Religious leaders of various faith communities in Corpus Christi came together on Martin Luther King Day to take part in a forum on racial justice sponsored by the Corpus Christi YWCA. Among the forum speakers was Bishop Michael Mulvey.

The theme of the 9th Annual Racial Justice Forum was "How the Faith Community is Eliminating Racism."  Panelists included the Rev. Claude Axel of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church; Rabbi Ilan Emanuel with Congregation Beth Israel; Rev. Gloria Lear of First United Methodist Church; and Bishop Mulvey.

Racism, Bishop Mulvey said, is the root of disunity, disharmony and chaos in society; a society that promotes individualism that results in narcissism. The way to overcome this self-centeredness is through love.

"We have to start with who we are, who we are called to be," Bishop Mulvey said. "We are all created by God in his image and likeness and that is what unites the human family. We are all equal in God's eyes."

Sin, promoted by our narcissistic ways, causes a disruption in relationships, he said. Only love of God and neighbor can overcome the disunity of human relationships. Thinking about others rather than of self destroys narcissism, the bishop said.

"As a faith community we need to do more," Bishop Mulvey said. "We need to preach more, practice more and train our people to do more, to look beyond ourselves."