Columbia January 2009

Columbia K NIGHTS

IN SERVICE TO ONE. IN SERVICE TO ALL.

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C OLUMBUS

JANUARY 2009

Imagine a career that begins with what you believe in most.

There’s nothing quite like working with people who share a faith and the bond of brotherhood. That’s what being a professional Knights of Columbus Insurance agent is all about. There are also the rewards of having a flexible schedule, strong income potential, great benefits, and the satisfaction that comes with helping Brother Knights protect their families. With record sales in 2008, there’s never been a better time to look into it. Just click “Career Opportunities” at kofc.org or call 800-345-5632.

A BENEFIT OF BROTHERHOOD

LIFE INSURANCE

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Columbia JANUARY 2009

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VOLUME 89

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IN THIS ISSUE

NUMBER 1

OPENING ODE 2 Our Task is to Build a Culture of Life

BY ALTON J. PELOWSKI

LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH 6 Born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus brings new life to the world.

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN BISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS Catholic Man of the Month,

the Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions, Your Spiritual Action Plan and more

CHECKUP 9 Surviving Uncertain Economic Times

REFLECTION 24 Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Virgin ‘with the ribbon’

BY FATHER EDUARDO CHÁVEZ SÁNCHEZ

KNIGHTS

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COLUMBUS NEWS

Order Awards 110 Vocations Scholarships for 2008-09 Academic Year • Knights Encouraged to Build Up the Church and Order • Museum Features Fourth Annual Christmas Exhibit

KNIGHTS Thousands of pilgrims attend last year’s vigil Mass for life celebrated Jan. 21 in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

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ACTION

25 REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

32 COLUMBIANISM BY DEGREES

A CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE The task of the laity is to renew culture through distinctive and authentic Christian witness.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON ........3

A SERIOUS THREAT The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would jeopardize human life and freedom of conscience in the United States.

BY PATRICK E. KELLY.................................................16

A special series of articles on building a culture of life.

COLUMBIA CONVERSATION: WHEN DOES LIFE BEGIN? An Interview with Dr. Maureen L. Condic

BY COLUMBIA STAFF.................................................17

ONE HEART AT A TIME Sisters of Life and their Co-Workers give hope to pregnant women in need.

BY CLAUDIA MCDONNELL......................................10 A CULTURE OF LIFE MUST PREVAIL The pro-life movement in Poland fights to build and preserve a civilization that protects the rights of all.

BY MALGORZATA GORAJ-BRYLL. ........................... 13

BUILDING A PRO-LIFE FUTURE Young Knights join the effort to spread a culture of life at colleges nationwide.

BY AMBER DOLLE.......................................................20 LEARNING TO LOVE A countercultural organization seeks to share God’s plan for marriage.

BY CHRISTINA CAPECCHI........................................22

OPENING ODE

Our Task is to Build a Culture of Life any of you have noticed in recent months the absence of Tim S. Hickey’s column on this page of Columbia. In August, after serving the Supreme Council for more than 20 years — 10 of them as editor of Columbia — Tim left to pursue a vocation to the priesthood. Following in the footsteps of our Venerable founder, Father Michael J. McGivney, he is now studying to become a parish priest for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn.

We are grateful for Tim’s loyal service to the Knights of Columbus and to the Church thus far. Although his presence and leadership has been greatly missed at the Supreme Council, we are gladdened by his desire to serve the Church as a priest of Jesus Christ.

This is just one more example of the fruits of the “culture of vocations” that is promoted by the Knights. The Order’s various initiatives that support and raise awareness of vocations — and especially the prayers and Christian witness of individual Knights — help to create an environment where vocations to the priesthood and religious life can flourish.

And this culture of vocations is just one more dimension of how the Order is striving to build a civilization of love.

Indeed, standing in solidarity with their priests and bishops, Knights embrace their baptismal call to be salt and light. Pope John Paul II explains in his apostolic exhortation titled Christifideles Laici (On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the Word), “Lay people as well are personally called by the Lord, from whom they receive a mission on behalf of the Church and the world.”

In this issue of Columbia, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson reflects on this document, which was issued 20 years ago on Dec. 30, 1988. He cites John Paul II’s

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observation that the secular world increasingly lives “as if God did not exist.” It is therefore essential that the laity help transform and renew society with the Gospel. In the face of this immense task, the Church and the Order rightly put special emphasis on the renewal of marriage and family life, which stand at the foundation of society, as well as on the defense of human life. In Christifideles Laici, John Paul II writes, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination” (38).

As we once again approach the Jan. 22 anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, this issue of Columbia features a series of articles on building a culture of life. From assisting pregnant women in need to promoting pro-life legislation to sharing how natural family planning is a blessing for married couples, Knights are working on many fronts to defend and promote human life.

Perhaps much can be learned from the example of Poland, where the Order expanded in 2006. Through a combination of pro-life laws and organizations that support women, children and families, the Polish people have seen a dramatic reduction of abortion in their society in recent years.

Nonetheless, much work needs to be done in Poland and elsewhere to mend what John Paul II calls “the Christian fabric of society” and to build a culture of life. After all, such a culture is not defined by merely the absence of attacks on innocent human life, but by the presence of virtue, above all charity.

Publisher

Supreme Officers Carl A. Anderson Supreme Knight

Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. Supreme Chaplain

Dennis A. Savoie Deputy Supreme Knight

Donald R. Kehoe Supreme Secretary

John “Jack” W. O’Reilly Jr. Supreme Treasurer

Paul R. Devin Supreme Advocate

Editorial Alton J. Pelowski, Managing Editor 203-752-4562 alton.pelowski@kofc.org Patrick Scalisi, Associate Editor 203-752-4485 patrick.scalisi@kofc.org

Graphics Arthur F. Hinckley Jr. Art Director

Richard J. Cesare Senior Designer

Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney (1852-90) — Apostle to the Young, Protector of Christian Family Life and Founder of the Knights of Columbus, Intercede for Us.

How to Reach Us MAIL: Columbia, 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326 PHONE: 203-752-4398 FAX: 203-752-4109 E-MAIL: columbia@kofc.org INTERNET: www.kofc.org CUSTOMER SERVICE: 1-800-380-9995 MOVING? Notify your local council. Send your new address and mailing label to: Knights of Columbus, Membership Records PO Box 1670, New Haven, CT 06507-0901

— Alton J. Pelowski, managing editor

Supreme Knight’s Book Club - Jan. 20 Join Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and Robert P. George online at www.kofc.org for a discussion of Embryo: A Defense of Human Life (Doubleday). Written by George and Christopher Tollefsen, Embryo tackles the questions of when life begins and what rights embryonic human life deserves. Arguing from a scientific and philosophical perspective, George and Tollefsen present a compelling case that embryos are human beings and have “the right not to be intentionally killed.” Submit your questions online and take part in the discussion Jan. 20 at 5 p.m. (ET).

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Knights of Columbus

CNS PHOTO/KAREN CALLAWAY, CATHOLIC NEW WORLD

On the Cover Photo illustration shows a mother holding her child’s hand.

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

A Catholic Difference The task of the laity is to renew culture through distinctive and authentic Christian witness

BY CARL A. ANDERSON, SUPREME KNIGHT to “emancipation” and “liberation.”

Since the Second Vatican Council, the lay faithful have come to a greater realization of their responsibility to work for the renewal of society. The t was once popular to speak of the Christian evangeliza- demands of social justice make an tion of culture — indeed, even of the transformation of urgent appeal upon conscience. In an effort to realize the demands of culture. Yet, over time we have experienced a contrary justice, the Catholic philosopher development. We might say instead that a sort of truce has Jacques Maritain once observed that been reached. In some areas, a new optimism has emerged Christians had advanced their jourabout the benefits of secularism; in others there has devel- ney toward a more just and humane society through what he termed the oped a gradual accommodation. “evangelization” of the secular conI am not speaking about the recognized and proper auton- science. omy of the secular order and its institutions, but about Yet today, the effect of a pervasive secularization may be said to have something entirely different. accomplished the reverse — the secuIn the United States, the popular- secularization has drained meaning larization of the Christian conity of Harvey Cox’s 1965 book, The from Christian life. Secularizing the science. Or perhaps more precisely, Secular City, promoted the idea that way Christians think secularism has preventsecularization was part of a divine affects the values by Secularism as a ed the adequate formaplan, which Christians should which they live. From tion of the Christian cultural force embrace. Cox viewed “secularization a cultural standpoint, conscience. have indeed as the liberation of man from reli- we Harvey “sustains a life CoxAlthough gious and metaphysical tutelage, the learned “to speak of was writing as a turning of his attention away from God in a secular fashlived as if God Protestant professor ion” and increasingly other worlds and towards this one.”

Harvard Divinity did not exist.” at He argued that secularization is found “a nonreligious School, the fundamen“emancipation” and that it “is the interpretation of bibtal disposition that he legitimate consequence of the lical concepts.” Such tendencies represented has also permeated the impact of biblical faith on history.” have increasingly diminished the Catholic community. It has done so Moreover, he maintained, “We must distinctiveness of Christian life. in three areas that critically affect the learn…to speak of God in a secular Christifideles Laici puts the issue formation of the lay faithful and their fashion and find a nonreligious inter- more simply and more starkly: ability to carry out their mission. pretation of biblical concepts.”

First, certain sacramental and Secularism as a cultural force “sustains a life lived as if God did not homiletic practices have undermined A SURRENDER TO THE ‘SECULAR’ exist” (34). In the public life of socie- the power of the sacraments in the In the more than 40 years that have ty, secularism goes even further: It is formation of the Christian conpassed since the publication of The not content simply to regard religion science. One might say that we have Secular City, we have found that with indifference, but it increasingly learned too well to “speak of God in a regardless of any positive effects, regards religious faith as an obstacle secular fashion.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is adapted from an address delivered by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson at the Nov. 15 meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, which observed the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici (On the Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World).

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Second, Catholic education has experienced the increasing influence of Enlightenment assumptions regarding the purpose of the university, posing challenges to an adequate understanding of the harmonious relationship between faith and reason, and of the essential unity of the education experience.

Third, the Catholic family, which for generations was universally recognized for its shining witness to the inherent bond between the unitive and procreative aspects of marriage, has in many ways become indistinguishable from the lifestyle of the larger secular culture.

These three developments pose considerable obstacles to the formation of laypersons, who are otherwise capable of fulfilling their mission for the renewal of society.

brings us back again, in the end, to the question about the Gospel of the Lord: What did he actually proclaim and bring among men?”

These words, written four decades before his election to the papacy, provide one of the clearest summaries of the mission of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate, and also of the lay faithful today. I think that is why Pope Benedict presented such beautiful meditations in his encyclicals Deus Caritas Est and Spe Salvi on the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. These virtues are the foundations of Christian moral life, which in order to be authentic, must combine a vocation to love and a vocation to truth.

Both encyclicals represent the recovery of a fundamentally Christian way of thinking as a prerequisite to a Christian way of living.

The re-evangelization of what we might call a Christian consciousness must continue and include concepts such as “right reason,” “natural law,” and even the “common good.”

It is doubtful whether the laity can effectively influence culture in an enduring way without such a recovery.

tic renewal of society to occur, Christ cannot be regarded as an abstraction separate from the concrete, lived experience that we call culture. To the contrary, Christ must be invited into our culture — to permeate it and to transform it as only he can.

CATHOLIC IDENTITY Thus, a primary responsibility of the lay faithful must be a new engagement in the renewal of parish life, especially the role of parish as a eucharistic community.

