Marchers remember Jesus, seek justice

For the 22nd year, more than a hundred people gathered in downtown Raleigh on Good Friday to re-enact Jesus' last steps, marching with crosses and calling attention to social justice issues. This year's Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace focused on immigration, but as in past years, marchers also called for an end to torture, the death penalty and the war in Iraq. Several Franciscan friars and retired Roman Catholic Bishop F. Joseph Gossman were among the marchers.

It was Good Friday, the day Christians believe Jesus died on the cross. In keeping with tradition, the marchers re-enacted the 14 Stations of The Cross, the 14 stops Jesus made as he carried his cross to the site where he was crucified by the Romans. At each stop between the Capitol and the U.S. post office on Fayetteville Street, marchers recited a litany of prayers in English and Spanish. As they walked, those in the crowd sang, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" and "We are marching in the light of God."

Led by Gail Phares, the director of the Interfaith Task Force on Central America, the march began as a Holy Week pilgrimage from Asheville to Raleigh. On Palm Sunday last week, a group of 300 demonstrators staged an "immigration rights march." The next day they marched in Morganton and Hickory and met with workers of Case Farms, a poultry processing plant where workers are mainly from Guatemala.

Phares, a former Roman Catholic nun, said she spent a week on the Arizona border last month, learning more about the immigration crisis. When she returned home, she felt called to begin a broader discussion of the issue. Many of her fellow marchers agreed and said they felt frustrated that legislators were not doing more to find a solution.

"There are a lot of people who want to do something rather than put blame on other people," said Tom Hampton of Raleigh. "It's obvious it gets worse every year."

For many marchers, the two-hour procession was a way to combine the spiritual dimensions of Good Friday, when Christians mourn Jesus' death, with the real-world injustices that still need resolution.

"Instead of speaking in vague terms, it brings a relevance to our faith of the evils of our day," said John Paar of Raleigh.