Dorothy Kazel
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Kazel was an American
Ursuline
nun
and missionary
to El Salvador
. On December 2, 1980, she and fellow missionaries Ita Ford
, Jean Donovan
and Maura Clarke
were raped and murdered by members of the military of El Salvador
.
. When she joined the Ursulines, a Roman Catholic religious order
. In 1960, she took the name Sister Laurentine, in honor of an Ursuline martyred during the French Revolution
.
As the Roman Catholic Church
modernized during the 1960s, she became known as Sister Dorothy. In the Central America
n community where she died, she was known as Madre Dorthea (Dorothy).
She completed her bachelor's degree and novitiate between 1960 and 1965. Beginning in 1965, Kazel taught for seven years in Cleveland, and did missionary work among the Papago Tribe
of Arizona
.
After finishing a master's degree
in counseling in 1974, Kazel decided to partake in the challenge of joining the Diocese of Cleveland's
mission team working in El Salvador
. In El Salvador, Kazel worked in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in La Libertad
, training catechists
, carrying out sacramental preparation programs, and overseeing the distribution of Catholic Relief Services
aid and food supplies. She was also engaged in working with refugee
s of the Salvadoran Civil War, obtaining food, shelter, and medical supplies, and transporting the sick and injured to medical facilities.
, a layperson who worked with her in La Libertad, picked up two Maryknoll missionary sisters, Teresa Alexander and Madeline Dorsey, from the airport after the pair arrived from attending a Maryknoll conference in Managua
, Nicaragua
. They were under surveillance by a National Guardsman of El Salvador at the time, who phoned his commander for orders.
Acting on orders from their commander, five National Guard members changed into plainclothes and continued to stake out the airport. Donovan and Kazel returned to pick up another pair of Maryknoll sisters, Maura Clarke
and Ita Ford
, who were returning from the same conference on a flight not due until 7:00 pm.
The five members of the National Guard, out of uniform, stopped the vehicle they were driving after they left the airport in San Salvador
. Kazel and the three other women were taken to a relatively isolated spot where they were beaten, raped, and murdered by the soldiers.
Peasants living nearby had seen the sisters' white van drive to an isolated spot at about 10 p.m. on December 2 and then heard machine-gun
fire followed by single shots, three hours after the flight was due. They saw five men flee the scene in the white van, with the lights on and the radio blaring. The van would be found later that night on fire at the side of the airport road.
Early the next morning, December 3, they found the bodies of the four women, and were told by local authorities—a judge, three members of the civil guard, and two commanders—to bury the women in a common grave in a nearby field. The peasants did so, but informed a local priest
, and the news reached the local bishop
and the United States Ambassador to El Salvador
, Robert White
.
Their shallow grave was exhumed the next day, December 4, in front of 15 reporters, Sisters Alexander and Dorsey and several missioners, and Ambassador White. Donovan's body was the first exhumed; then Kazel's; then Clarke's; and last, Ita Ford. On December 5, a Mass of the Resurrection was said by Bishop Rivera y Damas; and on December 6, the bodies of Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel were flown out for burial; Donovan to her parents in Sarasota, Florida
, and Kazel back to her hometown of Cleveland. The bodies of the Maryknoll sisters, Clarke and Ford, were buried in Chalatenango, El Salvador
.
At that point, a series of investigations began. The earliest investigations were condemned as whitewash attempts by the later ones, and in time, a truth commission
was appointed by the United Nations
to investigate who gave the orders, and who knew about it, and who covered it up. Several low-level guardsman were convicted, and two generals were sued
by the women's families in the U.S. federal courts
for their command responsibility
for the incident.
Order:
The head of the National Guard, whose troops were responsible for the murders, Gen. Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova
, went on to become Minister of Defense in the government of José Napoleón Duarte
. After their emigration to Florida
, Vides Casanova and his fellow general, José Guillermo Garcia
, were sued by the families of the four women in federal civil court.
.