It makes little sense to ask the lay faithful to work for the transformation of secular culture without, at the same time, urging them to renew the sacramental life of the parish community. In this regard, the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist in 2005 and the recent Synod on the Word of God provide a rich blueprint for such an CHRIST AND CULTURE undertaking.

The solution, I believe, must be found In his April address to Catholic in an approach that takes as its basis educators at The Catholic University a view articulated by Father Romano of America, Pope Benedict stated that Guardini. In a letter to Pope Paul VI an institution of Catholic education is in 1965, Father Guardini wrote: “At a place to encounter God’s “transformthe time of my first theological studies something became clear to me ing love and truth,” a place to form an that, since then, has authentically Christian determined my entire conscience and to live a The recovery of a fundamentally theological work: what distinctively Christian can convince modern Christian way of thinking is a prerequisite way of life. people is not a historiLater that same day, to a Christian way of living. cal or a psychological or Pope Benedict said to a continually ever modthe bishops of the The Holy Father has repeatedly United States, “One of the great ernizing Christianity but only the unrestricted and uninterrupted mes- reminded us that Christianity is not challenges facing the Church…is an ethical system — or any other sys- that of cultivating a Catholic identisage of Revelation.”

A year earlier, then-Father Joseph tem for that matter — but rather an ty which is based not so much on Ratzinger put forward the issue in a event, an encounter with a person. externals as on a way of thinking slightly different way. Speaking to Since this is an encounter that occurs and acting grounded in the Gospel university students at Munster in the personal history of every and enriched by the Church’s living Cathedral, Father Ratzinger said, “It believer, it is at the same time ever tradition.” has been asserted that our century is new. It is the fundamental responsiThis work of renewal is fundamencharacterized by an entirely new phe- bility of the lay faithful to bring the tal to the mission of the laity in our nomenon: the appearance of people reality of this event — this encounter time, and our responsibility is irreincapable of relating to God.” He with Jesus Christ — into every aspect placeable. The laity has a specific misthen continued, “I believe the real of history, and therefore into every sion, one that must be accomplished temptation for someone who is a aspect of culture. The reality of this always in solidarity with our priests Christian…does not just consist in event must be made present within and bishops, and always “hinged” to the theoretical question of whether the family, as well as within the pub- the heart and mind of the Church.

God exists…. What really torments lic and governmental life of society.

Only in this way will the lay faithful We have often heard repeated the be capable of first understanding and us today, what bothers us much more is the inefficacy of Christianity.... words of John Paul II: “Do not be then accomplishing this mission.

What is all this array of dogma and afraid! Open wide the doors to It may well require that we put worship and Church, if at the end of Christ.” These words are repeated in away half-measures. We cannot hope it all we are still thrown back onto Christifideles Laici. At the very to renew society if society cannot our own poor resources? That in turn least, this means that for an authen- detect a difference in the way

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Catholics marry, raise their families, conduct their businesses or serve in government. In other words, we can never hope to renew society unless we ourselves are committed to renewal in our own lives. And we can never hope to renew society as long as we find ways to accommodate social values that are fundamentally opposed to the values of the Gospel.

This is not just a question of getting more Catholics to accept specific aspects of the Church’s social doctrine. Instead, it is a matter of the formation of a Catholic conscience that is disposed toward conforming one’s life to the imitation of Christ.

Historically, this task of formation was accomplished by a combination of institutions, such as Catholic schools and universities, parishes and the family. It is obvious that these traditional institutions are no longer adequately carrying out this mission.

In the long term, considerably more will have to be done, as John Paul II said, to “remake the Christian fabric of the ecclesial community itself” through consideration of new initiatives to further the formation of the lay faithful.

Families should be encouraged to assume their responsibility as the first and primary educators of their children through the development of family prayer, catechesis and the reading of sacred Scripture. Catholic schools and universities should be asked to review their mission in light of how their activities advance the formation of the Catholic conscience of their students.

The Knights of Columbus today stands in a unique and privileged place to assist in the great effort of renewal of Church and society — especially through our witness to charity and unity. In the days ahead it is necessary that we increase this witness especially within our Catholic schools and parishes.

In all this, our task is nothing less than to realize the promise of the prayer that concludes Deus Caritas Est: “Show us Jesus. Lead us to him. Teach us to know and love him, so that we too can become capable of true love and be fountains of living water in the midst of a thirsting world.” ■

Opening New Horizons It is the duty of the laity to take up the witness of charity and communicate the gift of Christ FROM AN ADDRESS BY HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Saturday, Nov. 15, Pope Benedict XVI met with participants in the Pontifical Council for the Laity’s 23rd Plenary Assembly.The following is excerpted from the pope’s address.

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o speak of Catholic laity means to refer to the countless baptized persons working in multiple and various circumstances to grow as disciples and witnesses of the Lord and to rediscover and experience the beauty in the truth and joy of being Christians.

The current cultural and social condition renders still more urgent this apostolic action to generously share in the treasure of grace and holiness, of charity, doctrine, culture and works, from which the stream of Catholic tradition flows. The new generations are not only the preferred audience of this transmission and sharing but also those whose hearts await truth and happiness in order to be able to give Christian witness, as happens already in an admirable way. …

The world within the scheme of family life, its working and social life is a theological place, an environment and a means in which and through which to realize their vocation and mission (cf.

Christifideles Laici, 15-17).

Every milieu, circumstance and activity in which we engage Work in the Lord’s large that can become resplendent with the unity of faith and life is vineyard needs the lay entrusted to the responsibility of faithful — who, like the lay faithful, moved by the desire to communicate the gift of Most Holy Virgin Mary, encounter with Christ and the speak and live the ‘fiat’ to certainty of the human person’s dignity. It is their duty to take up God’s plan in their lives. the witness of charity especially with the most poor, suffering and needy just as it is to assume every Christian task aimed to construct conditions of ever greater justice and peace within human coexistence, thus opening new horizons to the Gospel!

Therefore I ask the Pontifical Council for the Laity to follow with diligent pastoral care the formation, witness and collaboration of lay faithful in the most varied situations, in which the authentic nature of human life in society is at risk. In a particular way, I confirm the necessity and urgency of the evangelical formation and pastoral accompaniment of a new generation of Catholics working in politics, that they be coherent with the professed faith, that they have moral firmness, the capacity of educated judgment, professional competence and passion for service to the common good.

Work in the Lord’s large vineyard needs Christifideles laici — the lay members of Christ’s faithful people — who, like the Most Holy Virgin Mary, speak and live the “fiat” to God’s plan in their life. ■ ANNUNCIATION: FURINI, FRANCESCO (1604-1646); SCALA / ART RESOURCE, N.Y.

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LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

Born To Save Us Born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus brings new life to the world

BY BISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI, SUPREME CHAPLAIN

only Savior. However, our faith he Church invites us to begin resoundingly attests that there is each new calendar year by cele“no other name” by which we can brating the Solemnity of Mary, be saved (see Act 4:12). All who are the Mother of God. Instead of trivial saved, including those “who seek New Year’s resolutions, this feast, God with a sincere heart” (see Good which brings the Octave of Christmas to a close, reminds us Friday Liturgy), are saved only by the love of Jesus Christ. that the real new beginning came about when The 11th installment Thus, official Church docuof Supreme Chaplain ments such as Dominus Jesus was “born of the Jesus, issued by the Virgin Mary.” The Word of Bishop William E. Lori’s faith formation Congregation for the God, the only Son of the program addresses Doctrine of the Faith in Father, has come into the questions 98-111 of world to make all things the Compendium of 2000, insist on what is new (see Jn 1:1, Rev. 21:5). the Catechism of the called the “unicity” and “universality” of the Lord The newness of Jesus and Catholic Church. of the life he came to give Archived articles are Jesus, the Savior. at www.kofc.org.

In the Apostle’s Creed, us can be glimpsed in we profess that Jesus “was Christ’s birth and his “hidconceived by the power of the Holy den” years at Nazareth. These are Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” the very mysteries that the Liturgy In effect, we proclaim that Christ presents to us in these days and, “is the Son of the heavenly Father once again, it is where our study of according to his divine nature and is the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church resumes. the Son of Mary according to his human nature” (Compendium, 98).

‘NO OTHER NAME’ Often, especially during this time of When we speak about the “newyear, the Liturgy invokes Christ as ness” of Jesus, this does not mean “Son of God and Son of Mary.” that he was simply a very interesting That does not mean that Jesus is two persons cobbled into one. personality or someone with a fresh perspective. Rather, Christ is utterly Rather, as the Compendium puts it, unique as Lord and Savior. In accorJesus is “truly the Son of God in dance with God’s mysterious plan both natures (divine and human) for the salvation of the world, the since here is in him only one eternal Son of the Father “took flesh Person, who is divine” (Ibid.). Of course, no other religious figure and was born of the Virgin Mary” makes or can make that claim.

(Eucharistic Prayer II).

In both the Liturgy and in private While there have been many devotions, we lovingly speak of important religious figures and Mary as Virgin and Mother. This, philosophers throughout history, none will ever equal or replace Jesus. too, bespeaks the “newness” of Sometimes, even well-intentioned Jesus. In Catholic doctrine, Mary efforts at interfaith dialogue end up remained a virgin throughout her relativizing Jesus — that is, seeing life. When we hear references in him as a tremendously important Scripture to Jesus’ “brothers and sisreligious figure but not the one and ters” today, we may think that Mary

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had other children after the birth of Jesus. However, these are rightly understood as close relatives of Christ, not his actual siblings (see Compendium, 99). This is sometimes a point of discussion with some non-Catholic Christians who do not believe in Mary’s perpetual virginity.

However, Mary’s virginity and her motherhood are linked. In giving birth to her one son, the Incarnate Son of God, Mary’s pure love and spiritual motherhood extends to all whom Christ came to save. Far from being sterile, Mary’s virginity is abundantly fruitful in bringing the Savior into the world and in helping us as members of the Church to live the new life he won for us. Indeed, Mary plays an essential role in God’s plan of redemption. Not only did she bring the Savior into the world, but she is also the ultimate model of the Church, which is to be both virginal in the purity of her teaching and motherly in her love for all her sons and daughters.

‘THE MYSTERY HIDDEN FROM AGES’ The “newness” of Christ is also understood as a revelation of the Father’s love. Christ revealed himself by assuming our human nature and, in doing so, demonstrated something we could never have known with unaided human reason: “the invisible mystery of his divine sonship” (Compendium, 101). As Jesus declared to Philip: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). In revealing himself, Jesus also revealed the entire plan of salvation decreed in the hidden counsels of God (see Eph 1:3-14, Col 1:26).

Thus, the life of Christ is a “mystery” not in the sense that it is w w w. ko f c .o r g

something impossible to understand, but rather that it reveals the unseen life of God and his hidden plan for the salvation of the world.

In his plan of redemption, God prepared the world for the coming of Christ through the ages. Even in the hearts of those who did not know the living God, he awakened a longing for his presence. God revealed himself to the Chosen People, teaching them through the prophets to hope for definitive deliverance. In a more immediate sense, the ministry of John the Baptist prepared for Christ’s birth,

“the dawn from on high.” (Lk 1:78; see Compendium, 102).

Even the mysteries of Christ’s infancy — such as the Epiphany, the presentation in the temple and the Holy Family’s flight into and return from Egypt — reveal truths about God’s saving plan (Compendium, 103). Likewise, we may learn much by meditating on the “hidden life” of Jesus and the simplicity, love and obedience of the Holy Family (104).

