Msgr. Paul Garrity of Lynn (Catholic)

Inspired by the Inauguration 2009 Sermons and Orations Project of the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center, the Globe invited local clergy to e-mail the texts of inauguration-related sermons and prayers for posting here on the Articles of Faith religion blog. You can find all of the submissions by clicking on the Inauguration Sermons category in the blog’s right rail.

From the weekly bulletin column of Msgr. Paul V. Garrity, pastor of St. Mary Church, a Roman Catholic parish in Lynn:

"On Tuesday of this week, an event will take place of truly historic significance when President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. It is both ironic and prophetic that this event should be taking place one day after we, as a nation, will have paid tribute to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King. Ironic: because the election of a black person to the presidency was probably inconceivable to most people even 10 years ago! Prophetic: because the election of Barack Obama represents the turning of a page in our nation’s history that has needed to be turned for a very long time.

In our country today we tend to take so many things for granted. The fact that we have a peaceful change in government every 4 or 8 years is a testimony to the wisdom of our forebears and the strength of our body politic. While our economy may now be in difficult straits, we still have one of the highest standards of living in the world today. And when we think of where we have come from with regard to issues of race, we should be truly thankful to God at this unprecedented moment.

1857 was not that long ago. It was in that year that our Supreme Court told a black man, Dred Scott, that he had no rights as a citizen and that he could legitimately be the property of another man. Official Catholic teaching at the time did little to object to this unconscionable decision. As recently as 1867, the Vatican’s Holy Office issued an instruction which, in part, said “…slavery itself, considered as such in its essential nature, is not at all contrary to the natural and divine law.” As unbelievable as this sounds today, this was the prevailing mentality of our church and much of our world little more than a hundred years ago.

In the 20th century we see a dramatic shift take place. In 1896, the Supreme Court legitimized segregation by deciding that “separate but equal” was all that the Constitution required in making accommodations for people of color. But “separate but equal” was never a reality as black people were officially relegated to second class status. This form of official segregation came to an end through a groundbreaking case in 1953. The famous Brown v Board of Education decision held that "….separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This decision effectively outlawed the standard of separte but equal. Along with the voting rights acts of the early 1960s, this famous case paved the way for the civil rights movement that gave us Dr. Martin Luther King and, today, President Barack Obama.

Our nation has truly been on a long and difficult journey. This journey should give all people, regardless of race or creed, a true sense of hope. It should also fill us with a genuine sense of thanksgiving to God. And, finally, this journey should embolden us to continue to pray and work for the rights of the unborn, for the undocumented and for all people who today still live with the sting of unjust discrimination.

God Bless"