Catholic Priest Honored
at Labor-Religion Breakfast

By Ray Dyer
The Sooner Catholic

OKLAHOMA CITY —  Father John Vrana was the recipient of the Marcus Evans Community Service Award presented at the Fifth Annual Labor-Religion Breakfast hosted by The Central Oklahoma Community Forum.

The April 6 breakfast, held at the Methodist Church of the Servant, attracted close to 200 people, including a number of Catholic priests and sisters.  Shirley Cox, director of Social Action for Catholic Charities, welcomed the audience before turning the microphone over to Sister Veronica Higgins, CST, who led the audience in a musical prayer.

Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice headquartered in Chicago, served as the keynote speaker. She told the audience after recently touring New Orleans she has come to the conclusion those people left behind prior to Hurricane Katrina- “the poor, the disabled and the elderly are now being left behind in the rebuilding process.”

She said the evil of racism and poverty “is alive and well in our nation” and she called on leaders to “get outside the palace” in order to see the true picture. “The view is much different from the bottom than it is from the top,” Bobo said.

 Bobo said the difference between union and non-union labor can be easily seen when comparing janitors in Houston with janitors in Chicago. She said the union janitors of Chicago earn $12 an hour with full benefits, while non-union janitors in Houston earn Union representative $5.15 per hour with no benefits.

“God will grant us success when we do the work of justice,” Bobo said. She said America’s tax structure is broken in response to a man who questioned why Oklahoma imposes a state income tax on people earning as little as $10,000 per year. Bobo called the tax structure “evil” and said tax breaks for the wealthy “are bankrupting our nation.”

Also speaking was Rev. Jeremy Basset of the Church of the Servant. As minister of Congregational Outreach, Rev. Basset touched on issues concerning immigration and the lack of support for low-wager workers. He said a recent headline concerning a predominately Hispanic rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol summed up the divisions that challenge our society. The headline, Rev. Basset said read “United They Stand”. He said a more appropriate headline would have read: “United We Stand”.

In accepting the Marcus Evans Community Service Award, Father Vrana delivered a similar message. “We are interconnected,” Father Vrana said. He said the late Pope John Paul II said it best: “Labor has priority over capital.”

Top: Sister Veronica Higgins, CST, opens the breakfast with a song of prayer. Left: Union representative Bob Beardon listens as Father John Vrana accepts the Marcus Evans Community Service Award. Photos/Sooner Catholic