There is no great society which is not a caring society, and any effective war on poverty must deploy what Dorothy Day called the weapons of spirit.

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Mr. Sellars, a longtime collaborator of Mr. Adams, compiled the libretto from existing poems and texts ranging from the Bible to the writings of the Roman Catholic activist Dorothy Day.

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Sellars tells the story through texts ranging from those by the 12th-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen to the 20th-century radical Catholic activist Dorothy Day, from poetry by Louise Erdrich and Rosario Castellanos to excerpts from the Old and News Testaments.

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Dorothy Fraser, 75, started the relay day just before 08:00 BST when she carried the flame through Minister Yard beside Lincoln Cathedral.

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