Editing Bernard Francis Law (section)

==Priestly ministry in the civil rights era==
On May 21, 1961, Law was [[Holy orders|ordained]] a [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priest]] for the [[Natchesium|Diocese of Natchez-Jackson]] in [[Mississippi]].<ref name=NCR /> He served two years as an assistant pastor of St. Paul's Catholic Church in [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], where he was the editor of ''The Mississippi Register'', the diocesan newspaper.<ref name="Obit" /> He also held several other diocesan posts from 1963 to 1968, including director of the family life bureau and spiritual director of the minor seminary.<ref name="CNNFF"/>

The young Fr. Law was a [[civil rights]] activist.<ref>{{cite book| url= https://archive.org/details/heirsoffisherman00pham | url-access= registration |last= Pham| first= John-Peter| title= Heirs of the Fisherman| page= [https://archive.org/details/heirsoffisherman00pham/page/258 258]| publisher= Oxford University Press| year= 2004| isbn= 9780195346350| via= Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=Globe>{{cite news| url= http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/extras/law_timeline.htm |work= [[Boston Globe]]| year= 2004| title= Abuse in the Catholic Church| via= Boston.com}}</ref>

He was a member of the Mississippi Leadership Conference and Mississippi Human Relations Council.<ref name=Globe /> For his civil rights activities and his strong positions on civil rights in the ''Mississippi Register'', of which he was editor, he received death threats.<ref name=Globe />
[[Charles Evers]], activist and brother of murdered civil rights activist [[Medgar Evers]], praised Law and said he acted "not for the Negro, but for justice and what is right."<ref name= rest>{{cite news| url= http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/bernard-law-at-rest/| title= Bernard Law, At Rest| first= Rod| last=Dreher| work= theamericanconservative.com| date= December 20, 2017| access-date= December 21, 2017}}</ref>

Law's brave civil rights activity led him to develop ties with Protestant church leaders and he received national attention for his work for ecumenism,<ref name=NCR>{{cite web| url= http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-bernard-francis-law-1931-2017| website= NCRegister.com| title= Cardinal Bernard Francis Law (1931-2017)| date= December 20, 2017| first= Matthew E.| last= Bunson| access-date= December 21, 2017}}</ref> and in 1968 he was tapped for his first national post, as executive director of the US Bishops' [[Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs]].<ref name="NYT" />