Provoke Radio continues its story this week with a deeper look into the life and death of
Sister Dorothy Stang, an American-born nun brutally murdered in the
rainforests of Brazil because of her attempts to help the poor and protect
the fragile environment of the Brazilian rainforest. She was shot 6 times
by assassins hired by local landowners who objected to her fight against
their illegal burning of the rainforest jungle.
Stang was born in Dayton, Ohio but later moved to Brazil as a member of
the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and became a naturalized citizen.
Beginning in the 1970's Stang worked to protect and aid local
subsidence-farming peasants from the actions of local gangs and landowners
who were trying to take their homes and their farms. In February of 2005
she was gunned down by 2 hired assassins while walking to a meeting in the
jungle. Her assailants (Rayfran das Neves Sales and Vitalmiro Bastos Moura)
were apprehended but after 3 trials Moura was acquitted and Sales was
sentenced to only 28 years in prison for Stang's murder. The full story of
why Stang was murdered was never released.
This week Provoke Radio continues it's series on Stang with an
examination of her groundbreaking work in Brazil and an account of her
tragic death. Her story is one of deep faith, unshakable perseverance, and
unwavering courage in the face of terrible obstacles and dire hardship. The
first parts of this series can be downloaded as Podcasts by going to
http://www.provokeradio.com. The complete Stang series is one part of a larger
"Modern Day Saints and Sinners" series being produced by Provoke Radio
during 2008.
Provoke Radio engages listeners on important contemporary issues from a
faith-based perspective and can be heard both online at
http://www.ProvokeRadio.com and on radio stations throughout the United States.
Its mission is to illustrate how principles of justice and compassion can
be lived out in every day life through stories hosted by Father Stephen
Spahn, SJ a Washington, DC- based Jesuit priest. Provoke Radio is produced
by Claire Hartman, a veteran producer and writer who has previously worked
in the advertising and film industries. "Provoke is not like anything out
there," says Hartman, "We talk about social issues through the lens of
faith and within the context of inter- religious dialogue. It's like we
took religious talk radio and subtracted the preaching, and proselytizing.
We're more interested in people who walk the walk."
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-12-2008/0004811575&EDATE=
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