Anapu, Pará, in the Amazon Basin in 2005. 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.

== Life == Born '''Dorothy Mae Stang''' on June 7, 1931, in Dayton, Ohio, later a naturalized Brazilian citizen,<ref>{{cite news |last=Rocha |first=Jan |title=Sister Dorothy Stang |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/feb/21/guardianobituaries.brazil |date=February 21, 2005 |access-date=January 31, 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=Brazil}}</ref> she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1948 and professed final vows in 1956. From 1951 to 1966, she taught elementary school classes at St. Victor School in Calumet City, Illinois, St. Alexander School in Villa Park, Illinois, and Most Holy Trinity School in Phoenix, Arizona. During this time she earned a degree in education at what later became Notre Dame de Namur University.

Stang began her ministry in Brazil in 1966, in Coroatá, Maranhão. Initially she helped to establish pastoral centers scattered among the isolated communities of the region, where she instructed the local populations in the Catholic faith. Growing closer to the people she served, she began to know the threats posed to both them and the local environment. She eventually dedicated her life to defending the Brazilian rainforest from depletion by commercial agriculture.

Stang started to serve as an advocate for the rural poor beginning in the early 1970s, helping peasants to make a living by farming small plots and extracting forest products without deforestation. She also sought to protect peasants from criminal gangs working on behalf of ranchers who were after their land. '''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".

{{blockquote|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.<ref name="Allen2016">{{cite book|author=Allen, John L.|title=The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbjZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA93|year=2016|publisher=Image|isbn=978-0-7704-3737-4|page=93}}</ref>}}

== 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. She then read a passage from the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit{{nbsp}}..." 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.<ref>Murphy, Roseanne S.N.D. de N. Martyr of the Amazon: The Life of Sister Dorothy Stang. Maryknoll, New York 10545: Orbis Books, 2007.</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

On May 15, 2007, a court in the city of Belém 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.{{fact|date=August 2022}}

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.{{fact|date=August 2022}}

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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/world/americas/13briefs-BRAZILIANRAN_BRF.html| work=The New York Times | title=Rancher to Be Charged in 2005 Killing of Nun in Amazon | first=Myrna | last=Domit | date=December 29, 2008 | accessdate=February 20, 2018}}</ref>

On April 7, 2009, the Court of Justice, in Pará, decided to void the third trial. The same court decided to put Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura back in jail but Moura's lawyer appealed that decision. A new trial was to be scheduled.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2009/04/07/justica-do-para-decide-anular-julgamento-dos-acusados-de-matar-dorothy-stang-755172576.asp|title=The cancellation of third trial|publisher=O Globo (Brazil) |language=pt |date=April 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2009/04/09/dorothy-stang-bida-acusado-de-ser-mandante-da-morte-da-missionaria-preso-no-para-755208736.asp|title=The prison of Vitalmiro Moura after the cancellation of third trial|publisher=O Globo (Brazil) |language=pt |date=April 9, 2009}}</ref> On April 22, 2009, Superior Court of Justice of Brazil set Vitalmiro Moura free until a final decision about his request of Habeas corpus.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2009/04/22/stj-bida-acusado-da-morte-de-dorothy-stang-aguardara-habeas-corpus-em-liberdade-755375246.asp|title=The release of Vitalmiro Moura until a decision about Habeas corpus |publisher=O Globo (Brazil) |language=pt |date=April 22, 2009}}</ref>

Roniery Lopes, a witness in the trial of Regivaldo Galvão for fraud, was shot in November 2009, just before he was to testify.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8384974.stm |title=Brazil nun case witness is shot and wounded |date= November 29, 2009 |work= BBC News |access-date= November 30, 2009 }}</ref>

