The good
news came in an email message, as so much news does these days. My friend Willie would not be going to
prison. It’s not that she was not
prepared to do so. In fact, she and her
co-defendants had already refused one plea bargain that could have let them off
with just a fine, insisting instead on a trial that could well result in jail
time of up to a year for each of them.
As she explained to us a few days before her court appearance, accepting
a fine or community service would involve admitting that what they had done was
wrong, and not one of them believed that.
They were determined to be imprisoned for their witness to truth in the
face of military might rather than to deny their beliefs.
“Willie” is
Sr. William Julie Hurley, a sixty-something Sister of Notre Dame who has
devoted her life to work with the poor and marginalized of society. Whether it is teaching in southern Africa,
serving in prison ministry, or coordinating hospice support for people living
with AIDS, she brings a large measure of compassion, caring, and impish good
humor to her work. Today she teaches
seniors at Lowell Catholic High, a poor school trying to provide quality
education for inner-city youth.
