By Rita McInerney

Justice is still needed, particularly for the children of the poor, Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, told an overflow congregation at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Jan. 14.

The archbishop was celebrant and homilist at the seventh annual Mass in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Concelebrants were priests of the archdiocese, including several pastors from member parishes of the archdiocesan Commission for Black Catholic Concerns, sponsors of the Mass.

A great deal remains to be accomplished to fulfill the dream of the “modern prophet, “ Dr. King, who in the march on Washington in 1963 issued a call to the nation for freedom, brotherhood and sisterhood, the archbishop said. That dream “awakens within us the peace and the freedom that finds its fullest expression in Jesus Christ,” he said.

Much good has come about since Dr. King led the marches and sit-ins. “Recent polls suggest that urban neighborhoods and urban families display a greater racial array and tolerance than we could have foreseen 30 years ago. Measured against the even more distant past, American minorities, and in particular African-Americans, have made great progress in achieving the deserved respect which this nation’s Constitution guaranteed, but which this nation’s citizenry still only grudgingly affords,” the archbishop said.

But a great deal remains to be accomplished, he added. “In the psalm of today’s Mass we heard the words of King David as he testified his willingness to do the work of God. ‘I announced your justice to the vast assembly,’ he declares. ‘I did not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know.’ Today, at the beginning of this new decade, we must take action in appropriate ways…”

That right includes a responsibility to be informed on the issues and to urge lawmakers to do right by the people, the archbishop said. “The right to persuade every free citizen in this country of the need for justice-justice now and forever.”

That justice must begin, he emphasized, “by helping our children, our hope for the future. Dr. King’s plea that children be judged not on the color of their skin but by the content of their character, still largely goes unheeded…Recent reports suggest that poor children benefit the least from the United States’ present welfare and medical assistance structures. For instance, the maximum salary levels permitted for children of poor families to qualify for Medicaid in many states is half the federal poverty level or even less.”

“Thus our laws effectively deny health care to children of desperate parents who barely earn subsistence wages. The system penalizes the poor by denying the basic needs of children. Many of these children come out of our poorest minorities, black, Hispanics and Asians. But if you walk down the street in almost any poor urban district in this country, it is not the color of a child’s skin that you see; it is the hunger in his eyes, the plea on his lips and the outstretched arms asking for love.”

He mentioned “other cracks in the system” that hurt children, including low funding for elementary education and day care, and the ever-present drug dealers, “The vampires of modern society,” waiting to prey on the young.

And there are other forms of discrimination “which linger like a dark cloud in our culture,” the archbishop said: homelessness of the poor and aging, the lack of job programs and adequate food subsidies for the jobless, the absence of comprehensive health services.

“These conditions also suggest that something is wrong with the attitude, indeed the very character of many Americans, who now take as their God the advancement of personal prestige and wealth, and who ignore in their plenty, those who could benefit from even the most meager of charitable gestures,” he said.

“In the disintegration of strong internal family ties, we see also the loosening of the fabric of American society, whereby more and more people are left to fend for themselves, instead of having compassionate support that is the hallmark of a civilized society,” the archbishop stressed.

He mentioned the recent Klan rally on the Capitol steps in Atlanta and the Boston murder case in which a non-existent black assailant was accused when a white man was guilty as examples of the racism still existing in American society.

As Martin Luther King did, the archbishop said, “We must constantly seek to stand in the light of Divine Love so that we may testify, like the prophet Isaiah in our first reading, ‘I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength.’”

He pointed out the strong efforts to address today’s ills being made by inner city churches in Atlanta. “The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, along with her neighboring Protestant congregations are living proof of the power of the Holy Spirit as He breathes life and renewal in our community and our thirsting souls.

“In the spirit of Martin Luther King’s dedication to the poor who struggle within our great cities, we also devote much of our strength to ministering to those less fortunate than ourselves. In doing this we fulfill our patriotic duty and at the same time we live out in a visible and tangible way the responsibilities given us in Baptism, and brought to maturity in our Confirmation.”

The offertory taken during the Mass will help support the work of the Shrine in its night shelter, St. Francis Table soup kitchen and the AIDS ministry.

Honored at the mid-afternoon Liturgy were the five winners of the poster and essay contests for school students sponsored by the commission. The theme was “Keep The Dream Alive – There Is Hope.” This was also the theme of the Mass.

Winners announced by Joseph Goolsby of St. Paul of the Cross were: poster – first place award of $50 to Chris Miller, sixth grade student of St. John the Evangelist School, Hapeville, and second place award of $25 to Christa Schillings, fourth grade student at St. John the Evangelist.

Essay – first place award of $100 to Chris Daniell, upper school student at the Village of St. Joseph; second place of $50 to Kerry Stolte, ninth grade student at St. Pius X High School, and third place award of $25 to Amy Bondiskey, eighth grade student at St. John the Evangelist.

Each winner also received a certificate signed by Archbishop Marino and a Martin Luther King t-shirt.

Archbishop Marino noted at the outset of his homily that he has already begun to make arrangements to have another black bishop as celebrant and homilist at the eighth annual Mass next January. This year’s Mass was the third consecutive year he had been celebrant.

Applauded throughout the Mass was the strong archdiocesan Mass Choir coordinated by Walter Boone of Sts. Peter and Paul choir, Decatur, with the assistance of directors and accompanists from the other commission parishes; the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Most Blessed Sacrament, Our lady of Lourdes, St. Anthony’s, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Paul of the Cross. The Atlanta University Center is also a commission member.

To the delight of the congregation, the Children’s Choir from Sts. Peter and Paul performed just before the Mass and after Communion.