Lamh Foistenach Abu!
Posted on 05/22/2010 4:16:51 PM PDT by markomalley
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Membership in the Knights of Columbus
Patrick S. Korten, Vice President for Communications Knights of Columbus Supreme Council
The Knights of Columbus has always urged its members to live in a way completely consistent with Catholic teaching on all issues. We are proudly and unambiguously pro-life and have been at the forefront of the effort to protect marriage. Though we are saddened that not all of our members always live up to the Catholic faith, we are grateful that the vast majority do, and that they do so much good for the Church and society. Our councils have a chaplain, a Catholic priest, to ensure that the Knights of the council are educated in the tenets of the Catholic faith. In short, our beliefs are those of the Church, with no additions and no subtractions. Since our founding by Father Michael J. McGivney in 1882, membership in the Knights has been open to Catholic men at least 18 years of age who are “practical (that is, practicing) Catholics” in union with the Holy See. We leave the determination of who is a “practical” Catholic to the Church, and do not presume to substitute our own judgment for that of the bishop of each diocese. If the bishop considers a man to be a practicing Catholic in good standing, the Order does not attempt to second-guess his decision. Once a man becomes a brother Knight, our principles of charity, unity and fraternity require that we regard him as a brother in all respects, even when he may stray from the teachings of the Church. Our responsibility in such circumstances is to try to help him embrace the fullness of the Catholic faith. As the largest Catholic family fraternal service organization in the world, the Knights of Columbus is a strongly pro-life, pro-marriage organization, irrespective of the views of a tiny minority of our members, just as is the case with the Catholic Church. Our policy in these areas is stated with absolute clarity at each of our annual conventions and is widely circulated to members and the general public. We have been a mainstay of the pro-life movement since well before Roe v. Wade was handed down by the Supreme Court in 1973, and strongly supported the successful effort by brother Knight Henry Hyde to legislatively prohibit the use of taxpayer funds to pay for abortions. We ask each of our more than 13,000 councils to conduct pro-life activities each year, and we are proud that the great majority do so, providing the backbone of the grassroots pro-life movement in the United States and many other countries as well. Our financial support, and thousands of volunteer hours from our members, make the annual March for Life in Washington possible. The same is true of the growing number of state marches for life, as well as in the Canadian capital of Ottawa and in provincial capitals all across Canada. In our newest pro-life project, the Knights of Columbus has already purchased 25 ultrasound machines at a cost of nearly $1 million, for placement in pro-life pregnancy resource centers in 15 states. These ultrasound machines are saving lives every day and our goal is to place hundreds of these machines across the country. The Order provides major support to the Pro-Life Office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as to the Catholic Organization for Life and Family, a joint project of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Knights of Columbus. Knights by the thousands have been at the forefront of the successful efforts to enact constitutional amendments protecting marriage in every one of the 30 states which have adopted them. In short, the Knights of Columbus has been making a real, significant difference in both the pro-life and pro-marriage areas for decades, and that is the true measure of our identity and our determination to support these fundamental tenets of the Catholic faith. It is a powerful, affirmative, broad-based effort that is strongly supported by the overwhelming majority of our 1.8 million members on three continents. There are those who believe that our time, resources and energy could be better spent hunting down a handful of members who constitute the rare exception. We disagree. |
Folks, here is the reply from Surpreme dealing with this controversy. Please let me know what you think.
I think punting the issue to the Bishops is reasonable. The Knights are a lay organization loyal to the Church. Yes, failures in the hierarchy and sin in the congregations are reflected in the Knights membership. How many use birth control or are sterilized without the slightest qualm of conscience.
The Bishops *must* step up and lead if there is to be renewal in the Church. That is their God-ordained function - to teach, to sanctify, and to rule. If lay organizations usurp that role, the results will be no better than the results of women’s usurping the leadership role of men who were failing to lead. Yes, it’s frustrating.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
STRAW MAN!!!
Been taking lessons from Obama.
The Vatican has been explicit, repeatedly, that those who publicly support legal abortion are NOT IN UNION with the Church.
In other words, the Knights are CHOOSING to take their cue from bishops who DISAGREE WITH THE VATICAN, rather than from the Vatican.
The Knights are CHOOSING to side with corrupt American bishops, AGAINST the Vatican.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
Its a cop out.
“If they don’t have a problem with xyz, then neither will we.”
I wonder if that would be true if the local Bishop transferred a known child abuser into their parish. Would that be their position or would they stand up like men and oust the “rare exception”.
Back in the day it was up to real men to step up and do something when the church refused.
“If lay organizations usurp that role, the results will be no better than the results of women”s usurping the leadership role of men who were failing to lead. Yes, it’s frustrating.”
I’m not sure how following the teaching of the Church is usurping anything. The Knights wouldn’t be barring anyone from the Sacraments, just keeping a Catholic group Catholic. Seems reasonable. If the bishops lack of spine make some feel icky about it, well it seems to me that’s on the bishops lack of discipline. Doesn’t seem like a witch hunt to me (not saying you think it is).
It would be good for Catholics to see a Catholic group actually treat abortion like what the bishops keep telling us it is.
Freegards
Having been a KC since 1982, I can say with certainty that if a fellow member is pro-abortion, their membership will be very unpleasant for sure. If we have abortion advocates within membership, for the most part they are in the closet on this issue.
“There are those who believe that our time, resources and energy could be better spent hunting down a handful of members who constitute the rare exception.”
No hunting required if they are in your face about it. If some Knights profess to belong to satanic cults feel free to kick them out too.
Freegards
But, if you don’t have ANY excuse about “hunting down” people who advertise and promote their pro-abortion (could have just as well said pro-democrat/liberal/socialist) stances, then do you?
