April 21, 2010

Knights urged to counter secularism with strong Catholic witness

By Bill Howard
Colorado Catholic Herald

COLORADO SPRINGS—Knights of Columbus need to remain united in their Catholic witness to counter an increasingly godless country, keynote speaker and Supreme Director Fred Abraham said during the 108th Colorado Knights of Columbus state convention April 15-18 at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Colorado Springs.

Abraham, who lives in Vancouver, Wash., delivered a fiery speech on April 16 that highlighted three tasks for the Knights: continuing to lead the fight for the right to life, defending the tax-exempt status for nonprofit organizations such as the Knights, and defending the Church—specifically the pope—amid a current torrent of bad secular press related to the abuse crisis.

On the right to life, Abraham lauded the Knights’ work to push for a health-care reform bill in the U.S. Congress that protected life from conception until natural death. Even though the final version of the bill that passed in March did not include those protections, Abraham said that the Knights must not let up on these issues.

“The Knights will continue to be vocal and proactive and do what we can to be heard through amendment changes,” he said.

Abraham called the fraternal organization of 1.8 million men nationwide the “strong, right arm of the Catholic Church” that must support their priests, bishops and pope in cultivating a culture of life.

Abraham also described the battle waged in nearly 30 states in recent years to remove the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations, which would include religious entities such as the Knights of Columbus. In Washington state, Abraham said the Knights were recently “fighting a fight for its life” because the state is in debt and looking for new revenue streams. Abraham said that, even if the law passed—and it didn’t—it would have only added $1 million toward a $2.8 billion deficit.

“We were able to defeat the law.  We were vigilant, informed and ready to act,” he said. “We will stand shoulder to shoulder with other states (that need help). This is not just a Knights’ fight, but a moral obligation to fight evils in society.”
“Hope must be protected, nurtured and allowed to grow and flourish in these tough economic times,” he added.

Abraham then launched into a defense of the Church and of Pope Benedict XVI, who has been accused in recent media pieces of protecting abusive priests. Abraham called the accusations “unfounded and unwarranted.”

“He has taken measures to ensure the safety of all. He has offered apologies to victims and their families,” he said. “His message has been of love, forgiveness and hope.”

Abraham praised the Colorado Knights for their service. Among the statistics he highlighted, the councils of Colorado made $1.4 million in donations to charitable causes and 52,000 visits to the sick, and performed 912,000 hours of community service, including 48,000 hours of service to the sick.

While the Knights spent much of the convention fraternizing and attending committee meetings, the Knights’ Ladies Auxiliary and Squires (youth) groups held their own gatherings.

For the first time, the convention featured a special chaplains-only session April 15. Father Robert Wedow, state chaplain and pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Sterling, led the discussion, which featured an overview of the chaplain’s role as a teacher, shepherd, sanctifier of souls and supporter of the Knights’ spirituality and outreach programs.

Father Wedow was joined at the lectern by Augustinian Father John Grace, director of chaplain programs and development for the Knights’ national office in New Haven, Conn. Father Grace told chaplains to be thankful for the dedication of their parish Knights councils and to increase their faith formation.

“The Knights are wonderful for doing charitable events … they are second to none.  But we’ve got to be in there because of the onslaught against the Church at the present moment,” he said. “This is where our Knights can and must know what they’re talking about. (They need) to be able to stand up and be there, and they will back the Church.”

On the opening night of the convention, Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan celebrated Mass, with Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput and Colorado Springs Bishop Emeritus Richard Hanifen concelebrating. During his homily, Bishop Sheridan echoed the call of the Knights to evangelize the world with the call of the first apostles after Jesus’ death and resurrection. He added that, like the apostles, the Knights are sometimes forced to choose between God and the world.