CATH NEWS REPORT:
Sister Irene McCormack RSJ
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Catholic Mission has released a statement paying tribute to Josephite Sister Irene McCormack, who was killed 20 years ago, on May 21, 1991, while serving the Pueblo people of Peru.
"The tragic events of 20 years ago occurred during a turbulent period of violent insurrection in Peru when the Marxist guerrillas Sendero Luminoso ('Shining Path') were prosecuting an anti-government war based on terrorist acts and executions of anyone deemed to be supporting the government," said the statement.The statement, titled Sister Irene McCormack: Australia's next Saint?, contains details about the circumstances surrounding her killing, her background and the works she carried out in Peru.
Sr Irene's alleged crimes were feeding the poor and educating the local children. Dispensing Caritas provisions, they charged that she was pushing "Yankee food", and spreading "Yankee ideas" by bring in books.
Sr Irene called life among the people of Peru a "gift", and in even in the presence of a disease like cholera, reflected that "it brings home the fragility of life and that every day is a gift to be lived."
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