"We have a moral responsibility to speak out and to create a world where the next generation will be spared… where the dignity of all people is respected and where the human rights of all people are protected. We cannot ever lose sight of the reality that we are our sisters and brothers keepers.": Sr. Dianna
Watch Dianna Ortiz's Memorial here
Sister Dianna Ortiz - Human Rights and Anti-Torture Advocate
Born in September 1958 in Colorado, Sister Dianna Ortiz was a catholic nun and - after being tortured in Guatemala - became a human rights and anti-torture activist. As a teenager, she joined the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph and taught kindergarten for several years before moving to Guatemala in 1987 at the age of 28, where she wanted to teach indigenous children. With the 36-year civil war following the 1954 CIA coup not far in the past, it was a dangerous time to work with the oppressed people in Guatemala. In 1989, after having received numerous threats, Dianna Ortiz went back to the Ursuline motherhouse in Kentucky for a few months, before returning to San Miguel, Guatemala in September the same year to continue her mission. Only two months later, she was kidnapped, forced into a police car, and tortured and raped repeatly for almost two days. After being released and returning back home to the US, Ortiz was denied justice, as U.S embassy and Guatemalan government officials accused her of staging her kidnapping and torture to pressure the U.S. government to stop military funding in Guatemala. She continued to receive threatening letters even after being back in the U.S. In 1996, Dianna Ortiz held a five-week fasting vigil in fron of the White House, demanding the government to declassify all documents of human rights abuses in Guatemala since the 1954 military coup. Eventually, the U.S. government compelled to declassifying secret documents around the time of her abduction that revealed that one of the Guatamalan officials who denied her torture was traines at the U.S. Army School of the Americas, holding the U.S. accountable for advocating torture and execution of civilians to Latin American military and police officials in the fight against democracy.
In her desire to defend human rights and torture victims, Dianna Ortiz founded Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) - the first organization led by torture survivors to support other survivors - in 1998, continuing to advocate against torture and seek justice for what happened to her in 1989. After a battle against cancer, Dianna Ortiz died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 62. But her legacy continues to live - it is a witness to suffering the unimaginable and coming out on the other end with love.
A prayer vigil for Sister Ortiz is set for Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. (EST), while a funeral Mass for her will be celebrated March 1 at 11:30 a.m. (EST). Both will be livestreamed from the Ursulines' motherhouse in Kentucky