To begin his public life and ministry, Jesus received John’s baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Lk 3:3). Though he was sin-

Catholic Man of the Month St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Feast: Jan. 24

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t. Francis de Sales was born to a noble family of the House of Savoy in 1567. The eldest of six sons, Francis was destined by his father’s plans for a career in law and government. Yet, in the course of his university studies, he discerned the call to a life of vowed chastity and to the priesthood. Once ordained, Francis became a missionary to a region in

France that had been strongly influenced by the teachings of the Protestant reformer John Calvin. There, through preaching and humble witness, Francis had great success in reviving the practice of the Catholic faith.

At the age of 35, he was ordained the bishop of

less, Christ identified with all of humanity and, in so doing, was revealed to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29). The Liturgy tells us that Jesus was baptized “in waters made holy by the one who was baptized” (Preface for John the Baptist). In this way, Jesus’ baptism prefigures our own baptism.

Let us live joyfully the “newness” of life imparted to us. May the light of Christ shine ever more brightly in our hearts as we continue to mediate on the mystery of the Word made flesh. ■

Geneva, Switzerland. He lived simply, traveled extensively, and preached wherever he went, resulting in countless conversions and in authentic reform. A contemporary and friend of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, St. Francis de Sales is known for his spiritual writings and defense of Catholic doctrine, as well as for his personal holiness and love for the poor. His most notable works are Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God. Despite his aristocratic origins, Francis was convinced that the call to holiness was for everyone,

regardless of the circumstances of one’s birth. He died Dec. 28, 1622, was canonized in 1665, and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877.

In his bold defense of the faith, his understanding of the universal call to holiness and his practice of piety and humility, St. Francis de Sales is an excellent role model for Knights of Columbus today.

Grow In Your Faith

Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions Offered in solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI ➢➢ General — That the family may become more and more a place of training in charity, personal growth and transmission of the faith. ➢➢ Mission — That the different Christian confessions, aware of the need for a new evangelization, may be committed to announcing the Good News and moving towards the full unity of all Christians in order to offer a more credible testimony of the Gospel.

YOUR SPIRITUAL ACTION PLAN Pray for Unity

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ather Paul Wattson of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 1908 in Garrison, N.Y. For more than a century, this ministry has called upon Christians to pray together that the divisions in Christianity might be overcome and true unity restored to the body of Christ. The theme of this year’s week of prayer (Jan. 18-25) is “That they may become one in Your hand” (Ez 37:17). Resources may be found online at www.vatican.va.

Prayerfully consider Jn 17:20-26, Ez 37:15-28 and 1 Thes 5:11-18.

POPE: CNS PHOTO/DARIO PIGNATELLI, REUTERS ST. FRANCIS DE SALES: CRESPI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, IL CERANO (1577-1633); SCALA / ART RESOURCE, N.Y.

In a new booklet from the Order’s Catholic Information Service (CIS) Veritas Series, titled The Child: Begotten Not Manmade, author Kathleen Curran Sweeney provides a basic overview of the process of in vitro fertilization and the moral issues that surround reproductive technologies. To download and print a free copy, visit the CIS Web site, www.kofc.org/cis. For more information, write: CIS,

PO Box 1971, New Haven, CT 06521-1971 or cis@kofc.org.

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KNIGHTS

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COLUMBUS NEWS

Knights Encouraged to Build Up the Church and Order ur communities and our Church need the Knights of Columbus,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson told state deputies at their semi-annual meeting in Dallas Nov. 22. The gathering focused on membership growth and the Order’s efforts to build up the Church and society.

Anderson reminded state leaders that efforts to support the passage of state marriage amendments were successful in all three states where they were put before voters.

“We said in August at our Supreme Convention that we were going to work as never before to build a culture of life. And I believe we made good on that promise,” he said.

With regard to membership growth, the supreme knight observed, “The Catholic population is growing everywhere. We ought to be exceeding that growth. Is there a parish that is so well run and so active that it could not use the assistance of a Knights of Columbus council? I don’t know of any.”

Anderson said that he is frequently asked by bishops and the heads of religious orders and other lay movements about the Knights’ “formation program.”

“I tell them that our

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Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson addresses state deputies Nov. 22.

formation program is to recruit new members, bring them into our councils and get them active.

Over time, they become more dedicated Knights — they become more dedicated to their parish, dedicated in acts of charity, dedicated in building a culture of life. They become better parishioners, better Catholics, better husbands, better fathers.”

The supreme knight also reminded state

deputies that now more than ever, Knights of Columbus Insurance is critically important.

Also at the Dallas meeting, Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., encouraged state deputies to work closely with their state and local chaplains to “help our fellow Knights and their families to grow in the knowledge of the faith and in their ability to articulate, communicate and defend the faith.”

“The reality is,” he continued, “that among Catholic-Christian men, there is a tremendous hunger to know the faith, to understand where their lives are headed and to be able to embrace, in the confusion of our culture, what Catholic manhood is all about.”

MUSEUM FEATURES FOURTH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS EXHIBIT

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s Knights have taken part in numerous initiatives to “Keep Christ in Christmas” — from sponsoring billboards and public service announcements to erecting public displays of the Nativity — the Knights of Columbus Museum this year features two Nativity exhibitions, which will be on display until Feb. 1.

The larger exhibition, titled Nativities of Europe: Folk Art to Fine Art, includes approximately 90 crèches from more than two dozen nations. Many of the crèches situate the birth of Jesus in the region or village where they were made, reminding the viewer that the Nativity is a universal event across the world.

A special supplement, titled Christmas in Connecticut, features the craftsmanship of students from two Catholic high schools, in addition to a crèche depicting Christmas in New Haven in 1882, the year the Order was founded. For more information, visit www.kofcmuseum.org.

Order Awards 110 Vocations Scholarships for 2008-09 Academic Year he Order continued its tradition of providing financial aid to young men pursuing a vocation to the priesthood, awarding $110,000 in new scholarships for the 20082009 academic year.

Grants to seminarians are provided primarily through two programs: the Father Michael J. McGivney Vocations Scholarships and the Bishop Thomas V. Daily Vocations Scholarships.

Established in 1992, the Father McGivney scholarships provide $2,500 stipends to defray the cost of tuition, room and board. Thirty-three new scholarships were awarded to seminarians in the United States and Canada in 2008. The Supreme Council also awarded 11 new Bishop Daily scholarships — named for the Order’s supreme chaplain emeritus — for a total of 138 since the program’s inception.

In addition to the new scholarships, an additional 66 scholarships for previous recipients were renewed.

Applications for both scholarships will be available next month and are due by June 1. For more information, please call the Order’s scholarship department at 203-752-4332. ■

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CHECKUP Surviving Uncertain Economic Times

BY JOHN R. INGRISANO, CLU

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e have witnessed dramatic financial swings over the past few years — all the way from boom times to last year’s economic roller coaster.

Most frustrating of all, there is no foolproof way to predict the economy’s next move. Yes, we live in uncertain economic times.

That is why now is a good time to review and hone your smart-money skills. Here are some suggestions: REDUCE YOUR EXPENSES. This is good advice at any time, and it is doubly valuable now. Start by examining your budget. Look for ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses. If luxury items have become commonplace over the years, redefine what is necessary. Revise your attitude toward spending. Remind yourself that frugality is a virtue, helping you to prudently avoid wasting your resources.

At the very least, think twice before buying that big-screen TV or going on a costly family vacation. In other words, be cautious regarding big expenses, at least until the economy decides

where it is going. This will help you weather tough times and position you to capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

KEEP WHITTLING AWAY AT EXISTING DEBT. Try to reduce your credit card balance a little each month. There is a great deal of truth in the saying, “It’s better to earn interest than pay it.” Set debt-reduction goals and, if necessary, make shortterm sacrifices. In the end, you will find that your standard of living will increase just by reducing your debt.

Don’t ignore your bills if you get caught in a financial bind. You will only accumulate interest fees, jeopardize your credit rating and compound your situation. If necessary, contact the companies to which you owe money and explain your situation. Most will accept a revised payment plan, sometimes with no penalties or additional interest charges.

In addition, try not to accumulate any new debt. More and more people are proving that it is possible to live a credit-free existence. They live by a simple philosophy: If I can’t afford to pay cash, I can’t afford to buy it.

SECURE YOUR JOB BY MAKING YOURSELF INDISPENSABLE. Every week seems to bring news of the latest round of layoffs, and unemployment is up. Many

YO U R H E A LT H , YO U R FINANCES, YOUR LIFE businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach to hiring, while some are looking for ways to cut their payroll.

The best approach is to look for ways to emphasize your unique skills and your value in the eyes of your employer. Also, if you are thinking about a career change, keep in mind that this may not be the best time to switch jobs, if only because it puts you at the bottom of the seniority list. In other words, you could be the first to go if your new employer begins to make layoffs.

PRESERVE YOUR FUTURE ASSETS. Avoid making withdrawals from IRAs and other long-term assets unless absolutely necessary. In fact, now is a good time to build retirement assets.

Consider starting or funding an existing Traditional or ROTH IRA (RRSP or TFSA in Canada) with a Knights of Columbus Flexible Premium Annuity.

These annuities grow at a fixed rate, and current competitive interest rates are guaranteed for up to one year. Renewal rates are reset each year and are guaranteed to always be at least 3 percent. You can start a Flexible Premium Annuity with a deposit of as little as $300.

Rollovers, transfers, or deposits in the amount of at least $25,000 also have the flexibility of also funding a VANTAGE

Annuity. VANTAGE Annuities grow at a guaranteed fixed interest rate for five years and offer a fixed minimum guaranteed lifetime interest rate.

In addition, be sure to keep your “risk management” plans in force, including your medical and life insurance coverage. It may be tempting to let a policy lapse when forced to choose between paying insurance premiums and paying the mortgage.

However, financial protection is particularly important during difficult economic times. If premium dollars are scarce, contact your professionally trained Knights of Columbus agent, who can discuss with you a number of available options.

In the end, the best way to weather an uncertain economy is to protect what you have worked to achieve while reducing your expenses.

Keep in mind that downturns are normal and temporary phases of the economic cycle that are usually followed by periods of ever-increasing prosperity. Just remember that if you maintain financial self-discipline when times are tough, you will be ahead of the curve when the financial climate rebounds. ■ John R. Ingrisano is a financial writer and business consultant specializing in money management, insurance and retirement planning. He can be reached at john@thefreestyleentrepreneur. com.

DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF INSURANCE YOU NEED USING THE LIFE INSURANCE CALCULATOR AT KOFC.ORG columbia /january 2009 9

One Heart At a Time Sisters of Life and their Co-Workers give hope to pregnant women in need B Y C L AU D I A M C D O N N E L L

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Like links in a chain, the people who participate in a special program with the Sisters of Life in New York City are forming a lifeline for women facing unplanned pregnancies. They are working with the sisters to provide whatever help the women need in order to choose life for their babies and to avoid the consequences of abortion. A committed group of volunteers, they are doing everything from sharing tea and conversation, to providing transportation to and from doctor visits, to offering employment for women in need. Some have even opened their homes to expectant moms who need a temporary place to stay.

The volunteers, mostly lay men and women, are called the Co-Workers of Life.

The program is based at Visitation Mission, a Sisters of Life convent on Manhattan’s East Side. Training for Co-Workers of Life takes place at Villa Maria Guadalupe, the pro-life retreat center in Stamford, Conn., owned by the Knights of Columbus and operated by the Sisters of Life.

