Advertisement

Pope Francis Praises Martin Luther King Jr.’s "timely" Message of Peace

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Credit: Julian Fong via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, 18 January, 2021 / 6:45 pm (ACI Africa).

Pope Francis said on Monday that Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream “of harmony and equality for all people” is still relevant today.

“In today’s world, which increasingly faces the challenges of social injustice, division and conflict that hinder the realization of the common good, Dr. King’s dream of harmony and equality for all people, attained through nonviolent and peaceful means, remains ever timely,” the pope said on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In a message addressed to King’s daughter, Bernice A. King, Francis said that it was imperative to see people “in the truth of our shared dignity as children of Almighty God.”

“Only by striving daily to put this vision into practice can we work together to create a community built upon justice and fraternal love,” he said, praying for “divine blessings of wisdom and peace” upon participants in the Beloved Community Commemorative Service, marking MLK Day.

Hosted by The King Center, the streamed service on Jan. 18 featured as a keynote speaker T.D. Jakes, bishop of The Potter’s House, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas.

Advertisement

Quoting his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli tutti,” the pope said that “each one of us is called to be an artisan of peace by uniting and not dividing, by extinguishing hatred and not holding on to it, by opening paths of dialogue.”

 

 

More in Vatican

Pope Francis / poor

Pope Francis to Have Sunday Lunch with 1,300 Guests on World Day of the Poor

Read the article

Last week, Pope Francis blessed a special MLK jersey of the NBA basketball team the Atlanta Hawks. The uniform features the initials “MLK” across the front in honor of King, who was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929.

The Hawks will wear the special edition uniform when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 18.

The jersey sent to the pope had a number one and “Francis” written across the back. After blessing the shirt, the pope also signed it.

The Atlanta Hawks wrote on Twitter that the jersey was in honor of their “commitment to making positive change in social equality, economic empowerment and love.”

Bernice King told Vatican News in June 2020 that she felt a strong sense of harmony between her father and Pope Francis, whom she met twice in 2018.

Trending

Advertisement

She said that if Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today he “would be guided by his philosophy of nonviolence, which corresponded with his following of Jesus Christ.”

“He would, as he often did while he was living, share that we cannot cure violence with violence, which he said is a descending spiral. Of course, I believe he would compel us to embrace nonviolence, which is strategic, courageous, love-centered and organized,” she said.

Hannah Brockhaus

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.

You may also like

Pope Francis arrives at Luxembourg Airport on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, the first stop in a four-day tour of Luxembourg and Belgium, two historically Christian countries in Europe, both of which are experiencing steep declines in religious adherence amid the spread of secularization. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

In a Secularized Luxembourg, Pope Francis Tells Catholics to Evangelize Europe

Before flying to the neighboring country of Belgium on the afternoon of Sept. 26, the 87-year-old pope spent one day...

Young people lead a procession in Protomartyrs Square at the Vatican for an ecumenical prayer service on Oct. 11, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis, Synod Pray Where First Christian Martyrs of Rome Were Killed

The ecumenical prayer vigil Oct. 11 was held in Roman Protomartyrs Square inside Vatican City.

Pope Francis' brief remarks during the Angelus July 21, 2024, focused on the day’s Gospel passage from Mark, which demonstrates how rest and compassion for others go together. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: In the Silence of Adoration We Receive God’s Grace

At his weekly Angelus, the pope told Catholics to beware of “the dictatorship of doing.”