As a Baptist Minister, the Christian beliefs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. informed and inspired his work for civil rights. He preached of unity and love to overcome division and hatred and that all men are created in the image and likeness of God.
Dr. King’s messages regarding justice, equality, and non-violence are compatible with Catholic social teaching.
Catholics can learn from his words and example, especially regarding the dignity of all human life, cooperation between people of different faiths, and bringing light into the darkness.
He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39.
In the United States, Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is a federal holiday, celebrated on the third Monday each January.
A legacy filled with faith, hope, and sacrifice:
A message that is important for all Catholics:
A commitment to Jesus and deep knowledge of Christianity:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3: 28
Promoting Christian values and respect for life:
A message of peace, tolerance and forgiveness:
Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1934
Dr. King remains a powerful model for our time:
Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from Selma to Montgomery fifty years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his “dream” of full civil and political rights for African Americans. That dream continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of “dreams”. Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.
Pope Francis, Address to United States Congress, 24 September 2015
Risking his life so people could live out their God-given call:
A reminder that our faith calls for bravery:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Reclaiming a legacy that was lost:
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