PROVIDING A LIFELINE The outreach that is now based at Visitation Mission first grew out of the sisters’ Holy Respite Mission at Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent in Manhattan. There the Sisters of Life invite vulnerable pregnant women to live with them. This convent, which opened in 1998, contains seven rooms for expectant or new

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mothers and their babies. Even when the convent was full, the sisters did not want to turn anyone away.

“We couldn’t say, ‘Sorry, there’s no room at the inn,’” explained Sister Magdalene, superior of Visitation Mission and director of the CoWorkers of Life. “We would say, ‘Come over and we’ll think of a place.’”

But it soon became apparent that the Sisters of Life had two distinct apostolates: It was not possible to care for moms in residence and women on the phone at the same time — at least, not with the kind of loving, attentive care that is the sisters’ hallmark. The decision was made to launch a separate outreach.

It began as a phone apostolate based at one of the congregation’s convents in the Bronx. The sisters publicized their toll-free hotline, took calls and made referrals. The word got out through pregnancy resource centers, priests and pro-life newsletters.

We couldn’t say,‘Sorry, there’s no room at the inn.’

We would say,‘Come over and we’ll think of a place.’

Soon the number of incoming calls increased, as did the need for a dedicated group of volunteers who

A Co-Worker of Life keeps in touch with a pregnant woman.

could provide on-the-spot assistance and expand the geographic reach of the apostolate. Thus, the CoWorkers of Life program began in 2002, initially in conjunction with The Nurturing Network and independently since 2004.

The Sisters and Co-Workers of Life were always available to meet with those in need, but many women were coming from Manhattan or Brooklyn — “a tough commute” to the Bronx according to Sister Magdalene. The sisters began looking for a location in Manhattan, and when a vacant convent became available, they relocated.

Visitation Mission opened almost three years ago, and having a separate home base has made its outreach “a lot more focused,” Sister Magdalene said.

There are now many categories in which volunteers can serve as Co-Workers of Life. They include Handmaids, women who befriend a Visitation pregnant woman; Brothers, men who reach out to the father of a baby; St. Joseph’s Workers, men who build cribs, move furniture and perform other hands-on services; and Prayer Guardians. There are also single women and families who open their homes as Holy Respites, nurturing a woman during her pregnancy.

Additionally, some Co-Workers are business professionals who provide employment for pregnant women in need. w w w. ko f c .o r g

THE ‘TWO-WAY STREET’ involved in pro-life work — namely, “The pressure to have an aborTom Kolenberg, a financial adviser, that it lets women see men as “car- tion is immense,” Kolenberg said, became involved with the Co-Workers ing and reliable,” in the image of and it comes from all sides: those in last year. A member of St. Augustine St. Joseph. This helps to dispel the health care and social services, relaCouncil 41 in Stamford, Conn., he also negative image caused by men who tives, friends and, most often, the serves on the board of Malta House, a have abandoned pregnant women or man responsible for the pregnancy. residence for single mothers Kolenberg believes that and their babies in Norwalk. those who take up the cause “I kind of got drafted,” of life will receive many Kolenberg said. “I couldn’t blessings in return. Helping say no.” a woman in crisis, he said, is Kolenberg had received a “a test of our ability to be phone call from a young patient, kind and loving to pregnant woman who was them.” considering abortion. “She In seeking grace in these called me, hysterical and desperate situations, Kolencrying, from the doctor’s berg has seen God visibly at office,” he recalled. He conwork. “At the most dire tacted the Sisters of Life, times, when I thought the who arranged to meet the next day they would have an young woman at Grand abortion, I would pray and Central Terminal and bring turn it over to Christ and her to St. Vincent’s Hospital. Sister Veronica visits with a mother and baby at the Holy Respite the Blessed Mother,” he Although a doctor had Mission, run by the Sisters of Life in New York. explained. “The solution previously told the woman would come the next day.” that her pregnancy was probJoanne Connolly of lematic and could lead to her death, pressured them to have an abortion.

Queens, a wife and mother of six, an obstetrician at St. Vincent’s Both De Silva and Kolenberg learned that a young woman in her assured her otherwise. Now, the encourage fellow Knights to join the neighborhood was pregnant and young woman is continuing the preg- Co-Workers. “If we want to live in a planning an abortion. She called the nancy and doing well, with help from country, in a world, that welcomes Sisters of Life and told them she the Sisters of Life and frequent calls life, it is absolutely essential that as needed a crash course by telephone from Kolenberg.

Catholics and Knights we participate in how to encourage the young Sister Magdalene praises the Co- in the defense of life,” said Kolenberg. woman to choose life. The sisters Workers for their dedication to the Sister Magdalene expresses much obliged, and also reached out to the cause of life. She also sees the Co- gratitude for the support that the young woman themselves. It was a Workers of Life program as “a two- Sisters of Life have received from the “close call,” but in the end the way street” — the sisters need help Knights. “They’ve put the word out woman gave birth. Her daughter is from pro-life people, and some people about our mission,” she said. “They now three years old. feel called to pro-life work in a quiet, have helped us so much. They’re The experience taught Connolly somewhat behind-the-scenes min- unswervingly committed, unswerv- an important lesson. “These girls istry. For them, the Co-Workers pro- ingly pro-life. You can always count want to be loved,” she said. One reagram is a perfect fit. on them.” son a young woman will consider For James De Silva, involvement ending her baby’s life, she explained, with the Co-Workers began about is to please her boyfriend, husband or three years ago with a donation of ‘It is absolutely essential family, even if she knows there will diapers, maternity clothes, Christbe pain and emotional scarring. that as Catholics and mas gifts, Bibles and catechisms. De “It’s changed my life,” said Silva, an attorney, is a member of Connolly, who has been involved Knights we participate in with the Co-Worker program as a Agnus Dei Council 12361 in the Bronx. And he is deeply impressed handmaid ever since. the defense of life.’ with the Sisters of Life.

“Most of these women feel “I can’t say enough about them,” backed in,” she continued. “They’re said De Silva, who had always wantvery afraid. They feel like they have ed to join the pro-life cause. “They’re A TEST OF LOVE no other way out. If we reach out to fighting the worst evil known to The Co-Workers of Life often them, I believe we can change the man, yet they’re filled with joy.” remark how their pro-life work has face of Roe v. Wade. I feel we can De Silva was especially struck by made them far more aware of the turn this around in our lifetime.” something that Sister of Life mindset of women in crisis pregnanConnolly admits this will take Veronica Mary said about the impor- cies, enabling them to respond with the love and commitment of many tance of having men directly compassion. people. But she also sees promise in PHOTOS: COURTESY SISTERS OF LIFE

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(Right) Sister Mary Loretta delights in seeing a young child.

(Below) A couple waits to greet a newly arriving pregnant woman into their home.

the three-year-old child whose life she intervened to save. “She tells me she loves me. That is the reality of the life that almost wasn’t.”

ANSWERED PRAYER Of course, the Co-Workers are not the only people who express gratitude for the sisters’ efforts. Many lives are transformed as a result of the sisters’ outreach.

One young woman, “Elaine,” had three children already and decided to have an abortion when she became pregnant with her fourth.

She had the address of an abortion facility written down, and a friend drove her to the location. But Elaine had the wrong address. She found herself instead standing outside Visitation Mission.

“I stumbled upon this by the grace of God,” she recalled. She went in and talked to one of the sisters.

“They were very helpful,” Elaine said. “I didn’t believe there was such a program.”

Elaine delivered her fourth child and is still working out the challenges of her life. But the sisters remain in frequent contact.

“They really do keep their word,” Elaine said. “They are sweet, kindhearted people.”

Another woman, “Sarah,” was in an abusive marriage. When she became pregnant, her husband wanted her to abort the child and threatened to harm both her and the baby. She fled to New York, where

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she stayed temporarily with an acquaintance and managed to find a job with an architectural firm.

When Sarah sought help from a domestic violence hotline, she was referred to the Sisters of Life. Sister Magdalene answered the phone and met Sarah at Visitation Mission.

“She was very compassionate and kind,” Sarah recalled. “She made me a sandwich and treated me very well.” After their conversation, Sister Magdalene told her that she could stay at Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent.

“I’ll never forget that moment,” Sarah said. “I feel so much gratitude that the sisters took me in.”

She moved into the convent and continued to work until a week before her baby was born. With her earnings and help from her parents, Sarah has been able to stay home with her baby for more than a year; soon she will return to her job, able to support herself and her child.

“The sisters are my new family,” said Sarah, who keeps in touch with them and regularly visits the residence. “I can’t speak enough praises about these women.”

So much did their selfless love and gentle care affect her that Sarah, who was raised without a particular faith, is now converting to Catholicism.

JOINING THE TEAM While calls to Visitation Mission have come mostly from New York City’s five boroughs, about 5 percent

come from out of state, so volunteers are needed everywhere.

“We have Co-Workers all over the nation,” Sister Magdalene explained. The sisters also have a fledgling Co-Workers program in Toronto, where they opened a Visitation Mission last September. The five Sisters of Life who are running the mission have been speaking at parishes and high schools in the hope of finding more Co-Workers, which will enable them to expand the mission’s outreach. They plan to conduct a training session in Toronto in February.

Co-workers are trained to focus on the individual woman in need and, in Sister Magdalene’s words, to “build a culture of life, one heart at a time.”

‘I’ll never forget that moment. I feel so much gratitude that the Sisters took me in.’

The Sisters of Life are seeking CoWorkers wherever they can help. “We always need pro-life doctors, lawyers, employers and counselors,” Sister Magdalene added. Also needed, and welcome, are those who can offer a cup of tea, a listening ear, or a place to live for a while, free from fear and the pressure to have an abortion.

Kolenberg sums up what the CoWorkers do in a simple acronym: HOPE. They are Helpful, Optimistic, Prayerful and Encouraging, he said.

Now they are encouraging Knights and other lay Catholics to help save women and babies from the tragedy of abortion.

To learn more, write: Visitation Convent, 320 E. 66th Street, New York, NY 10065. Call (212) 737-0221 or 877-777-1277 (toll-free). Or visit www.sistersoflife.org online. ■ Claudia McDonnell is a member of the editorial staff at Catholic New York and a freelance writer.

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A Culture of Life

Must Prevail The pro-life movement in Poland fights to build and preserve a civilization that protects the rights of all B Y M A LG O R Z ATA G O R A J - B RY L L

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In early 1999, during his pastoral visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II told the people of St. Louis about the need to form a culture of life. In actuality, he was addressing the whole world.

Upon his arrival, the pope warned that the world, especially the West, was increasingly susceptible to a culture of death, with a race for wealth, pleasure and comfort.

“Today, the conflict is between a culture that affirms, cherishes, and celebrates the gift of life, and a culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings — the unborn, the terminally ill, the handicapped, and others considered ‘unuseful’ — to be outside the boundaries of legal protection,” the Holy Father explained.

“Only a higher moral vision can motivate the choice for life,” he continued. “And the values underlying that vision will greatly depend on whether the nation continues to honor and revere the family as the basic unit of society….”

Many of John Paul II’s Polish countrymen embraced the pope’s message. Ten years after the address in St. Louis, native Poles continue to respond to the Holy Father’s challenge in a number of ways.

REACHING TO HEAVEN FOR HELP In October 2008, Wanda Poltawska, a doctor of psychiatry and member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Academy for Life, spoke during a pro-life conference

ABOVE: CNS PHOTO FROM REUTERS

held in Krakow. There, she explained that offenses against human life, such as abortion, are the consequences of human actions.

