WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, today issued the following statement recognizing the observance of Martin Luther King Junior's birthday on Monday, January 17, 2005:

"As an organization that works for justice and equality for the unborn, Priests for Life salutes the ongoing dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the labors of all those who are inspired by it. As Dr. King declared in his 1967 Christmas sermon, 'The next thing we must be concerned about if we are to have peace on earth and good will toward men is the nonviolent affirmation of the sacredness of all human life.'

"On January 24, at the annual March for Life in Washington DC, Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Martin, will march with Priests for Life and the tens of thousands of others who will come to demand equality for unborn children and an end to abortion. 'How can the dream survive,' Alveda King asks, 'if we murder the children?'

For more information, see www.priestsforlife.org and www.KingforAmerica.com