***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
November 22, 2005
Faith groups to participate in delegation to El Salvador in commemoration
of the 25 th anniversary of the assassination of four U.S. churchwomen
San Francisco , C.A. — Five national organizations are co-sponsoring a November 30-December 6 delegation to El Salvador to commemorate the 25 th anniversary of the assassination of four U.S. churchwomen, killed on December 2, 1980 . The SHARE Foundation, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM), Network: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and Pax Christi USA have co-sponsored the delegation of 125 U.S. churchwomen, priests, students and lay people.
The four U.S. churchwomen – Sr. Ita Ford, MM, Sr. Maura Clarke, MM, Sr. Dorothy Kazel, OSU, and lay missioner Jean Donovan – were abducted, raped and murdered in El Salvador on December 2, 1980 . The women’s murders were part of a brutal pattern of attacks by death squads and members of the Salvadoran Armed Forces against those working on behalf of communities displaced by war.
The purpose of the 25 th anniversary delegation is to join with the international community and Salvadorans to commemorate the lives of these four churchwomen, and to accompany Salvadorans and faith communities who still struggle for justice and human rights. The delegation will reflect at the site of the churchwomen’s deaths, visit the countryside, and speak with the Human Rights Ombudswoman, Dr. Beatrice de Carrillo, about human rights violations today. The delegation will witness first-hand community development work and Hurricane Stan reconstruction efforts supported by SHARE, and a group of delegates will meet with U.S. Ambassador H. Douglas Barclay to urge his public support for the promotion of human rights for all Salvadorans, particularly as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) enters into force on January 1, 2006 .
Kathleen Bolts, coordinator of the delegation for the SHARE Foundation, said that this delegation will go to El Salvador to walk in the footsteps of the four churchwomen and to witness the ongoing violations of human rights in El Salvador today.
“Twenty-five years ago Ita, Dorothy, Jean and Maura were targeted for their solidarity with the poor,” said Bolts. “Rights violations continue, even twenty-five years after the assassination of the churchwomen, but we take hope in the legacy of the women and renew our commitment to the people of El Salvador .”
For more information or media interviews before November 26, please contact Tara Carr-Lemke at 202.319.5542. For information after November 28, contact Br. Dennis Beach, OSB, at 320.363.2997. To speak with members of the delegation while in El Salvador , contact Kathleen Bolts at (011) 503.2260.4325.
The delegation will be accompanied by the SHARE Foundation. SHARE is a non-profit organization that empowers rural Salvadorans to create equitable rural policies and participate in the electoral process so that small farmers and their families can survive in the global market. In 2004, SHARE launched its “Legacy Fund,” which will support women’s empowerment, advocacy, citizen participation, and community development work. SHARE's goal is to raise $500,000, culminating in its 25th Anniversary celebrations in Fall 2006.
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious and its 1,000 members represent 75,000 Catholic sisters, or 95 percent of the women religious in the United States . The Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) promotes the welfare, community life, ministry and mission of more than 20,000 vowed priests and brothers of 210 Catholic religious communities of men in the United States . NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, is a progressive voice within the Catholic community calling for peace and economic justice in our nation and the world. Pax Christi USA strives to create a world that reflects the Peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence.
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