“The numerousness of such actions can discourage us by their scope and make them seem impossible to handle,” said Poltawska. “That is why in our quest to save life, we must look for supernatural sources of strength. If our work is to be effective, we must reach to heaven for help.”

Poltawska identified those who work in the fields of medicine and science as “the first group of people” whose actions can potentially threaten human lives and recommended the development of pastoral programs to help inform the consciences of doctors and scientists.

‘Only a higher moral vision can motivate the choice for life.’

At the same time, pro-life Poles must learn how to deal with the contraception industry itself. “We must also protect the consciences of pharmacologists,” Poltawska argued, “so that they are not forced to sell birth control and so that they can stand up against the pressures.”

Advancements in biotechnology have resulted in new challenges as well. “Not only is the life of the child threatened, but also the inviolable human genome,” Poltawska said. “It is imperative to protect human identity from genetic manipulation.”

One can continue to enumerate the challenges that the laity face in working to build a culture of life, such as the essential task of educating people about the truth of the human person. “As John Paul II taught, the right conduct can only be attained by accepting an anthropology that shows the real, human dimension,” Poltawska explained.

Still, with the help of grace, many are embracing their mission to defend and promote life on all fronts. Among them are Knights of Columbus, who have been involved with many initiatives since the Order first expanded to Poland in 2006.

For example, Marian Szczepanowicz and Prof. Stanislaw Grygiel, members of Krakow Council 14000, are working on a project called Warm Winter. Through this program, they assist single mothers in Krakow as c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 13

technology that conflict well as in Wadowice, Pope with Christian ethics.

John Paul II’s birthplace.

Yet, according to Dr. Other Knights are advoPiotr Klimas in Warsaw, cating for life through an ini“When compared with tiative aimed at the victims other countries, we are of automobile collisions. A pro-life.”

Knight on the Road was creA growing number ated by Father Tomasz Kraj, of gynecologists in who holds a doctorate in Poland are coming forbiotechnology, Dr. Tadeusz ward to assist married Augustyn, grand knight of couples who desire to Council 14000, and Dr. Jacek have children, but do Bednarz, a palliative care spenot want to use unethicialist and member of cal methods to do so.

Ludzmierz Council 14001.

“I am more and Finally, one of the most Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, former archbishop of Krakow, Tadeusz more interested in the interesting activities that has Augustyn, grand knight of Council 14000 in Krakow, and Father ‘natural procreative been reported by the secular Tomasz Kraj are pictured during a benefit concert May 18, 2008 in Krakow, commemorating Pope John Paul II's 88th birthday. technology’ that was Polish media is the burial of developed in the early children lost to miscarriage 1980s in the United States,” said and premature birth. At their death, immortal soul.”

Indeed, a healthy and positive Klimas. Specifically, he cited the many of these babies weigh less than one pound. Jozef Heczko, a member lifestyle is an important foundation work of Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers, the of Bielsko-Biala Council 14428, has for future decisions about human founder of the Pope Paul VI Institute helped to implement procedures life. Agata and Robert, a young mar- for the Study of Human Reproduction that promote the dignity of the ried couple who work together as and a member of St. John Vianney Council 7740 in Omaha, Neb. human body and has endeavored to journalists in Poland, testify to this.

Gambling once took control of “I use the theories to help enact burial laws through the local Robert’s life, but today he knows patients understand their own bodgovernment. there are other things that are more ies, and also their souls,” added important. “In dealing with the Klimas, “because the soul must also RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS In Poland, a country of more than addiction, my wife helped me,” be ready for children.”

38 million, many understand that Robert said.

In turn, Robert comforted his TESTIMONIES OF LOVE building a culture of life must involve structures that encourage positive wife during her struggle with infer- In recent years, Poles have had behavior and decisions. In 2006, tility. Agata visited many doctors, many examples of courageous Sister Jolanta Glapka of the Society of and was encouraged to try in vitro defenders of life — including Agata Mroz, a remarkable athlete who the Sacred Heart of Jesus formed the fertilization.

“I declined, and we decided on died last June.

Foundation for Anti-Drug Addiction Mroz was diagnosed with and Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles adoption,” Agata explained. “For a few years now we have had two leukemia at age 17, but fought the Among Youth in Warsaw.

“Working with drug-dependent beautiful girls. However, we did not disease and soon became one of teenagers, I always question, ‘Why stop our prayers, and God gave us Poland’s top volleyball players. She do they always return so quickly to another child. I gave birth to our married, and when she became pregnant, the doctors told her that the their drug addictions?’” Sister third daughter a month ago.” cancer had returned.

Jolanta said.

Mroz declined treatment until Also known as Passion for Life, The number of abortions after the birth of her child. Only then the foundation promotes a healthy she receive a bone marrow transand happy lifestyle for youth in many performed in Poland has did plant, which left her with a terminal different ways. In addition to psychotherapy, prayer and the opportunidecreased dramatically — infection.

Some, like Father Adam Boniecki ty to share one’s story, activities 360 in 2006, as opposed and Father Tomasz Dostatni, believe include picnics, parties, concerts and there are significant reasons to honor art exhibitions. to almost 100,000 per Mroz as Blessed. “In the Christian “I could not acknowledge that so much heart, so much work of so perspective, such definitive and conyear during the 1990s. many people goes to waste,” Sister scious action deserves commemoraJolanta added. She saw that the troution,” argues Father Dostatni. bled youth were “blessed with intelDuring the homily at Mroz’s The media in Poland, as elseligence, beautiful sensitivity, artistic where, often writes positively about funeral, Bishop Marian Florczyk of talent and, more than anything, an invasive procedures in reproductive Kielce said that her death left Poland

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“with a testimony of love, motherhood, a desire to give life and a heroic love for the unborn child.” He then exhorted his listeners, “Open your hearts to the unborn! Open your windows to the abandoned!”

Bishop Florczyk was not speaking only figuratively. John Paul II, while he was still a cardinal in Krakow, asked Poles to help save orphaned and unborn children. Many people took his appeal to heart.

In the Archdiocese of Krakow, there exists a “Window of Life,” allowing a mother to anonymously leave an unwanted child, who is then cared for by the Sisters of Nazareth.

A tribute to John Paul II, the “window” remains always open, so as to prevent tragedies like one that occurred in Bogatyni, Poland, where a child was abandoned in a dumpster and left to die.

There are also numerous Polish Catholics who participate in “spiritual adoption.” This involves praying for nine months for a child in danger of losing its life inside the mother’s womb.

In an interview with ZENIT News Agency on July 29, 2008, Antoni Zieba, secretary of World Prayer for Life, explained, “In Poland, a mass movement of prayer and spiritual adoption of the unborn has developed — a real crusade for the protection of the conceived. These prayers have changed the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens and reinforced respect for life.”

THE LAW OF THE LAND Before the adoption of Poland’s current legislation, which mandates the protection of the human fetus and largely prohibits abortion, the country went through a long and difficult period.

Abortion was first decriminalized in 1942 during World War II. Soon after the war, it was banned but was legalized once again in 1956 by the Communist Party.

In 1993 the Polish government passed an act regarding “family planning, the protection of the human fetus, and the permissible conditions for terminating a pregnancy,” which effectively re-criminalized abortion in most cases. Although thenPresident Aleksander Kwasniewski

Dr. Krzysztof Aksedowski, a member of Council 14000 in Krakow, conducts first-aid training for the “Knight on the Road” project.

soon signed a law that allowed abortions to be performed for broad, social reasons, the law was repealed in 1996, following demonstrations by many pro-life activists.

Today, abortion is illegal in Poland, with a few exceptions: when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother; when the fetus is seriously malformed; or when it is believed that the pregnancy is the result of an illegal act. Notably, the law imposes punishment on the doctors who perform illegal abortions and not on the women who seek them.

According to Zieba, powerful organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union are pressuring Poland to change its abortion law.

‘Most of the activities promoted by the federation are done by groups that directly aid pregnant women and their families.’

“The pressure to change the law is in turn being objected to, especially by older citizens who remember that the first legalization of abortion

was implemented by the Nazis and the second by a Communist dictatorship,” Zieba explained.

Since the current law has been in place, the number of abortions performed in Poland has decreased dramatically — 360 in 2006, as opposed to almost 100,000 per year during the 1990s, according to Zieba. “It is estimated that the number was about 600,000 every year during Communist rule,” he added.

This situation would not be possible if not for the persistent work of numerous pro-life organizations.

There are almost 140 groups in the Polish Federation of Pro-Life Organizations, whose president is Pawel Wosicki. Many of these organizations are active, though they rarely receive coverage in the mainstream media.

“We try to persuade the members of Parliament in hopes that they will finally take up attitudes that are conducive to the protection of life,” said Zieba, who also serves as vice president of the federation. “Our goal is also to change public opinion so that many people recognize and agree with the truth that all human life — just conceived, newly born, young and old, healthy or sick — has the same right to live.”

This does not mean, however, that the federation focuses all of its attention on the legal protection of human life. “Most of the activities promoted by the federation are done by groups and organizations that directly aid pregnant women and their families,” Zieba explained.

Of course, despite all the progress the pro-life movement has made in Poland, there remain many challenges and much opposition. Poland is not an isolated, ideal pro-life island on the world map. Struggles are nothing new. The loud, public debate, the prevailing attitude of the media and the continuing legislative battles are just a few signs that Poland, along with the rest of the world, is threatened by a culture of death.

In undertaking such challenges, Dr. Poltawska said, the Polish people must state the problem, determine a strategy and take action. ■ Malgorzata Goraj-Bryll is a freelance writer and translator from Warsaw, Poland.

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A Serious

Threat The Freedom of Choice Act would jeopardize human life and freedom of conscience in the United States B Y PAT R I C K E . K E L LY

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On Jan. 6, a new U.S. Congress will be sworn in and will immediately take up new legislative business.

Two weeks later, on Jan. 20, President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States.

In the months and years that lie ahead, a very real danger exists that this new Congress will introduce a radical piece of legislation known as the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).

If passed, and signed into law by the new president, this single piece of legislation would usher in a massive expansion of abortion “rights,” the scale of which has not been seen since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade.

CAMPAIGN PROMISES In the early days of the 2008 presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama told an audience at a Planned Parenthood gathering that on the “fundamental issue” of “choice” he “will not yield,” just as, he said, “Planned Parenthood will not yield.” During the question-andanswer session that followed, he was asked what he would do at the federal level to ensure access to abortion and to ensure that his judicial nominees uphold Roe v. Wade.

He responded, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.” FOCA is the most radical piece of abortion legislation ever considered by the U.S. Congress. Its goal is to create a fundamental right to

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abortion and to sweep away the more than 300 federal, state or local regulations that currently exist. By establishing abortion as a “fundamental right,” FOCA would create an unlimited legal right to abortion that would go far beyond what the U.S. Supreme Court ever contemplated in the Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) decisions. The language of FOCA is dangerously expansive, barring all current abortion restrictions and prohibiting any in the future.

The progress made by the pro-life movement over the past 35 years in limiting and reducing abortions through modest regulations could vanish overnight.

FOCA prohibits any state or federal government entity from “denying or interfering” with abortion rights or “discriminating” against the exercise of these rights. In effect, even the most reasonable restrictions on abortion would be off-limits as unlawful interference. This means that the progress made by the pro-life movement over the past 35 years in limiting and reducing abortions through modest regulations could vanish overnight.

