IWKnights Corner for October 9, 2022 — 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time            

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus? 

The Knights of Columbus held our 140th Supreme Convention early in August in Nashville TN.  We continue with a review of the Order’s annual resolutions.  The following resolution is entitled:
In Solidarity with Ukraine.  However, space limitations preclude publishing the entire document – several of the WHEREAS paragraphs have been omitted - see the final paragraph below to find the links to view the full article.

WHEREAS, at the 123^rd Supreme Convention held in Chicago in 2005, the late Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč, His Eminence Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, expressed his fervent desire that the Knights of Columbus be established in Ukraine to provide the Catholic men of his country the proper formation to serve the Church as lay leaders; and

WHEREAS, in May 2012 His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and His Excellency Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lviv, joined the Knights of Columbus during historic First and Second Degree ceremonies in Ukraine, conveying the message of charity and unity that has become the essential hallmark of the Order’s development in Ukraine; and

WHEREAS, in 2016 the Board of Directors established Ukraine as a territorial jurisdiction of the Order and, two years later in 2018, established Ukraine as a state council which today has more than 1,900 members across 44 local councils; and

WHEREAS, on February 24, 2022, the largest refugee and humanitarian crisis since the Second World War erupted in Europe, sparked by the outbreak of violent conflict in Ukraine, which Pope Francis has decried as an “abhorrent war;” and

WHEREAS, on February 25 Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly delivered a message of hope and unity to the Knights and families of Ukraine pledging that the Supreme Council, and all brother Knights, would stand with them and announced the creation of the Ukraine Solidarity Fund which, to date, has raised more than $18 million in direct aid for Ukrainians; and…

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus reaffirms its solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they courageously confront an ongoing humanitarian crisis; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus calls for an immediate end to all hostilities and for full and unfettered access to humanitarian assistance for all affected civilians, especially children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and the most vulnerable; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that we offer deep appreciation to the Knights of Poland who have provided countless hours of support to the Ukrainian people by responding to the humanitarian crisis as Knights have responded to similar periods of unrest and war for 140 years—through charity on the frontlines that seeks to provide aid and comfort for those most impacted and those most in need; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we commend the Knights of Ukraine for their unwavering commitment to Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism amidst the perils of the present conflict during which they have answered the call of Cardinal Husar to “raise the spirituality” of their people and “show them the real face of the Church…as it should be;” and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call on the United Nations, the European Union, and all people and nations of goodwill, to respond in whatever way they are able to support the suffering people of Ukraine; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we recommit ourselves to answering the call of Pope Francis to pray for peace in Ukraine, and across all of Eastern Europe, and to continue providing support to those impacted by the conflict through our Ukraine Solidarity Fund and the ongoing daily corporal works of mercy performed by our brother Knights throughout Eastern Europe

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Supreme Officers, Supreme Directors andall Knights throughout the Order extend their heartfelt and prayerful appreciation to the Dominican Friars for their long-standing, steadfast friendship and spiritual fatherhood to us and to all the faithful in New Haven; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we look forward to continued collaboration with the Dominican Friars in New Haven and beyond thru their ministry of preaching, for the good of the Order, the Church and the world.

     The above column originally appeared on the KofC.org web site.  You can view the entire article or find more information about the IW Knights on IWKnights9981.com/bulletin on facebook.com/IWknights9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights or by contacting Rob Schultz at (314) 973-2373.

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