Catholics from the Archdiocese of Portland last weekend gathered to give praise to God for the gift of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission, and for his role in the the cause of civil rights.
The annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Mass, sponsored by the African-American Catholic Community of Oregon (usually held at parishes in Northeast Portland) was held this year at St. Mary Cathedral in Northwest Portland, and was celebrated by Archbishop John Vlazny.
“So many people worked tirelessly to put this together,” said Mary Harvey, a member of the AACCO and the St. Andrew Gospel Choir. “This is really a special event for us.”
Around 200 people attended the Mass on Saturday. The St. Andrew Parish Gospel Choir filled the large church with the sounds of piano and soulful singing all throughout the Mass. The altar was adorned with an altar cloth, the colors of red, black and and green.
In addition to honoring Rev. King, the Mass is a part of the AACCO’s ministry — trying to bring many African American Catholics who have for one reason or another left the church, back to the flock, says Sam Jackson, original organizer of the Mass, which was first held in 1988 at Holy Redeemer Parish in North Portland.
“For many of us in the African-American community, Dr. King represents so many things,” said Jackson. “The cause of civil rights, ecumenism and peace.”
The most important thing to remember about Dr. King, says Jackson, was that he stood for the cause of justice and peace for everyone, not just for African-Americans.
“And he did it all with the principle of non-violence,” said Jackson. “A more Christ-centered cause and practice I cannot think of.”
Archbishop Vlazny, who concelebrated the Mass with fellow priests Father Joseph McMahon of Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Father George Wolf, pastor of the Cathedral and Deacon Thomas Gornick, reiterated those sentiments in his homily to the congregation.
“The followers of Christ are called upon to proclaim unity,” said the archbishop. “That we are all sisters and brothers, all of us in the family of God. This week’s holiday should serve as a reminder of the continuing victimhood of far too many of our sisters and brothers.”
The archbishop spoke about his experience of Dr. King visiting the neighorhood he grew up in South Chicago, and the latent racism of the day that turned to violence when members of his neighborhood, even his Catholic church, hurled rocks and racial epithets towards the late, great, civil rights leader who would have turned 78 this year.
“Dr. King had experienced first hand the discrimiation against people of color, both in the public and private sector,” said Archbishop Vlazny. “He saw the discrimination that led to insufficient employment, substandard housing, unequal education and eventually crime and drug abuse — he knew that things had to change.”
The archbishop praised Dr. King as a student and advocate of non-violence, but that even with all of Dr. King’s efforts, the struggle against racism still continues to this very day.
“Unfortunately for us, racism still exists,” said the archbishop. “Any attitude or practice which denies our fundamental human equality can not be acceptable with Christ’s teachings. Racism has been defined as the sin that says some human beings are superior, and others are essentially inferior, because of race. We wish that definition were purely historical, but it still holds true in the opinion of too many people, and far too many people in God’s human family still suffer from a limited vision.”
Although there has been some progress made in terms of the eradication of racism, said the archbishop, “we still have a long way to go in fighting off racism, right here in our own community in this church in western Oregon.
“As we honor the memory of our brother Martin, we Catholics of western Oregon, ought to work harder to eradicate racism from our own midst, and the world in which we live.”