On the federal level, FOCA

would allow the federal government to use tax dollars to actively promote abortion both domestically and overseas. Not only would it immediately overturn the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, but it would invalidate the Hyde Amendment, which currently restricts federal funding of abortion. Likewise, FOCA would reverse the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits U.S. taxpayer dollars from going overseas to non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion, and it would allow abortions to be performed in U.S. military hospitals.

Additionally, FOCA would deprive U.S. citizens of the rights they now possess to enact modest abortion regulations. For instance, it would invalidate all state laws related to pre-abortion counseling, parental notification for children under the age of 18 and restrictions on late-term abortions. It would outlaw informed-consent precautions that disclose to women the physical and emotional risks of abortion, and laws allowing pregnant women to view ultrasounds before they choose abortion. FOCA would even remove laws mandating that abortion procedures be performed by licensed physicians, as well as laws that protect women from unsafe abortion clinics. And tragically, it would actually nullify state laws that protect infants who are born alive after failed abortion attempts.

By saying that government may not “discriminate” against the right w w w. ko f c .o r g

to an abortion, FOCA opens the door to require that taxpayers in every state fund abortion. Abortion facilities would be deregulated, and abortionon-demand would become a right that government is obliged to not only provide, but to actively promote.

DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND The language of FOCA says that abortion should remain “safe and legal.” Paradoxically, however, it also talks of “reducing the need for abortion.” In response, Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. bishop’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, sent a letter to every member of Congress in September 2008, urging opposition to FOCA. He reminded them that we cannot “reduce abortions by promoting abortion.”

Experts agree that the modest restrictions on abortion that currently exist in state and federal law have been effective in reducing abortion rates and saving lives. They suggest that the current patchwork of such

laws is responsible for tens of thousands of fewer abortions annually.

These modest restrictions not only save lives, but they are also favored by a majority of Americans.

According to a recent nationwide survey conducted for the Knights of Columbus by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, 92 percent of Americans believe there

‘The danger is that a bad court decision [Roe] will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.’ should be some restrictions on abortion. According to the poll, 75 percent of Americans, including 84 percent of practicing Catholics, favor

COLUMBIA CONVERSATION

When Does Life

Begin?

An Interview with Dr. Maureen L. Condic

hen addressing ethical and political questions about the value and protection of innocent human life in its earliest stages, many argue that the answer to when life begins is either unknowable or unresolved. Yet, according to Dr. Maureen L. Condic, a senior fellow at the Westchester Institute for Ethics & the Human Person and an associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Utah School of Medicine, such claims are scientifically unfounded and only confuse the debate.

Dr. Condic is the author of “When Does Human Life Begin?: A Scientific Perspective.” A detailed and authoritative report, known as a white paper, it was published by the Westchester Institute in October. She discussed with Columbia the findings of her paper, which can be downloaded free at www.westchesterinstitute.net.

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B Y C O L U M B I A S TA F F

COLUMBIA:There are many who claim that the question of when human life begins is a matter of personal, private or religious belief. What does modern science say?

DR. CONDIC: The question of when human

parental notification when someone under the age of 18 is planning to have an abortion. And a large majority of Americans — whether describing themselves as pro-life or pro-choice — favor restrictions on late-term abortions. Clearly then, FOCA is out of step with American public opinion.

In November, during their annual fall meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated their univocal opposition to FOCA. Speaking at the direction and request of the entire body of bishops, USCCB president Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said, “A good state protects the lives of all.” He then turned his attention to the threat posed by FOCA. “The danger,” he explained, “is that a bad court decision [Roe] will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.”

Cardinal George warned that FOCA would have lethal conse-

life begins is intimately related to a number of complex and emotionally-charged topics, including abortion and human embryonic stem-cell research. Because the issues surrounding human embryos are so thorny and difficult, personal opinions can vary considerably — a fact that leads some to conclude the question of when life begins cannot be conclusively resolved.

However, this question is first and foremost a matter of biology: When does a new individual of the species Homo sapiens come into existence? Multiple scientific studies have examined the earliest stages of human life, and there is only one answer that is consistent with the scientific facts: A new human life commences at the moment of sperm-egg fusion, an event that occurs in less than a second.

Part of the confusion surrounding the question of when human life begins is that, for many people, the biological facts of human life are not as important as the ethical or social questions surrounding the embryo. Some people willingly concede that a human life begins at the moment of sperm-egg fusion, and yet still question what value society ought to place on human life at this early stage. As noted by Father Richard John Neuhaus in the foreword to my white paper, the question of c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 17

quences for prenatal human life, adding, “FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the pri-

COLUMBIA CONVERSATION whether [an embryo has] the same rights and value as human beings at more mature stages of development is one that is open to discussion. However, the question of whether a human being exists following sperm-egg fusion is a matter of science, and is clearly resolved by the scientific data.

In your white paper, you make a distinction between scientific and arbitrary criteria to determine when the life of a new human being begins. How do such criteria differ?

Why is it important to answer the question about human life scientifically?

In most cases, human beings originate from the fusion of two, pre-existing human cells: a sperm from the father and an egg from the mother. Sperm and egg are living cells that in turn originate from other cells that precede them in the testes and ovaries of the parents. This continuity of life, with living cells generating new types of living cells in an ongoing progression, has led many to believe that any decision about when the life of a new individual human being commences must be arbitrary — that is,we simply point to some place along the progression of life and decide more or less at random, “This is when life begins.”

However, if we make such an arbitrary deci-

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FOCA would create a ‘fundamental right’ to abortion and sweep away the more than 300 federal, state or local regulations that currently exist.

good of all.” He warned, however, that the results of the recent election should not be “misinterpreted” as a referendum for pro-abortion policies.

To the contrary, the cardinal argued, any attempt to aggressively push proabortion legislation would “permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion.”

vate killing of unborn children.”

Several bishops at the meeting speculated that FOCA could force Catholic hospitals to close their doors rather than cooperate in evil.

Cardinal George echoed these concerns, warning that FOCA could not only threaten Catholic health care, but Catholic Charities as well.

Turning to the issue of November’s election, Cardinal George said the Catholic bishops of the United States hope to work with Presidentelect Barack Obama and members of the new Congress for the “common

HOW WE GOT HERE Versions of FOCA have appeared in Congress over the years, going back to 1989. These versions were introduced at various times throughout the 1990s and early 2000s when some congressional leaders were concerned that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade or significantly limit the abortion “right” it granted.

The most recent version of FOCA was introduced on April 19, 2007, the day after — and as a direct result of — the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gonzales v. Carhart, the deci-

sion, then the important question of what is a human being and what is not becomes entirely a matter of personal taste and the power to impose this taste on others. Just as in the case of slavery, where powerful slave-owners could decide whether an individual was a person or mere property, if we accept an arbitrary definition of when life begins, deciding who is a human being and who is not reduces the issue to a question of power.

complete agreement. Clearly, the facts regarding when life begins have been demonstrated beyond the possibility of any reasonable objection. Similarly, the logic underlying the interpretation of this data is standard across the entire scientific profession and accepted by all scientists.

Therefore,the evidence,the analysis and the conclusions they support should be universally accepted by all experts in the field.

Does this mean that there is a “consensus” on when life begins? As noted earlier, many people elect to ignore scientific evidence in favor of their own personal, political or religious convictions regarding when life begins. This is true even among scientists and physicians. Consequently, I would imagine some “experts” will object to my conclusions for personal reasons — thereby lending the impression that a consensus does not exist. However, such detractors would be unable to raise substantive, scientific objections, and therefore the data, the argument and the conclusions would stand.

Again, many conflate the question of “When does human life begin?” with the more nuanced and difficult question of “When does human life have value?” On this ethical question, we are indeed far from a consensus. But on the question of biology, there can be no substantive disagreement.

Central to the majority opinion of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v.Wade is the claim that “those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus” about when life begins, adding there is “a wide divergence of thinking on this most sensitive and difficult question.”

Does such a widespread disagreement really exist?

The critical question for determining whether there is a consensus about when human life begins is this:Would any knowledgeable scientist or physician contest either the information presented in my paper or the logic of the argument itself?

The data I present is entirely uncontested.

Multiple studies by independent groups published in reputable journals are all in

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sion that upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion. This version took particular aim at the Court’s Gonzales ruling, saying that it threatened Roe and “failed to protect a woman’s health.” Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced the Senate version of the bill, and it quickly garnered 19 influential cosponsors, including then-Senator Barack Obama. A companion version of the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).

It garnered 108 co-sponsors.

Despite its apparent support, the bill was never brought to the floor of the House or Senate. On May 3, 2007, just two weeks after FOCA was introduced, President George W. Bush sent a letter to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stating that there should be “no misunderstanding” of his position. The president’s letter pledged that he would “veto any legislation that

A new human life commences at the moment of sperm-egg fusion, an event that occurs in less than a second.

What happens at the “moment of conception” that demonstrates a new human being comes into existence? In other words, how do we know that a human embryo is a human being from the beginning?

The phrase “human being” is a very simple one, meaning “an entity of the type ABOVE: MEDICALRF.COM/CORBIS

weakens current federal policies and laws on abortion, or that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage.” Certain of a presidential veto, supporters considered a congressional vote on FOCA to be futile.

Later this month, however, with a new Congress and a new president, the balance of power in Washington will shift. Both the House and the Senate will have heftier pro-choice majorities than before, and for the first time the White House will be occupied by a president who has pledged to sign FOCA. Even if the bill’s sponsors decide it would not be politically expedient to introduce it immediately, the serious threat that FOCA poses to human life and to Catholic health care should be a wake-up call to all Catholics, especially Knights of Columbus.

FOCA would deregulate the abortion industry in America, and it would not reduce the number of abortions. The already staggering number of 1.1 million abortions annually in

‘human.’” Another way of saying “human being” is “human organism.” Thus, determining whether a human being has come into existence is a simple matter of biology, a question that is much easier to resolve than the question of whether a human person, who is the subject of human rights, has come into existence.

When does a human being come to exist? Following sperm-egg fusion, a single cell is generated, the human zygote or onecell embryo.To decide if this cell is a human being, as opposed to merely a human cell, we need to consider the difference between a cell and an organism. The key feature of an organism is that all of the parts of the organism work together in a coordinated manner for the good of the entity as a whole. In the case of the one-cell human embryo, the scientific evidence clearly indicates that all parts of the zygote — those contributed by the mother and by the father — work together from the beginning in a highly coordinated way to promote the life, health and maturation of the embryo itself. The one-cell embryo functions like an organism to generate the structures and relationships that are required for its own, ongoing development — and it does this from the very moment

TAKE ACTION

C

ontact your elected representatives and urge them to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act. Congressmen and Senators can be reached by fax, e-mail or phone. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or call the members’ local offices. Full contact information can be found online at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.

the United States would go up, not down. By invalidating common-sense restrictions on abortion — restrictions that the majority of Americans favor — FOCA threatens the lives of women, their unborn children and the conscience rights of health care professionals and institutions. ■ Patrick E. Kelly is vice president for public policy of the Knights of Columbus. He previously served as an attorney in the U.S. Justice Department and as the Legislative Counsel to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

of sperm-egg fusion onward. The embryo functions from the beginning like an organism and is therefore a human being; a whole and complete member of the human species at the earliest stage of life.

If fertilization is an event, resulting in a unique, individual human being, what implication does this have with regard to political and ethical debates of our time?

All sound public policy must be based on the best available facts. Starting with the facts does not ensure that policy will be just and reasonable, but it is a necessary first step. For a long time, political debates over embryo-related issues have ignored the factual evidence regarding what the embryo is and when it comes to be.