Those KofC members/politicians who openly proclaim such stances must be thrown out.
Info.
Yes, indeed, those who like Kerry are not ashamed to disagree with Catholic doctrine in public are like a priest who took his mistress to a movie. He can say. well, I was wrong to take the vow. In fact, though, people ought to ask: is he faithful?
But indeed, it is the bishops who must take the lead, as they have not since the Council, in affirming Catholic tradition.
Are we talking about the Knights and wayward pro abort members or are we talking about illegals and amnesty. It seems like it's the same dishonest and illogical response. Nobody is asking for Supreme to hunt down a handful of rare exceptions. All we're asking...and Knights in VA have made this same request at our State Conventions for years...is that the Order expel pro-abort members who are very vocal and public in their dissent from Church teaching.
There are a few instances of spin (”hunting down” folks, “vast majority” are pro-life) in this piece, but generally, I think it states the case well.
Folks aren't like light switches, either all on or all off.
I'd say nearly every man in my council is pretty darned pro-life.
But our Grand Knight's wife is open (though not loud about it) about being a pro-abort.
And lots of guys would make exceptions for rape and incest and life of the mother.
And don't even bother about contraception. * sigh *
But I live in Maryland, and my council is in one of the most liberal, Democratic parts of the state. These folks have been voting Democrat for generations. Many of these folks are Democrats, they vote Democrat, and don't you dare talk bad about their Democrat politicians!
So, if I want, I can choose to bring up partisan politics in my council (which, as you know, is against our rules), I can easily get a bunch of guys mad at me, mad at the Knights (I'm a three-time Past Grand Knight and am currently coming into a state position with the new fraternal year), and I can easily get a bunch of them to quit by pointing out that Martin O’Malley is way more of a heathen than a Catholic, our Lt. Gov. (a Knight in a neighboring council) is a cipher and a sell-out and Obama is an anti-Christ.
And I'd be telling the truth. And if I could get them to do it, I could have Supreme throw out the local state senator, who, although he doesn't announce it loudly and proudly, more or less accedes to the “constitutionality” of legalized abortion on demand, and I could get lots and lots of folks to quit my council AND the Division A council down the street from us.
Which would cripple the council down the street and likely obliterate our council altogether.
And then we wouldn't do things like hold the parish breakfast every month during the school year, or run the coat drive in the winter, or give money to local food banks, or buy wheelchairs for crippled veterans, or support seminarians, or give money to the state charity fund, or GIVE MONEY TO LOCAL CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS, or ORGANIZE THE PARISH'S BUS TRIP TO THE MARCH FOR LIFE EVERY YEAR, or PARTICIPATE IN FORTY DAYS FOR LIFE THIS PAST LENT.
In fact, I was privileged to pray this past Lent with the FS of my council outside the local abortuary, watching the folks go in and out, thinking about what was being committed within that ramshackle shack, watching the "doctor" leave for the day, and he watching us. And this fellow with whom I prayed outside the abortuary is one of the biggest liberal Dems in my council. He also cooks the entire dinner for our pro-life marchers every year after we get back from the March for Life down in DC.
And we're just an itty-bitty Division C council. Someone who works for me is the outgoing Grand Knight of a Division A council over in Montgomery County. Plenty of liberal Dems over there. But under his leadership, his council won the overall pro-life award for the state this year, for their pro-life activities.
Throw out a couple of pro-abort Catholic Knights, and watch this council disintegrate.
And of course, if we did this at the state level, we could then fail to do all the things at the state level that get done.
I was a delegate to the state convention a couple of weeks ago. You read in the letter from Supreme about buying ultrasound machines for pregnancy aid centers. Well, the deal is that Supreme challenged every state to help raise money for these machines. They cost fifty grand a piece. Supreme said, you, the state council, put up $25K and we'll match it, and it'll go to a center in your state. For every $25K you raise, we'll match it with $25K.
Well, we were in the second session of the convention, on Saturday, and a DD stood up and told us about a challenge he'd made in his district, to get as many guys as possible to cough up twenty bucks a piece to go toward the state's ultrasound fund. Now, the DD challenged everyone in the room.
The State Deputy pointed out that the state council had collected nearly $19K already and was working on the getting the last $6K to qualify for matching funds from Supreme to get the state council's first ultrasound machine. So, the State Deputy endorsed the challenge, and we took up a collection.
At the session the next day, the State Deputy announced that we'd raised $4000 from the 300 or so folks in the room the previous day, and that later, he was given additional checks by other Knights and councils that brought us over $25,000.
Eighty percent of women who see their baby on the ultrasound choose life.
In part, Supreme is afraid that if we split from the bishops on this issue, it will fracture the Order. I think that Supreme is concerned that we would lose hundreds of thousands of members. I know we would in my council and the Division A council down the street. I think that the state council would lose a tremendous number of Knights, including many, many good and active Knights.
Folks can criticize the Knights all damned day long if they want, but the fact is that Supreme has to weigh things in balance. Maybe they're wrong on this issue. I'm not so sure. But it would be nice if all the jackasses on these threads calling the Knights things like “phonies” and “frauds” and "not pro-life" would take a very long walk off a very short pier, and realize that the folks at Supreme - and throughout the Order - no matter which side of this question they come down on - are good and sincere people trying to do the right thing, and trying to weigh the many, many good pro-life things the Order does against the harm caused by prominent pro-abort Knight politicians.
sitetest
I think you will be very hard put to find any pro-abortion or pro homosexual people in leadership positions in any council or in the higher levels of the KofC. The choice of officers is by election and people with such views just don’t get elected. Because it is conceivably possible for such people to be officers, nonCatholics like to wail that it is the general rule.
Hear!Hear!
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