Pamela Bellwood
played Kazel in the 1983 television movie
Choices of the Heart, which was criticized for lacking clarity about the political context of the women's killings. The movie won the 1984 Humanitas Prize
in the 90-minute category. Melissa Gilbert
, Helen Hunt
, Martin Sheen
, and Mike Farrell
co-starred.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. On December 2, 1980, she and fellow missionaries Ita Ford
Ita Ford
Ita Ford, M.M. was a Roman Catholic Maryknoll Sister missionary to Bolivia, Chile and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and war refugees. On December 2, 1980, she was tortured, raped, and murdered, along with fellow missionaries Maura Clarke, M.M., laywoman Jean Donovan, and Dorothy Kazel,...
, Jean Donovan
Jean Donovan
Jean Donovan was an American lay missionary who was murdered with three nuns in El Salvador by a military death squad while volunteering to do charity work during the civil war there.-Life:...
and Maura Clarke
Maura Clarke
Sister Maura Clarke, M.M., was an American Roman Catholic Maryknoll Sister, who served as a missionary in Nicaragua and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and refugees in Central America from 1959 until her death in 1980...
were raped and murdered by members of the military of El Salvador
Military of El Salvador
The Armed Forces of El Salvador, in Spanish Fuerza Armada de El Salvador is the official name of the combined armed forces of El Salvador...
.
Life and work
Kazel was born Dorthea Lu Kazel to Lithuanian American parents, Joseph and Malvina Kazel, in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. When she joined the Ursulines, a Roman Catholic religious order
Roman Catholic religious order
Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
. In 1960, she took the name Sister Laurentine, in honor of an Ursuline martyred during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
As the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
modernized during the 1960s, she became known as Sister Dorothy. In the Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n community where she died, she was known as Madre Dorthea (Dorothy).
She completed her bachelor's degree and novitiate between 1960 and 1965. Beginning in 1965, Kazel taught for seven years in Cleveland, and did missionary work among the Papago Tribe
Tohono O'odham
The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
After finishing a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in counseling in 1974, Kazel decided to partake in the challenge of joining the Diocese of Cleveland's
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ohio. It was erected on April 23, 1847 by Pope Pius IX. The diocese lost territory in 1910 when the Diocese of Toledo was erected by Pope Pius X, and in 1943 when the Diocese of Youngstown was erected by Pope Pius XII...
mission team working in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. In El Salvador, Kazel worked in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in La Libertad
La Libertad, La Libertad
La Libertad is a municipality located in El Salvador namesake and one of the main sights of this country. According to official census of 2007, has a population of inhabitants.-History:...
, training catechists
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
, carrying out sacramental preparation programs, and overseeing the distribution of Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
aid and food supplies. She was also engaged in working with refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s of the Salvadoran Civil War, obtaining food, shelter, and medical supplies, and transporting the sick and injured to medical facilities.
Murder
On the afternoon of December 2, 1980, Kazel and Jean DonovanJean Donovan
Jean Donovan was an American lay missionary who was murdered with three nuns in El Salvador by a military death squad while volunteering to do charity work during the civil war there.-Life:...
, a layperson who worked with her in La Libertad, picked up two Maryknoll missionary sisters, Teresa Alexander and Madeline Dorsey, from the airport after the pair arrived from attending a Maryknoll conference in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. They were under surveillance by a National Guardsman of El Salvador at the time, who phoned his commander for orders.
Acting on orders from their commander, five National Guard members changed into plainclothes and continued to stake out the airport. Donovan and Kazel returned to pick up another pair of Maryknoll sisters, Maura Clarke
Maura Clarke
Sister Maura Clarke, M.M., was an American Roman Catholic Maryknoll Sister, who served as a missionary in Nicaragua and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and refugees in Central America from 1959 until her death in 1980...
and Ita Ford
Ita Ford
Ita Ford, M.M. was a Roman Catholic Maryknoll Sister missionary to Bolivia, Chile and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and war refugees. On December 2, 1980, she was tortured, raped, and murdered, along with fellow missionaries Maura Clarke, M.M., laywoman Jean Donovan, and Dorothy Kazel,...
