III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 381 

Remembering and commemorating the lives and work of Maryknoll Sisters 

Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Cleveland Lay Mission Team Member Jean Donovan, who were executed 

by members of the Armed Forces of El Salvador on December 2, 1980. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2007 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. DODD, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. CASEY, 

Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Remembering and commemorating the lives and work of 

Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline 

Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Cleveland Lay Mission Team 

Member Jean Donovan, who were executed by members 

of the Armed Forces of El Salvador on December 2, 

1980. 

Whereas on December 2, 1980, four churchwomen from the 

United States, Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita 

Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Cleveland Lay 

Mission Team Member Jean Donovan, were violated and 

executed by members of the National Guard of El Salvador; 


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•SRES 381 ATS 

Whereas in 1980, Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita 

Ford were working in the parish of the Church of San 

Juan Bautista in Chalatenango, El Salvador, providing 

food, transportation, and other assistance to refugees, 

and Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel and Cleveland Lay 

Mission Team Member Jean Donovan were working in 

the parish of the Church of the Immaculate Conception 

in La Libertad, El Salvador, providing assistance and 

support to refugees and other victims of violence; 

Whereas these four churchwomen from the United States 

dedicated their lives to working with the poor of El Salvador, especially women and children left homeless, displaced, and destitute by the civil war in El Salvador; 

Whereas these four churchwomen from the United States 

were among the more than 70,000 civilians who were 

murdered during the course of the civil war in El Salvador; 

Whereas on May 23 and May 24, 1984, five members of the 

National Guard of El Salvador, Subsergeant Luis Antonio Colindres Aleman, Daniel Canales Ramirez, Carlos 

Joaquin Contreras Palacios, Francisco Orlando Contreras 

Recinos, and Jose Roberto Moreno Canjura, were found 

guilty by the El Salvador courts of the executions of 

these four churchwomen from the United States and were 

sentenced to 30 years in prison, marking the first time 

in El Salvador history in which a member of the Armed 

Forces of El Salvador was convicted of murder by an El 

Salvador judge; 

Whereas the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El 

Salvador was established under the terms of the historic 

January 1992 Peace Accords that ended 12 years of civil 

war in El Salvador and was charged to investigate and 


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report to the El Salvador people on human rights crimes 

committed by all sides during the course of the civil war; 

Whereas in March 1993, the United Nations Commission on 

the Truth for El Salvador found that the execution of 

these four churchwomen from the United States was 

planned, that Subsergeant Luis Antonio Colindres 

Aleman carried out orders from a superior to execute 

them, that then Colonel Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, 

then Director-General of the National Guard and his 

cousin, Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Edgardo Casanova 

Vejar, then Commander of the Zacatecoluca military detachment where the murders were committed, and other 

military personnel knew that members of the National 

Guard had committed the murders pursuant to orders of 

a superior, and that the subsequent coverup of the facts 

adversely affected the judicial investigation into the murders of the churchwomen; 

Whereas the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El 

Salvador determined that General Jose Guillermo Garcia, 

then Minister of Defense, made no serious effort to conduct a thorough investigation of responsibility for the 

murders of these four churchwomen from the United 

States; 

Whereas the families of these four churchwomen from the 

United States continue their efforts to determine the full 

truth surrounding the murders of their loved ones, appreciate the cooperation of United States Government agencies in disclosing and providing documents relevant to the 

murders of the churchwomen, and pursue requests to release to the family members the few remaining undisclosed documents and reports pertaining to the case; 


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Whereas the families of these four churchwomen from the 

United States appreciate the ability of those harmed by 

violence to bring suit against El Salvador military officers in United States courts under the Torture Victim 

Protection Act of 1991 (28 U.S.C. 1350 note); 

Whereas the lives of these four churchwomen from the United 

States have, for the past 27 years, served as inspiration 

for and continue to inspire Salvadorans, Americans, and 

people throughout the world to answer the call to service 

and to pursue lives dedicated to addressing the needs and 

aspirations of the poor, the vulnerable, and the disadvantaged, especially among women and children; 

Whereas the lives of these four churchwomen from the United 

States have also inspired numerous books, plays, films, 

music, religious events, and cultural events; 

Whereas schools, libraries, research centers, spiritual centers, 

health clinics, women’s and children’s programs in the 

United States and in El Salvador have been named after 

or dedicated to Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy 

Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Donovan; 

Whereas the Maryknoll Sisters, headquartered in Ossining, 

New York, the Ursuline Sisters, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, numerous religious task forces in the United 

States, and the Salvadoran and international religious 

communities based in El Salvador annually commemorate 

the lives and martyrdom of these four churchwomen from 

the United States; 

Whereas the historic January 1992 Peace Accords ended 12 

years of civil war in El Salvador and have allowed the 

Government and the people of El Salvador to achieve significant progress in creating and strengthening demoVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:52 Nov 15, 2007 Jkt 038715 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR381.ATS SR381

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cratic, political, economic, and social institutions in El 

Salvador; and 

Whereas December 2, 2007, marks the 27th anniversary of 

the deaths of these four spiritual, courageous, and generous churchwomen from the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) remembers and commemorates the lives and 

3 work of Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, and Doro4 thy Kazel and lay missionary Jean Donovan; 

5 (2) extends sympathy and support for the fami6 lies, friends, and religious communities of these four 

7 churchwomen from the United States; 

8 (3) continues to find inspiration in the lives and 

9 work of these four churchwomen from the United 

10 States; 

11 (4) calls upon the people of the United States 

12 and religious congregations to participate in local, 

13 national, and international events commemorating 

14 the 27th anniversary of the martyrdom of these four 

15 churchwomen from the United States; 

16 (5) recognizes that while progress has been 

17 made in El Salvador during the post-civil war pe18 riod, the work begun by these four churchwomen 

19 from the United States remains unfinished and soVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:52 Nov 15, 2007 Jkt 038715 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR381.ATS SR381

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1 cial and economic hardships persist among many 

2 sectors of El Salvador society; and 

3 (6) calls upon the President, the Secretary of 

4 State, the Administrator of the United States Agen5 cy for International Development, and the heads of 

6 other United States Government agencies to con7 tinue to support and collaborate with the Govern8 ment of El Salvador and with private sector, non9 governmental, regional, international, and religious 

10 organizations in their efforts to reduce poverty and 

11 hunger and to promote educational opportunity, 

12 health care, and social equity for the people of El 

13 Salvador. 

Æ 


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