Ignoring the facts has provided a convenient foil for those who prefer to believe that the question of when life begins must be left up to individual choice. Clearly,we must move beyond the false neutrality of “Nobody knows when life begins” and substantively address the ethical issues surrounding human embryos. It is my hope that a clear presentation of the scientific evidence will help to ground future debates on scientific facts, rather than on mere opinion, preference and politics. ■ c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 19

Building a Pro-Life Future Young Knights join SFLA in the effort to spread a culture of life at colleges nationwide

BY AMBER DOLLE

T

There is an infectious spirit circulating on college campuses across the United States that is focused on one of the gravest challenges we face today — the fight to save the unborn.

Students for Life of America (SFLA) is leading the charge of galvanizing young people nationwide to help bring about an end to the tragedy of abortion. Just like so many cases when our faith calls for action, young Knights are standing on the front lines of this battle.

Founded in 1987 as American Collegians for Life by a group of volunteer students at Georgetown University, SFLA has grown into a full-time operation with a main office in Arlington, Va., and a secondary location in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Executive director Kristan Hawkins, a young woman with an unquenchable zeal for life, currently leads the organization.

“SFLA exists to aid college stu-

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dents in whatever ways necessary so that they can be successful in saving the unborn and their mothers,” said Hawkins. “We are taking the fight to the belly of the beast to save women and children who are being targeted

by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers for exploitation.”

‘We aim to expand the quantity and quality of this generation’s pro-life leaders.’

The group works to educate college students and to equip young prolife leaders with the training, skills and resources they need to be effective. “We aim to expand the quantity and quality of this generation’s prolife leaders,” said Hawkins. And with

glowing endorsements from numerous pro-life leaders, the group is certainly making an impression.

TAKING ACTION The members of SFLA certainly have their work cut out for them. By all accounts, a strong pro-life presence is desperately needed on college campuses today.

“The statistics on abortion are startling and prove that young people truly are under attack,” explained Hawkins. “That is precisely why a group like SFLA is such a necessity.

We are the only pro-life organization dedicated to actively starting new campus pro-life clubs.”

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, 52 percent of women obtaining abortions in the United States are under age 25.

Another poll conducted by Gallup reported that about half of women are pro-life when they enter college, but 73 percent consider themselves pro-choice by graduation.

While many see these numbers and fall victim to despair, Hawkins is hopeful. “We know that this generation is pro-life,” she contends, “so SFLA focuses on finding pro-life students and turning them into pro-life leaders.”

There are currently more than 500 pro-life groups on college campuses nationwide, and of this total, 254 have been started by SFLA since 2006. In the fall of 2008 alone SFLA helped to start 60 new college pro-life groups. While SFLA is not a membership organization, it provides the stability and support that is so often needed by pro-life groups. SFLA has worked tirelessly over the past few years to devise effective programs aimed at combating the pro-choice agenda that is propagated at the university level. One such operation is the SFLA Field Program.

“The Field Program is an invaluable tool,” said Bry Shields, founder of Students for Life at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a member of St. Pius X Council 13085 in Mobile. “The support they gave and the practical advice they offered helped to get our organization off to a great start.”

The Field Program is where the w w w. ko f c .o r g

where I began my journey with hands-on work of SFLA hits full both SFLA and the Knights of speed. Each semester, field repColumbus,” recalled Michael resentatives, or agents, are hired Sciscenti, an SFLA board memfor 11-week contract positions ber and a member of Sedes that begin with an intensive Sapieniae Council 13295 at the training at the Arlington headUniversity of Maryland in quarters. Once the field agents College Park. As a pro-life stuare trained on the ins and outs of dent at Johns Hopkins the pro-life movement, they disUniversity, Sciscenti began perse to different regions of the attending the SFLA conferences country to work with pro-life and served as conference direcstudents, to train leaders and to tor from 2002-2003. help form new groups. The “When I was conference agents are encouraged to speardirector, the Knights were head additional events with Northwestern University Students for Life participate in always involved, always willing existing organizations, start a “Bound4Life” event. to get in the trenches and do the campus pro-life publications work,” recalled Sciscenti. “I and register pro-life voters. Since its inception in 2006, the Field Knight, Joey Dunbar, to start was so impressed with the mission Program has garnered more than Alabama Students for Life. This and the work ethic of the guys that I 6,000 pro-life student contacts on statewide organization, also affiliated chose to take my first degree in 2005. college campuses across the country. with SFLA, is uniting student pro-lif- It was just a natural fit.”

Although Sciscenti now works “The goal is to walk step-by-step ers across Alabama to defend the with the students so they can form unborn. “The work of the Knights full-time as an electrical engineer in and sustain successful pro-life organi- and SFLA really complements one the Baltimore area, he still donates zations,” said Hawkins. “The bottom another and has given me an even much time and energy to the pro-life line is this: If a group is not active, it greater fervor to stand up for the movement. is going to die. Our field agents equip most vulnerable members of our ‘THINK BIG’ these college clubs with training, society,” Shields said.

Another SFLA program that has One of the most rewarding aspects of event organization guidance, activism workbooks, pro-life publications and proven successful over the years is SFLA’s work, according to its leadermuch more so they will thrive on the organization’s annual conference ship, is that young people are given a held at The Catholic University of sense of belonging and ownership in their respective campuses.”

America in Washington, D.C. The the pro-life movement. conference, which takes place in conKNIGHTS LEND A HELPING HAND “The biggest obstacle we see on Shields credits both the SFLA Field junction with the January anniver- college campuses is apathy and lack Program and area K of C councils sary of the U.S. Supreme Court deci- of support,” said Hawkins. “If we can with helping to make his university sion Roe v. Wade, consists of presen- just give these pro-life students a pro-life group successful. “Our SFLA tations offered by nationally known sense of security and let them know agent came to campus several times pro-life leaders and general network- that they are not alone in their conand helped with recruitment, event ing opportunities for pro-life stu- victions, there is no limit to what planning and basic organization dents. The event has grown by leaps they can and will accomplish.” structure,” said Shields. “We really and bounds over the past four years.

With the tremendous success the couldn’t have done it without the Approximately 150 students attend- organization has experienced in just guidance and assistance from both a few short years, SFLA continues to SFLA and the Knights.” set its goals high.

‘The Knights were always According to Shields, much of the “We challenge our field agents, funding that his group received came our interns, our office staff and involved, always willing everyone involved with SFLA to directly from Knights in Birmingham and Mobile. “Just about every counthink big,” explained Hawkins. “We to get in the trenches cil I met with offered spiritual, monneed to be on the front lines, working and do the work.’ etary or physical assistance,” he hard and always mindful of the fact recalled. “Whether it was going out that innocent unborn children are to pray in front of the abortion clinic depending on us.” or attending an event on campus, the ed the 2004 conference, and more For more information on Knights could always be counted on than 800 in 2008. SFLA leaders cred- Students for Life of America, visit for support. It really made me proud it this growth to the expansion of the www.studentsforlife.org. ■ Field Program and to general awareto be a Knight.”

Amber Dolle is a freelance writer from Since graduating from the ness that has been raised on college McKinney, Texas.

University of Alabama at Birming- campuses by student pro-life groups.

“The annual conference is really ham, Shields joined up with a fellow PHOTOS: COURTESY STUDENTS FOR LIFE OF AMERICA

c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 21

Learning to Love A countercultural organization and its unlikely leader seek to share God’s plan for marriage A CCL teaching couple prepares to teach natural family planning.

B Y C H R I ST I N A C A P E CC H I

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Andy Alderson took his first natural family planning (NFP) class 18 years ago, but he remembers it vividly.

“I sat in the back with my arms folded across my chest and my hat pulled down over my eyes,” he recalled. “I thought the teachers were freaks.”

Little did Alderson know that those “freaks” would become good friends, and he would one day become the executive director of the organization that provided the class: the Couple to Couple League (CCL).

Alderson, 48, grew up in the St. Louis suburbs. His family bounced between Protestant faiths, and to Alderson, church was a good way to “ruin a weekend” that he would rather spend fishing.

Today, Alderson still looks youthful, but inwardly carries an intense conviction. He has committed his life’s work to a serious mission: spreading God’s plan for marriage.

AN AWAKENING Alderson met his wife, Giselle, on his first assignment as an Air Force pilot in Panama City, Panama. They regret that they used contraception during their first three years of marriage, but after Giselle delivered their firstborn, she worried about subjecting her baby to chemicals via breastfeeding. That is when Giselle signed up for that fateful NFP class.

“For several years, NFP was difficult,” Alderson admitted. “I very quickly saw that it ‘worked,’ but because my attitude was so poor, I tried every argument I could think

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of to get Giselle to go back on contraceptives.”

Unlike contraception, NFP requires abstinence for a certain time each month during a woman’s fertile period, as long as a couple does not seek to become pregnant. Over time, Alderson was struck by the unanticipated benefits of NFP. “We started to see positive changes in our relationship,” Alderson said. “We communicated better. We fought less. We felt closer.”

Then one day, Alderson found himself stranded in a hotel, after having flown an aircraft that later encountered maintenance problems.

He flipped on the TV and stumbled across a debate about when life begins. Riveted, he watched the entire program, calling Giselle afterwards.

“I told her that not only was I now pro-life, but I needed to do something about it,” Alderson explained. “I instantly felt called to be working at a national level to help stop abortion.”

‘I thought natural family planning was just too good not to tell others about.’

Life moved on, and it took more than a decade for Alderson’s call to pro-life work to resurface. In that time, Alderson realized the Church was right about NFP and contraception, and converted to the Catholic faith. And while he enjoyed his work with the Air Force, he began to realize

that his experience and skills could benefit CCL. Then, on the anniversary of Roe v.

Wade in 2003, Alderson was participating in eucharistic adoration with friends, praying for the unborn. When Alderson asked the Blessed Mother to help him focus, something happened.

“At that very moment, I thought about the connection between contraception and abortion — how at the root of sexual sins and abortion was actually contraception,” Alderson recalled. “And for the first time in more than 10 years, I remembered the calling I had in that hotel room.”

A few short months later Alderson retired from the Air Force, moved his family from Little Rock, Ark., to northern Kentucky, near CCL’s Cincinnati headquarters, and was hired as executive director.

“I’m still shocked and awed by the amazing power — and sense of humor — of the Holy Spirit,” Alderson said.

“I would never have thought I would be doing this.”

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS CCL teems with stories that reflect Alderson’s experience — stories that NFP does work to help achieve or postpone pregnancy; that NFP does open couples to life in a very real way; and that NFP does boost communication and intimacy amidst the ongoing discussion about when to practice abstinence and space children. Over the decades, there have been numerous stories of saved marriages and revitalized parishes as a direct result of practicing fertility awareness. w w w. ko f c .o r g

Alderson is quick to point out that CCL stands on the shoulders of dedicated teaching couples, volunteers who feel so passionate about CCL that they have to share it with others — unnerving as it may be to discuss such an intimate subject with young people.

Jeanne Finger from Kansas City, Mo., is one such volunteer. “I thought natural family planning…was just too good to not tell others about,” she said. “I thought, ‘We’ve got to do something.’”

“NFP was crucial to the success of our marriage,” said Bob Laird, a CCL board member and a member of Mount Vernon Council 5998 in Groveton, Va. At one point, before NFP, he and his wife “were living as two single persons under one roof.”

When Ann and Mike Green, a CCL teaching couple in Caramel, Ind., battled infertility, their NFP charts proved instrumental.