, who were returning from the same conference on a flight not due until 7:00 pm.
The five members of the National Guard, out of uniform, stopped the vehicle they were driving after they left the airport in San Salvador
San Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
. Kazel and the three other women were taken to a relatively isolated spot where they were beaten, raped, and murdered by the soldiers.
Peasants living nearby had seen the sisters' white van drive to an isolated spot at about 10 p.m. on December 2 and then heard machine-gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire followed by single shots, three hours after the flight was due. They saw five men flee the scene in the white van, with the lights on and the radio blaring. The van would be found later that night on fire at the side of the airport road.
Early the next morning, December 3, they found the bodies of the four women, and were told by local authorities—a judge, three members of the civil guard, and two commanders—to bury the women in a common grave in a nearby field. The peasants did so, but informed a local priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, and the news reached the local bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and the United States Ambassador to El Salvador
United States Ambassador to El Salvador
The following is a list of United States Ambassadors, or other Chiefs of Mission, to El Salvador. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-Chiefs of Mission:...
, Robert White
Robert White (ambassador)
Robert E. White served as U.S. ambassador under different administrations. He is currently president of the Center for International Policy....
.
Their shallow grave was exhumed the next day, December 4, in front of 15 reporters, Sisters Alexander and Dorsey and several missioners, and Ambassador White. Donovan's body was the first exhumed; then Kazel's; then Clarke's; and last, Ita Ford. On December 5, a Mass of the Resurrection was said by Bishop Rivera y Damas; and on December 6, the bodies of Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel were flown out for burial; Donovan to her parents in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, and Kazel back to her hometown of Cleveland. The bodies of the Maryknoll sisters, Clarke and Ford, were buried in Chalatenango, El Salvador
Chalatenango
Chalatenango can refer to:* the Chalatenango Department in El Salvador* the city Chalatenango in El Salvador...
.
At that point, a series of investigations began. The earliest investigations were condemned as whitewash attempts by the later ones, and in time, a truth commission
Commission on the Truth for El Salvador
The Truth Commission for El Salvador was a truth commission established by the United Nations to investigate and report on human rights abuses during the civil war in El Salvador ....
was appointed by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to investigate who gave the orders, and who knew about it, and who covered it up. Several low-level guardsman were convicted, and two generals were sued
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
by the women's families in the U.S. federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
for their command responsibility
Command responsibility
Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard or the Medina standard, and also known as superior responsibility, is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes....
for the incident.
Subsequent History
According to the MaryknollMaryknoll
Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations that are part of the Roman Catholic Church and whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church in the United States...
Order:
“The[1993] U.N.-sponsored http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/el_salvador/tc_es_03151993_intro.html Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador concluded that the abductions were planned in advance and the men responsible had carried out the murders on orders from above. It further stated that the head of the National Guard and two officers assigned to investigate the case had concealed the facts to harm the judicial process. The murder of the women, along with attempts by the Salvadoran military and some American officials to cover it up, generated a grass-roots opposition in the U.S., as well as ignited intense debate over the Administration’s policy in El Salvador.
In 1984, the defendants were found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The Truth Commission noted that this was the first time in Salvadoran history that a judge had found a member of the military guilty of assassination. In 1998, three of the soldiers were released for good behavior. Two of the men remain in prison and have petitioned the Salvadoran government for pardons.” http://www.maryknoll.org/MARYKNOLL/SISTERS/ms_marty4ani.htm.
The head of the National Guard, whose troops were responsible for the murders, Gen. Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova
Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova
Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova was head of the Salvadoran national guard and later defense minister. He was sued in the federal civil court of Miami, Florida in the United States in two precedent-setting cases. The cases are referred to by the surname of his co-defendant, José Guillermo García:*...
