Call To Action’s 2008 Leadership Award will be given posthumously to Notre Dame de Namur Sr. Dorothy "Dot" Stang, shot to death Feb. 12, 2005 in Brazil's Amazon rainforest after her 40 years there defending the rights of peasant farmers, and with them protecting the environment against loggers and landowners.

Honoring Sr. Dorothy is uniquely appropriate at a CTA conference which places “Our Earth” at the center of our efforts to “Embrace the Beloved Community.” Affectionately known as “the Angel of the Amazon,” she worked tirelessly to empower the peasant settlers in the Amazon. She educated them about land tenures and the importance of protecting their homes in the rainforest. Together with the Brazilian government, Sister Dorothy and the peasants created and eventually succeeded in implementing the first viable sustainable development project—a new model for the future.

Dorothy Stang was born in Dayton, Ohio. She entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in 1948 and professed final vows in 1956. From 1951 to 1966 she taught in grade schools in Illinois and Arizona. She began her ministry in Brazil in 1966, in Coroata in the state of Maranhao, to help the poor build independent futures for their families.

A citizen of Brazil and the United States, Sr. 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. Her death came less than a week after meeting with the country’s human rights officials about threats to local farmers from loggers and landowners. She was shot six times at point blank range and left to die on a muddy road in Anapu, Para, a section of Brazil's Amazon rainforest. Burial services were held in Anapu.

After receiving several death threats she had 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.”

In June 2004, 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. In early 2005, she received an “Honorary Citizenship of the State” award from the state of Para.

On May 7, 2008, the rancher who ordered Sr. Dorothy's murder was acquitted on appeal in a Brazilian court. Dorothy’s brother, David Stang, was in the courtroom. Her friend and community member, Sr. Elizabeth Bowyer, wrote CTA: “This means continued murder with impunity, more danger to workers for justice in Brazil, and the poor will continue to live in fear.”

David Stang and the superior of Sr. Dorothy's community, Sr. Joan Krimm, are planning to attend CTA conference to accept the award in Dorothy's honor. Also hoping that his schedule will allow him to attend is actor and Catholic peace-justice activist, Martin Sheen. Sheen is the narrator in a new documentary film, They Killed Sister Dorothy, being shown twice during the conference (see conference brochure).

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