The Four Churchwomen

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise this December in reflective remembrance and commemoration of the valiant lives of the famed four American churchwomen, who were brutally raped and murdered by the El Salvadoran military 40 years ago on December 2, 1980.

Their names were Sisters Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, and Jean Donovan. Their mission, and ultimately their lives, were sacrificed to the service of the forgotten and the impoverished in El Salvador. These courageous women of faith were hallmarks of their community and their mission of accompaniment in the nation amidst turmoil.

Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago, in the midst of a civil war, the U.S. Government funded and supported the El Salvadoran military that on December 2, 1980, murdered these evangelical saints. In their protection and companionship of refugee families, they were targeted as enemies of national interest in the country. These four women were nothing less than lionhearts of political and social righteousness that respected all people.

Mr. Speaker, in recognizing their legacy, I ask for a moment of silence as we recall, each time we mourn their names, the loss of these four saints.

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