Contact: Jerry Horn, 540-220-0095

ATLANTA, Feb. 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commented today on the passing of the Rev. James Orange, 65, a leading organizer in the civil rights movement since 1962.

"Rev. Orange was a courageous, gentle giant and a loving friend of my family," said Dr. King.  "He was with my Uncle Martin just before his death.  He cared for us after my father; Rev. A. D. King was taken in the same battle as Uncle M. L.  Recently, James told me that my father would be proud of my pro-life work.  We called this civil rights giant 'Leader,' a sign of respect in the civil rights movement for the role of servant/leader, a role that James truly embodied.  All of us who knew Rev. Orange will dearly miss him."

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.