PEOPLE of GOD
40
August 2020
WORLD NEWS
Late civil rights leaders ‘changed course of history,’ says archbishop ATLANTA (CNS) -- The late Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, and another giant of the civil rights movement, the Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian, who died the same day as Lewis, “changed the course of history for our nation” because of their civil rights work, said Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta. Their work “stands as a testament to what nonviolent protest, fueled by love and a dedication to justice, can do,” he said in a statement released shortly after the July 17 deaths of the congressman and Rev. Vivian. Lewis died after a sixmonth battle with advanced pancreatic cancer. He was 80. He represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his death. Vivian died from natural causes two weeks before his 96th birthday. Both lived in Atlanta at the time of their deaths. Lewis lay in state at the Georgia Capitol July 29, the fifth day of a celebration of his life and legacy. A private funeral was to take place July 30 in the Horizon Sanctuary at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. A private funeral was held for Rev. Vivian July 23 at Providence Missionary Baptist Church, also in Atlanta. Both were friends of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and worked alongside him. In their fight against racial injustice, Rev. Vivian and Lewis participated in multiple protests and
worked to combat racism in the United States, which included fighting for voting rights. “Two of the greatest voices in American history were silenced this weekend,” Archbishop Hartmayer said after their deaths. “The loss of Rev. C.T. Vivian and Congressman John Lewis are heavy ones to bear, especially as our nation again grapples with the awful sin of systemic racism.”
FATHER MICHAEL MCGIVNEY
The beatification ceremony for Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, will be celebrated Oct. 31, 2020, in the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn. Father McGivney is pictured in an undated portrait. On May 27 the Vatican announced Pope Francis had approved a miracle attributed to the priest’s intercession, clearing the way for his beatification. (CNS file photo)
