Romero-King Virtual On-The-Green Events  

On March 24 at 4:00 p.m. and March 31 at 4:00 p.m., Seton Hall will hold, for the second time, two virtual "on the green" memorial events, honoring two of our greatest representatives of social justice and sacrificial faith. Faculty, administrators and students will do readings. Each event will be about a half hour, no more. There is a public TEAM created called Romero-King event, which anyone can join. Click here to join!

In the week between the two events, students and faculty may watch any of these films, available now to the Seton Hall community:
These are the films:

• Monsenor: the Last Journey of Oscar Romero – available on Kanopy, through the Seton Hall website
• Eyes on the Prize (on the Civil Rights movement, with much on King) – 14 episode series. All episodes are available in Academic Video Online(AVON), which can be accessed from the library homepage. Search for "Eyes on the Prize" in the search box. 
• Romero – (Available free on Amazon Prime). 
• Selma: available through Digital Campus; available also on Amazon for $2.99.

The following is, for the most part, in the words of Rev. Pritchett:

The collaboration, to honor the two religious figures came after the Academic Expo in 2019, when the MLK Leadership Program developed a vision to look at the intersections of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, as represented by the life and work of Archbishop Romero and the prophetic ministry of social and restorative justice of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. Pritchett's vision received the support of Dr. Nancy Enright, Director University Core Program. Dr. Ines Murzaku, Chair of Catholic Studies, also has offered enthusiastic support. Together we planned this event to be celebrated in person, on the green, and in the new Core Center, where we could show the films. With the corona virus outbreak, we decided not to let this celebration be stopped by not being on campus. (This year, due to the continuation of the pandemic) we are again offering the events virtually.

Archbishop Oscar Romero, the fourth Archbishop of El Salvador, spoke on the radio across to his country He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture amid the growing war between left-wing and right-wing forces. He condemned the violence and the nonstop disappearances of the poor at the hands of a repressive government. He was beatified on May 23, 2015. He was canonized October 14, 2018. His feast day is March 24. His motivation and inspiration to empower others is seen and summarized in his quote "Each one of you has to be God's microphone".  Romero also said, "Wherever there is someone who has been baptized, that is where the church is. There is a prophet there. Let us not hide the talent that God gave us on the day of our baptism and let us truly live the beauty and responsibility of being a prophetic people."

MLK was a well-known civil rights period activist who had a great deal of influence on American society in the 1950's and 1960's. His strong belief in nonviolent protest helped set the tone and one strategic approach for the Civil Rights movement. Boycotts, protests, and marches were eventually effective, and legislation passed against racial discrimination. Dr. King didn't just preach about a comfortable Christianity or a stagnant church. He led the church to action. As a social justice prophet, he denounced not only racial inequality but also wealth disparity and economic injustice. Dr. King was in Memphis when he was assassinated because he was organizing a strike for better pay and working conditions for Negro sanitation workers.

Two of his quotes set the paradigm for this new initiative at Seton Hall University….

"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." ― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963.

"The objective of this strategic initiative is to honor the legacies of these men and to encourage and motivate transformative servant leadership in civic affairs and social justice issues both nationally and internationally within the context of the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Protestant moral ethic." ― Rev. Dr. Forrest Pritchett, Program Director, Martin Luther King Leadership Program.

This year we are also having an important addition to the program. A copy of an icon depicting "The New Martyrs" of the church in modern times, which is on display at the Church of San' Bartolomeo in Rome, will be displayed in the Immaculate Conception Chapel, in the small side chapel dedicated to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. This icon includes among the martyrs both Martin Luther King, Jr., and St. Oscar Romero. The icon comes to us courtesy of the Sant' Egidio community, thanks to Dr. Andrea Bartoli, Core Fellow. It will be on display in the chapel throughout the Romero-King week. Please stop by and pay a visit to the chapel, and view the icon and say a prayer, if you wish, for the ideals represented by these two leaders.

Categories: Arts and Culture, Nation and World