The Four Martyred Churchwomen: Allies in Today’s Struggle for Social Justice

On Dec. 2, 1980, Sisters Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, and Maura Clarke, along with lay missionary Jean Donovan, were raped and brutally murdered by National Guardsmen in El Salvador because they had dared to side with the marginalized in their struggle for human dignity. Forty years after their deaths, their stories still serve as an inspiration for all who struggle nonviolently against racism, economic injustice, and the mistreatment of immigrants and refugees. At a time when the Catholic Church is rocked by scandals and seen as no longer relevant by an ever-growing number of young people, their lives of faith-based service to those who suffered injustice also provide a much-needed blueprint for a church in need of reform.