, went on to become Minister of Defense in the government of José Napoleón Duarte
José Napoleón Duarte
José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes was a Salvadoran political figure who, from March 3, 1980, to 1982, led the civil-military Revolutionary Government Junta that took power in a 1979 coup d'état...
. After their emigration to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Vides Casanova and his fellow general, José Guillermo Garcia
José Guillermo García
José Guillermo García is former general of the military of El Salvador and was minister of defense during the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador. He emigrated to the United States in 1989. He was sued, along with Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, in the United States district court in...
, were sued by the families of the four women in federal civil court.
Film
Although Jean Donovan is the main subject of the 1982 documentary Roses in December the film also includes footage regarding Archbishop Romero and Sister Dorothy Kazel. This documentary won the Interfilm Award at the 1982 International Filmfestival Mannheim-HeidelbergInternational Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival is an annual film festival held jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The festival was established in 1952. In Mannheim there are six cinema centres and 19 single cinemas.The festival presents arthouse films of...
.
Pamela Bellwood
Pamela Bellwood
Pamela Bellwood is an American actress most famous for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington on the 1980s prime time soap opera, Dynasty....
played Kazel in the 1983 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Choices of the Heart, which was criticized for lacking clarity about the political context of the women's killings. The movie won the 1984 Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
in the 90-minute category. Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
, Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt
Helen Elizabeth Hunt is an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She starred in the sitcom Mad About You for seven years, before being cast in the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets...
, Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, and Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H . He is an activist for politically liberal causes....
co-starred.
Book
Several books have been written about the four women who were martyred that day, and Kazel is mentioned in all of them. However, one specifically about Kazel was authored by Sister Cynthia Glavac: In the Fullness of Life: A Biography of Dorothy Kazel, O.S.U. (1996, Dimension Books).Legacy
- There is a section of the Ursuline High School, Wimbledon in England campus named after Dorothy, it is widely known within the school as the DK block. That particular block is used for business studies and is fairly new, only built a few years ago, it contains many computers and new technology, it also acts as the finance office of the school.
- There is a home that houses members of the Jesuit Volunteer CorpsJesuit Volunteer CorpsThe Jesuit Volunteer Corps is an organization of lay volunteers who dedicate one year or more to voluntary community service working with people in need--the homeless, abused women and children, immigrants and refugees, the mentally ill, people with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, the elderly,...
in South Central Los Angeles named in Dorothy's honor. Members of the program work as full-time volunteers at non-profit organizations such as Verbum Dei High SchoolVerbum Dei High SchoolVerbum Dei High School, colloquially referred to as "the Verb", is an all-male Catholic high school combining college-preparatory academic courses and immersion in corporate work environments. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles with the sponsorship of the of the...
, Urban Compass, Chrysalis, and Homeboy IndustriesHomeboy IndustriesHomeboy Industries is a youth program founded in 1992 by Father Greg Boyle, S.J. following the work of the Christian base communities at Dolores Mission Church...
.
Further reading
- “Hearts on Fire: The Story of the Maryknoll Sisters”, Penny Lernoux, et al., Orbis Books, 1995.
- “Salvador Witness: The Life and Calling of Jean Donovan,” Ana Carrigan, Ballantine Books, 1986.
- “Witness of Hope: The Persecution of Christians in Latin America,” Martin Lange and Reinhold Iblacker, Orbis Books, 1981.
- "Who Was Dorothy Kazel?" from the diocese of Cleveland http://dioceseofcleveland.org/news/PDFs/kazeltalkingpoints.pdf
External links
- Justice & The Generals: U.S. Law – Trial History supporting material for documentary first aired on PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. Accessed October 7, 2005. - Martyrdom in El Salvador on Maryknoll Sisters website. Accessed October 7, 2005.
- Plant a Tree in Dorothy Kazel's Memory Memorial program in El Salvador in honor of the four churchwomen, accessed online December 8, 2006.
- Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (1993) accessed online December 9, 2006.