IWKnights Corner for August 27, 2023

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus? 

    The Knights of Columbus 141^st Supreme Convention took place during the first week of August.  We will continue - over the next several weeks - to publish some of the annual Convention Resolutions.

“WHEREAS, the United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit;” and

WHEREAS, the United Nations reports that tens of thousands of human trafficking victims are identified in countries throughout the world each year with thousands more still trapped in this modern day slavery; and

WHEREAS, nearly half of victims are trafficked for sexually exploitative purposes—including nearly two-thirds of all minors who are trafficked; and

WHEREAS, children are nearly twice as likely to face extreme violence from their captors, with young girls most likely to be subjected to violence; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations notes that while trafficking of persons continues to increase, recent trends suggest that identification and prosecution of such crimes has decreased in recent years, with more than four in ten of all identified victims having escaped their captors themselves; and

WHEREAS, the teachings of the Catholic Church are clear, with the Catechism declaring as a sin any acts “…leading to the enslavement of human beings, to their being bought, sold, or exchanged like merchandise, in disregard of their personal dignity;” and

WHEREAS, the Second Vatican Council also admonishes that slavery, prostitution, and the selling of women and children are “infamies” that “poison human society,” and are of “supreme dishonor to the Creator;” and…

WHEREAS, through collaboration with the Arise Foundation, and the generous support and work of brother Knights, the Order has worked to create a culture opposed to modern human slavery and human trafficking, to educate more people on the dangers and signs of it, and to create a culture of support for the protection of women and children, especially through programs in the Philippines, Poland, and Ukraine.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus stands in solidarity with Pope Francis and the entire Church in denouncing the abhorrent practice of human trafficking; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call on all nations of the world to enact and enforce strong laws against human trafficking and other forms of involuntary servitude and to bring the perpetrators of these diabolical practices to justice; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we pray, through the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita, for an end to all human trafficking, slavery, forced labor, and other forms of involuntary servitude that disregard the dignity of the human person and are “an open wound in the body of Christ.”

    Find a list of this year’s resolutions at  facebook.com/IWknights9981on IWKnights9981.com/bulletin, on facebook.com/IWknights9981, on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights and now in the Friday Flocknotes.