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Questions on Sister Dorothy Stang

  1. According to the Hallmark Two of a Notre Dame de Namur Learning Community, “We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person.” How do Sr. Dorothy’s words and actions suggest she lived by this simple principle? Provide and analyze two examples that stand out.
Sister Dorothy Stang lived by this principle because of the way she immersed herself and helped the migrant workers where she lived and “talked about the power of the workers, and about how standing together for what you believe in and deserve is a very powerful weapon.” (pg. 23) This example shows that Sister Dorothy Stang believed that every person should be treated with respect and dignity because every person is worth living. She believed that no matter what story or background a person had, whether rich or poor, every person should be treated the same. Sister Dorothy Stang believed that everyone be treated with sacredness, sacred meaning being valued and dedicated to her religious purpose that was in her faith of being a “generous spirit” (pg.3) and “her desire to spread the good news of the Gospel to others.” (pg. 5) Another example that suggested that Sister Dorothy lived by these rules was “the people saw her as their real sign of hope. She believed in them and respected them. No one had ever felt that way about them before, and they loved her for it.” (pg. 66) This quote really stands out from the rest because this shows from the people’s perspective that Dorothy lived by these words and she succeeded in doing so in making the people feel this way that they seen her as a source of hope in the struggles they were going through.


2. Some may argue that in her ministering to the people of the Amazon Sr. Dorothy strayed too far from the spiritual needs of the people and got too involved in the earthy politics of the region. Do you agree? Why or why not? Please explain your answer. Should a clergy person be involved in social transformation to such a degree that it involves taking sides in legal and political issues? Why or why not? Please explain your answer.
I do not believe that Sister Dorothy Stang got too involved in the political issues of the Amazon. I believe that she used it as a source of credibility to show the landowners, police, and public officials as a way to earn more respect and as a resource in her fight of gaining benefits and rights to the migrant farm workers and laborers. I felt that Dorothy Stang got involved in the politics because she wanted the councilmen in the area to fix and understand the problem she was trying to mediate through on a personal level. I believe that it depends on the situation and how huge the impact is on the people if a clergy person wants to get involved in politics in order to make a social transformation. For instance, since Dorothy Stang had tried numerous times on reaching out to the landowners she had to choose a different route in bringing people to her attention on the subject. If people had paid attention to her and took initiative to what she was saying, Sister Dorothy Stang would not have had to go to the extent of bringing politics into the picture.


3. Students often tell us that their goal in life is to be happy. What do you think is necessary to live a happy life? Did Dorothy live a happy life? What is your evidence?
In order to live a happy life, I believe that you must take care of yourself and surround yourself around people and things that will make you succeed and content with life. In order to live a happy life, I believe it’s the little things that make us grow as a person that makes us live a happy and sustainable life. I believe Sister Dorothy Stang lived a happy life because of the encounters she had with people and their memoirs they left of her in this book. My evidence of Dorothy living a good life is quoted on page 96 one of Dorothy’s instructors and friends stated her as “she had a zest for life in spite of her sorrows. She enjoyed all of life, eating, walking in the forest, swimming in the ocean, listening to the stories of people. With the warmth of her personality and her wonderful smile, she lived out the Gospel story by following the way of Jesus.” This example shows what things she loved in life but is even more important because this is from another person’s point of view of Dorothy and how she lived life to the fullest and how she made it obvious to others around her.

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