On February 4, 2010, Superior Court of Justice revoked Vitalmiro Moura's habeas corpus. Moura was arrested on February 7, after surrendering voluntarily to police.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.folhadoprogresso.com.br/folha3br2/modules/news/article.php?storyid=840 |title=The prison of Vitalmiro Moura after the revoking of his Habeas Corpus |publisher=Folha do Progresso (Brazil) |language=pt |date=February 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706152442/http://www.folhadoprogresso.com.br/folha3br2/modules/news/article.php?storyid=840 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref> On April 12, 2010, he was convicted again by a jury and sentenced to 30 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8616877.stm |title=Brazil man jailed for murdering Sister Dorothy Stang |date=April 13, 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=April 13, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/13/world/AP-LT-Brazil-Missionary-Killed.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=dorothy%20stang&st=cse |title=Brazilian Rancher Guilty in US Nun's Murder |date=April 13, 2010 |agency=Associated Press |work=The New York Times |accessdate=April 13, 2010}} {{dead link|date=September 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ukwirednews.com/articles.php/51346-Brazil-man-jailed-for-murdering-Sister-Dorothy-Stang |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914052316/http://www.ukwirednews.com/articles.php/51346-Brazil-man-jailed-for-murdering-Sister-Dorothy-Stang |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 14, 2012 |title=Brazil man jailed for murdering Sister Dorothy Stang |date=April 13, 2010 |work=UK Wired News |accessdate=April 13, 2010 }}</ref>

On May 1, 2010, Regivaldo Galvão was also convicted of having ordered the murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2010/05/01/tj-do-para-condena-regivaldo-galvao-30-anos-de-prisao-pela-morte-de-dorothy-stang-916478509.asp|title=The conviction of Regivaldo Galvão|publisher=O Globo (Brazil) |language=pt |date=May 1, 2010}}</ref>

On August 21, 2012, the Brazilian Supreme Court 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://g1.globo.com/pa/para/noticia/2012/08/reu-condenado-pela-morte-de-dorothy-stang-ja-esta-em-liberdade.html|title=Condemned Defendant for the Death of Dorothy Stang has been freed.|publisher=O Globo (Brazil) |language=pt |date=August 22, 2012}}</ref>

On May 15, 2013, Brazil's Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Vitalmiro Moura.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/22752#sthash.bYT8cdMu.dpuf |title=Brazil: Supreme Court overturns the conviction of landowner Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura jailed for ordering the 2005 murder of Sr. Dorothy Stang | Front Line |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |accessdate=September 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053422/http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/22752 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }}</ref> 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 Pará State.<ref name=nyt20130921>Reuters. (September 21, 2013). "Brazil: Rancher Convicted Again in Nun's Death," ''The New York Times'', p.A6.</ref>

In July 2013, das Neves Sales gained early release from prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18372 |title=Brazilian killer of American-born nun gains early release from prison : News Headlines |publisher=Catholic Culture |date=July 5, 2013 |accessdate=September 19, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mello |first=Natália |url=http://g1.globo.com/pa/para/noticia/2014/09/assassino-de-dorothy-stang-e-preso-por-morte-de-casal-em-tome-acu.html |title=Assassino de Dorothy Stang é preso por morte de casal em Tomé-Açú |publisher=G1.globo.com |date=September 20, 2014 |access-date=May 27, 2024}}</ref>

== Documentary == On March 2, U.S. Ambassador John Danilovich met with Dorothy Stang's brother David Stang, 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, Brazil). Stang and Junge were in Brasília to meet with Minister of Justice Marcio Thomaz Bastos after visiting the site of Dorothy'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.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

In 2008, the American filmmaker Daniel Junge released a documentary titled ''They Killed Sister Dorothy''. The film is narrated by Martin Sheen in the version in English 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 Festival, where it had its worldwide première.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://odia.terra.com.br/cultura/htm/morte_brutal_da_irma_dorothy_e_relembrada_no_cinema_202840.asp |title=Documentary about Dorothy Stang case |publisher=O Dia (Brazil) |language=pt |date=September 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522034838/http://odia.terra.com.br/cultura/htm/morte_brutal_da_irma_dorothy_e_relembrada_no_cinema_202840.asp |archive-date=May 22, 2011 }}</ref>

== Opera == In 2009, Evan Mack composed an opera based on the life of Sr. Dorothy Stang. ''Angel of the Amazon''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angeloftheamazon.com |title=angeloftheamazon.com |accessdate=September 19, 2013}}</ref> 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 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dantas |first1=S.M. |last2=Weckstein |first2=J.D. |last3=Bates |first3=J. |last4=Oliveira |first4=J.N. |last5=Catanach |first5=T.A. |last6=Aleixo |first6=A. |date=2021 |title=Multi-character taxonomic review, systematics, and biogeography of the Black-capped/Tawny-bellied Screech Owl (''Megascops atricapilla-M. watsonii'') complex (Aves: Strigidae) |journal=Zootaxa |volume=4949 |issue=3 |pages=401–444 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4949.3.1 |pmid=33903329 |doi-access=free|hdl=10138/340062 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, is the first North American woman whose relics are included in the [https://sanbartolomeo.org/il-10-gennaio-2025-alle-2000-presso-la-basilica-di-san-bartolomeo-allisola-veglia-in-memoria-di-suor-dorothy-stang/?lang=en Shrine of Modern Martyrs] at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome.

