Remembering the Churchwomen of El Salvador

BY CHRIS KERR | December 2, 2015

I don’t remember the deaths of the Churchwomen of El Salvador, but I do “remember” them. I was born in 1978, so I was only two and a half years old when Sr. Dorothy Kazel, Sr. Ita Ford, Sr. Maura Clarke, and Jean Donovan were violently raped and murdered on December 2, 1980.  

I will never be able to say where I was, what I was doing, or my reaction to that event.  However, I will forever “remember” their witness, their willingness to say “yes” to the needs of their brothers and sisters, to say “yes” to Christ’s calling. Throughout my formation as a lay Catholic—as a teacher, minister, and advocate, I have been blessed with opportunities to remember the lives and witness of these four women.

Fr. Robert Niehoff, S.J., (center) with mass concelebrants at the commemoration mass for the 35th anniversary of the Churchwomen murders. [SOURCE: Christians for Peace in El Salvador – CRISPAZ]

Fr. Niehoff and I started at John Carroll on the same day in 2005—of course, he had the role of president and I was just a campus minister. I remember walking across campus with him during his first few days. I explained that I had been tasked with leading students to the annual vigil at the gates of Ft. Benning to call attention to the role of U.S. policy and training in the deaths of people like the four Churchwomen.

The tradition of Jesuit universities being present at the gates to honor the Churchwomen, Jesuit martyrs, and over 70,000 innocent civilians killed in El Salvador’s civil war, had been evolving since the late 1990s and was the impetus to begin the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice. Fr. Niehoff expressed gratitude for the presence of a JCU group at the gates, and would later be a keynote speaker at the Teach-In—but he also emphasized the importance of educating the campus community about the issues surrounding the martyrs.

Bishop Elías Samuel Bolaños Avelar, S.D.B., Bishop of Zacatecoluca, El Salvador, celebrates the commemoration mass at the chapel near the site where their bodies were found.

Niehoff wanted to be sure that people understood why we might be critical of the U.S. government. He wanted to ensure that the university’s critique was grounded in a concern for human dignity and solidarity with those marginalized the actions of our country. Later that fall, he would make special mention of the Churchwomen in his inaugural address, saying:

Any real commitment to justice is a commitment to justice for all. Such a commitment has been lived out by many people in this local church. Jean Donovan, Sisters Ita Ford, MM, Maura Clarke, MM, and Cleveland’s own, Dorothy Kazel, OSU, now called the Four Churchwomen of El Salvador, lived that call to the end.”

Today, Fr. Niehoff is in El Salvador concelebrating the mass to remember their lives.  He and the John Carroll students along with students from Santa Clara University’s CASA de la Solidaridad program are representing our Ignatian network. Most of them were not alive to remember the deaths of these four women, but they will forever “remember” their witness.

And so will I.

The monument honoring the Churchwomen is surrounded by mass-goers. [SOURCE: Kevin Yonkers-Talz]

Learn more about the Churchwomen of El Salvador here and the work of Christians for Peace in El Salvador (CRISPAZ), who is hosting John Carroll University’s group.

Christopher Kerr

Chris joined the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) as executive director in 2011. He has over fifteen years of experience in social justice advocacy and leadership in Catholic education and ministry. Prior to ISN he served in multiple roles at John Carroll University, including coordinating international immersion experience and social justice education programming as an inaugural co-director of John Carroll’s Arrupe Scholars Program for Social Action. Prior to his time at John Carroll he served as a teacher and administrator at the elementary and secondary levels in Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Chris speaks regularly at campuses and parishes about social justice education and advocacy, Jesuit mission, and a broad range of social justice issues. He currently serves on the board of directors for Christians for Peace in El Salvador (CRISPAZ). Chris earned a B.A. and M.A. from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. He and his family reside in Shaker Heights, Ohio.