In a message on Martin Luther King Day, Francis writes that the leader for civil rights of African Americans is still relevant in a world “which increasingly faces the challenges of social injustice, division and conflict that hinder the realisation of the common good.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Martin Luther King's “dream of harmony and equality” is always relevant, writes Pope Francis to mark Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday in the United States held on 18 January to honour the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr, leader of the civil rights movement for African Americans.
In the message addressed to his daughter Bernice Albertine King, president of the King Center in Atlanta, Pope Francis writes:
“In today’s world, which increasingly faces the challenges of social injustice, division and conflict that hinder the realisation of the common good, Dr King’s dream of harmony and equality for all people, attained through nonviolent and peaceful means, remains ever timely.”
Citing his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Francis affirms 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”.
This way we shall be able to see each other not as “strangers” but as neighbours, in the truth of our common dignity as children of the Almighty.
The message ends noting that “Only by striving daily to put his vision into practice can we work together to create a community built on justice and fraternal love”.