In 2025, Pope Leo XIV presided over a Holy Year evening prayer service of multiple denominations, at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, to honor hundreds of Christians who have been killed for their faith in the 21st century. Sister Stang was cited and mentioned during this prayer service. <ref>{{cite news|last1=Winfield|first1=Nicole|title=Pope honors 21st century martyrs: Christians killed by Islamic militants, mafias, Amazon ranchers |newspaper=Associated Press | url=https://apnews.com/article/vatican-leo-martyrs-amazon-attacks-ad4e85ba14e9308df2ff3f0d392171c7 |date=September 14, 2025 |access-date=September 14, 2025}}</ref>

== Posthumous United Nations Human Rights Prize == Dorothy Stang received the United Nations Human Rights Prize posthumously on December 10, 2008.<ref>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</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== Notes == {{Refbegin}} # {{note|national-geographic-january-2007}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20071004212621/http://www.sthelenparish.org/newsletters/nl010407.pdf reference to an Article in the January 2007] issue of National Geographic # {{note|maryknoll-july-august-2005}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20061005130346/http://society.maryknoll.org/index.php?module=MKArticles&func=display&feature=1&id=103 Article in the July/August 2005 issue of Maryknoll] (maryknoll.org) {{Refend}}

== Further reading == * Le Breton, Binka. ''The Greatest Gift: The Courageous Life and Martyrdom of Sister Dorothy Stang.''. New York: Doubleday. 2008 * Le Breton, Binka. ''A Maior Dádiva: A Vida e Morte Corajosas da Irmã Dorothy Stang.''. São Paulo: Editora Globo. 2008 * Le Breton, Binka. Audiobook. ''The Greatest Gift: The Courageous Life and Martydom of Sister Dorothy Stang.''. read by Binka Le Breton. Cincinnati: St Anthony's Messenger Press. 2008 * Murdock, Michele. "A Journey of Courage: The Amazing Story of Sister Dorothy Stang." Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Cincinnati Ohio, 2010.

== External links == * {{IMDb title|id=1183701|title=They Killed Sister Dorothy}} * [https://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Man-admits-killing-Brazilian-environmentalist/2005/02/27/1109439441044.html Sydney Morning Herald article on the killing, 27 February 2005] * [http://www.studentnunamazon.com/ The Student, the Nun & the Amazon (www.studentnunamazon.com)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309091534/http://www.studentnunamazon.com/ |date=March 9, 2016 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081220233630/http://www.ndnu.edu/DorothyStang/default.aspx Dorothy Stang Center] at Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont California * [http://www.angeloftheamazon.com/ Angel of the Amazon] An opera based on the life of Sr. Dorothy by Evan Mack * [http://netforgod.tv/en/home/films/56714ece3bc32574338b456d/amazonia---dorothy-stang-s-struggle Amazonia, Dorothy Stang's Struggle] A Net for God documentary in 22 languages (also available in YouTube) * https://web.archive.org/web/20110204070244/http://wikileaks.ca/cable/2005/02/05BRASILIA369.html

{{Canonization}} {{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= Brazil |portal4= Saints}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stang, Dorothy}} Category:20th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns Category:Brazilian anti-poverty advocates Category:Assassinated American activists Category:21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns Category:Activists from Dayton, Ohio Category:Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Category:Roman Catholic activists Category:Deaths by firearm in Brazil Category:American people murdered abroad Category:People murdered in Brazil Category:1931 births Category:2005 deaths Category:American emigrants to Brazil Category:Female Christian missionaries Category:Forestry in Brazil Category:Forest conservation Category:American environmentalists Category:Brazilian women environmentalists Category:American women environmentalists Category:Brazilian environmentalists Category:Female murder victims Category:Environmental killings Category:Naturalized citizens of Brazil Category:21st-century venerated Christians Category:Catholics from Ohio Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Category:Brazilian women philanthropists Category:American women philanthropists