IWKnights Corner for September 10, 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 are publishing some of the annual Convention Resolutions.  The resolution we feature in this week’s column is a long but important document.  It is entitled: Building a Culture of Life.  Today’s column presents the 2^nd (and final part) of this important resolution.

“WHEREAS, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reminded us that, “Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us…this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development;” and

WHEREAS, in his encyclical, Laudato Si', the Holy Father reiterated that “Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion;” and

WHEREAS, in remarks to the leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis reiterated that “protection of the unborn is a preeminent priority” and it is not first a religious issue, but rather an issue of human rights.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus will continue to uphold the Catholic Church’s authoritative teaching on the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Laudato Si', and other documents; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we believe women deserve better than abortion and will continue to support alternatives to abortion, including adoption, and that we support projects which provide spiritual support to those women and men suffering from the traumatic emotional and psychological aftereffects of abortion; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that through the Ultrasound Initiative and ASAP Program, we will continue to support pregnancy care centers and maternity homes so that they can provide the necessary resources and support that help mothers to choose life and care for their children; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we will continue to speak out to our elected representatives about the need to enact legislation protecting human life in all its stages; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call on government officials at all levels to enact laws that protect unborn human life; and, where abortions may continue to be legal, we call for laws that protect the rights of conscience of medical professionals from being forced to perform abortions and for laws that prevent the use of taxpayer funding, promotion, and facilitation of abortion; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we reaffirm our long-standing policies of not inviting to any Knights of Columbus event, persons, especially public officials or candidates for public office, who do not support the legal protection of unborn children, or who advocate the legalization of assisted suicide or euthanasia, and that we prohibit such persons from renting or otherwise using facilities over which our members have control, or speaking at Knights of Columbus events, or bestowing on them honors or privileges of our Order of any kind, or inviting them to serve as honorary chairpersons of events, celebrations, or committees, or hold any office in the Knights of Columbus; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we once again commit ourselves to praying the Rosary frequently, to fasting and to doing penance in reparation for the evils perpetrated against the gift of life and that we seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who herself said “yes” to life, to intercede on our behalf for the establishment of a culture of life”

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