September 14, 2017

Elms College to host book talk by Eileen Markey, author of ‘A Radical Faith’

REGIONAL
Staff report

(IObserve photo/Adi Talwar courtesy of Eileen Markey)

CHICOPEE – The College of Our Lady of the Elms will host a lecture by Eileen Markey, author of A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sister Maura, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, in the Alumnae Library Theater.

Markey will discuss her book and its connections to the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) “Called to Family, Community and Participation.” Elms College has declared this CST a theme for the 2017-2018 academic year, and this is one of the related on-campus events.

A Radical Faith tells the story of Maryknoll Sister Maura Clarke, one of four American women (three of them nuns) found murdered in El Salvador in December 1980. In the 1970s, Sister Maura had organized and marched for liberation with the poor of Nicaragua and El Salvador.

When their bodies were found, buried in a field outside the capital city, the news shocked Americans and sparked years of debate on Cold War policy in Latin America. The women had been killed by the El Salvadoran military, which was trained by the U.S.

A Radical Faith offers a look at personal spirituality, political transformation, and the courage required for devotion to justice.

Markey is a 1990 graduate of the former Holy Cross Grammar School and 1994 graduate of the former Cathedral High School, both in Springfield. She went on to graduate from Fordham University and earned a master of science degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City.

The lecture is co-sponsored by campus ministry and the Institute of Theology and Pastoral Studies. It is free and open to the public.