“A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sr. Maura”: Interview with Eileen Markey

BY CHRIS KERR | December 2, 2016

December 2, 2016, marks 36 years since Sr. Dorothy Kazel, O.S.U., Sr. Ita Ford, M.M., Sr. Maura Clarke, M.M., and Jean Donovan were brutally raped and murdered in El Salvador while traveling back from the San Salvador airport. They were killed because they were committed to being in solidarity with their brothers and sisters—in essence, for being Christians.  The deaths of these four churchwomen only hinted at the violence and atrocities that would await El Salvador. From the 1980 to 1992, the brutal Civil War in El Salvador took the lives of over 70,000 innocent people.  Many died at the hands of Salvadoran soldiers, many of whom received training at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation).  The U.S. was integrally involved in El Salvador’s civil war, supporting the government with approximately $1 million of military aid per day throughout the conflict.

ISN hosted a conversation with Eileen Markey, author of “A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sr. Maura,” the story of Sr. Maura Clarke’s life and horrific death.

Learn more about “A Radical Faith”