“We took them to an infertility doctor, and it helped him appraise certain things,” said Ann, now a mother of three. “Society scoffs at it, but this is what marriage is supposed to be. Practicing NFP draws you into the heart of the Church. It’s amazing.”

‘NATURAL ALLIES’ The Couple to Couple League was initially founded in 1971, three years after Pope Paul VI wrote the encyclical Humanae Vitae, in which he advised married couples to help others learn NFP. During its first year, the organization operated in the home of founders John and Sheila Kippley. It later moved to the basement of a Knights of Columbus building in Cincinnati, marking the first of many times that Knights would assist CCL. Alderson joined Bishop Ackerman Council 5453 in Hebron, Ky., soon after moving. He sees the two groups as mutually supportive apostolates with their shared pro-life, pro-family values. He is not alone.

Over the decades, Knights have partnered with CCL members to promote various efforts in their communities. Laird said that when he served as family life director for the Diocese of Arlington, Va., “The Knights were always ready, willing PHOTOS: COURTESY COUPLE TO COUPLE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

Andy Alderson, executive director of Couple to Couple League, with his family.

and able to support the many activities of our office.”

Now Laird runs Divine Mercy Care, the diocese’s only Catholic health care organization. It operates the Tepeyac Family Center, a Catholic OB-GYN practice that promotes NFP in Fairfax, Va. Stu Nolan, a CCL member and past grand knight of St. John BoscoFairfax Station Council 12846 in Springfield, Va., is among the many Knights who have supported the Tepeyac Center. He also advised his council to support a young priest’s trip to a CCL seminar.

“That priest came back to the diocese with a renewed and deeper appreciation of NFP,” Nolan said. “I have no doubt that many pre-Cana couples in his parish are continuing to reap the rewards that were sowed by sponsoring his registration and travel costs.”

‘Society scoffs at it, but this is what marriage is supposed to be.’

Nolan said his CCL involvement has informed his work as a Knight in many ways, and vice versa. The two groups, he said, are “natural allies,” adding, “We’ve only scratched the surface of the good works that can be advanced by these two champions of faith and families.”

REACHING THE iPOD GENERATION CCL has grown to be one of the largest NFP providers. It boasts 554 teaching couples in the United States and 663 official promoters — a triumph of God’s will over seductive societal norms.

And yet, over the years, members have sought ways to improve the effectiveness of classroom instruction. About 10 years ago, CCL began to notice a slight rise in the number of priests who required engaged couples to take NFP classes. The result: It became painfully clear that some couples did not want to be there.

In general, CCL teachers reported that many of today’s young adults appear to have shorter attention spans and less respect for Church authority than previous generations.

And the outdated 35-mm slides that teachers were using didn’t help either. It became clear that CCL was facing a double threat: stale materials and a skeptical audience.

The CCL staff decided to remake its entire program, maintaining the basic science but infusing it with modern media and the wisdom of Pope John Paul II’s catechesis on the “theology of the body.”

Now classroom instruction begins with the teaching couple’s personal witness. God’s design for marriage is then explained, leading up to the natural conclusion that contraception is wrong. A DVD, featuring clips of a medical doctor and a priest who lend further credibility to NFP, has replaced the 35-mm slides.

As for the skeptics, Alderson said he can spot them immediately when he and his wife teach classes. “I see them out there and it’s almost like I can read their minds,” he said.

Fruits of CCL’s efforts are increasingly apparent. Applications have doubled, and morale is high among teachers, who are reporting a marked improvement in student response.

Still, Alderson is bent on further improvement. “The expectations of couples attending our courses are just too high to remain static,” he said.

To learn more about practicing, teaching or promoting NFP, visit www.ccli.org. ■ Christina Capecchi, a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., is the author of the nationally syndicated column “Twenty Something.”

c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 23

REFLECTION

THE VIRGIN ‘WITH THE RIBBON’ It was clear to the indigenous people of Mexico that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared as an expectant mother

BY FATHER EDUARDO CHÁVEZ SÁNCHEZ

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the first of a series of articles by Father Eduardo Chávez in anticipation of the Knights’ first ever international Marian Congress.The congress, devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe, will take place Aug. 6-8 following the 127th Supreme Convention in Phoenix. For more information, visit www.guadalupefestival.org.

woman anticipating the birth of God’s only Son. In fact, the Spanish expression for “pregnant” is encinta, or literally, “adorned with ribbon.”

As such, the Guadalupe event is an inculturated encounter that relies heavily on oral tradition, which in turn reveals historical traits in a very special way.

St. Juan Diego’s canonization process has taken this he image of Our Lady of Guadalupe imprinted tradition very seriously, since it shows a number of on St. Juan Diego’s humble tilma manifests two truths that have marked history. of the most important dogmas of Oral tradition was a very effective Mary: that she is ever-Virgin and, at technique for indigenous peoples to the same time, that she is the Mother remember diverse facts and historical of God. In fact, the encounter that events. The objectivity of such ancient took place in the winter of 1531 is an methods has been proven. Although encounter with God himself, whom native Mexicans kept track of their Our Lady carried in her immaculate history, traditions and culture in writwomb. It is a real encounter with ing based on pictograms, they also had Jesus, who has taken the initiative to to memorize the interpretation of meet man through his mother. these subjects. One oral tradition The Gospel revolves around a cenabout the Virgin of Guadalupe is kept tral axis — the Incarnation of the Word in the Veracruz region of Mexico and and Pentecost. This is to say that God clearly shows that the indigenous peotakes on our human condition (except ple understood perfectly that she was for sin), heals us, saves us and gives us One of many symbolic elements of the the profound promise of resurrection. image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a pregnant (encinta) and expecting her St. Paul tells us, “If Christ has not been black ribbon indicates that the Virgin son, Jesus Christ.

Before a priest celebrates Mass on raised, then empty is our preaching; Mary is pregnant and anticipating the the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, empty, too, your faith” (1 Cor 15:14). birth of her child.

Dec. 12, the people tell him: “Focus Moreover, the only path to the on the womb of this woman, who Resurrection is Jesus’ passion and dances with the joy of the feast, because she will death. By shedding his last drop of blood on the cross, give us her son. With the harmony of the angel holdJesus has opened for us eternal life, where there is no ing heaven and earth [referring to her mantle and pain, sadness or fear of death. Jesus Christ has vangown], a new life is extended. This is what we quished death! This is the utmost joy for man, with received from our elders: that our own life does not whom Jesus has shared his saving plan. end, but has a new meaning, and as the Great Book This is ultimately what is revealed through the of the Spaniards [the Bible; see Rev. 12:1] says: there Guadalupe event, which is why Pope John Paul II was a sign in heaven, a woman dressed with the sun, called it “a model of a perfectly inculturated evangewith the moon under her feet and a crown of stars, lization.” Through God, Church teaching is adapted and she is about to give birth. to meet man in conditions so adverse and desperate, “This is what we are celebrating, Father: the so heartbreaking and disastrous, that only his interarrival of this sign of unity, harmony and a new life.” vention can solve the problem. This marvelous With Our Lady of Guadalupe, this sign has finalintervention involves his precious mother, the ly arrived. ■ Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. Since Our Lady carries the Lord in her womb, she appears as a pregnant Father Eduardo Chávez Sánchez is postulator for the cause of St. Juan woman, an expecting woman, a woman of Advent.

Diego. He is the author of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego: The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe depicts a dark The Historical Evidence (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006) and a member of Council 14138 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. ribbon above her womb, indicating that she is a

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KNIGHTS

IN

ACTION

Reports from Councils, Assemblies and Columbian Squires Circles

Bell Replaced Father Ray Gagnon of St. Paul’s Church asked Bishop Leo E. O’Neil Council 12147 in Franklin, N.H., to help replace the church bell that had been in use since 1950. Knights raised $36,500 — enough to replace the bell and make other improvements to the church grounds.

Life Adjustment

Members of St. John Nepomucene Council 12075 in Bacolod City, Visayas, plant saplings and poles in a flooded marsh near their community. The council decided to plant trees in an effort to combat soil erosion and prevent flooding.

Golf Tourney

Youth Benefit

Adrian (Mich.) Council 1665 hosted its annual senior golf tournament to benefit local charities. The event raised $3,000 for Catholic Social Services, Lenawee Daily Bread and Habitat for Humanity.

St. Basil the Great Council 10721 in Lafayette, Ga., helped the St. Basil youth group with its barbecue fundraiser. Knights cooked hamburgers for the event, which raised more than $400.

Keeping Score

Convent Restoration

Niskayuna (N.Y.) Council 8121 donated $1,600 to a local CYO sports program. The funds were used to purchase a new scoreboard at the CYO facility.

Sarto Council 1322 in Ashland, Pa., renovated and painted St. Joseph’s Chapel at St. Joseph’s Convent in Ashland. The convent is home to the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who teach at the local elementary school.

Fundraiser Hosts Bishop Van de Ven Council 3200 in Alexandria, La., hosted a fundraiser for Sam Carnette, a local man who has leukemia. Knights helped with ticket sales and cooking.

Finding A Cure Father John J. O’Leary Council 8224 in Dallas, Pa., donated $2,500 to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The Colorado State Council donated $10,000 to the Hilltop Life Adjustment Foundation, a facility in Grand Junction for adults with brain injuries. The request for the donation came from Immaculate Heart of Mary Council 13621 in Grand Junction, which contributed $1,350 from its annual fund drive for the donation.

Go Fly A Kite Mary, Gate of Heaven Council 10194 in Myerstown, Pa., held a kite-flying event for children at its parish.

Back To School Hanford (Calif.) Council 2343 teamed with the Hanford Soroptimists and Mervyns department store to host a back-to-school shopping spree for underprivileged children. Knights cooked breakfast for 300 children and their chaperones, who were then given $100 each to purchase school supplies for the upcoming academic year.

Good Fences St. Mary and Joseph Council 8625 in Valparaiso, Neb., erected more than 800 feet of new fencing at the Carmelite Sisters’ convent in Agnew. Ten Knights completed the fence in one week.

Father Richard Stansberry of St. Francis of Assisi Church blesses a Project Gabriel sign while Nick Ranck of St. FrancisEugene Memorial Council 4601 in Oklahoma City looks on. Council 4601 raised more than $500 to have the sign erected on church grounds.

Steak Fry North American Martyrs Council 4338 in Niles, Ill., held its annual steak dinner. More than 200 people attended the event, which raised $1,400 for local charities.

John Smith joins Paul Connolly and Jim Jennings of Regina Coeli Council 2275 in Easton, Md., during a barbecue for Habitat for Humanity volunteers.

Council 2275 fed 38 teens from the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., who traveled to Maryland to assist with Habitat construction projects.

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ON-TARGET RECRUITING

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First-time donor Linda Reich prepares to have blood drawn while Albert Conlin of Sunrise Council 6607 in Bohemia, N.Y., looks on. Knights hosted a blood drive at St. Nepomucene Church that netted 69 pints of blood for the Long Island Blood Services.

Soccer Players Northfield (Minn.) Council 1516 donated $400 to the Northfield Soccer Association (NSA). The council also volunteered at NSA’s annual tournament. Knights served food to the players and parents of more than 60 teams.

Road to Salvation Sts. Simon and Jude Council 11564 in West Chester, Pa., raised $15,000 for its parish during the council’s annual golf outing. The money will fund road improvements on the parish grounds and the constructions of a new parking lot.

Supporting Seminarians Savannah (Ga.) Council 631 held a seminarian dinner that raised more than $4,000 for vocations.

Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke Council 3607 in Albany, Ga., also held a benefit dinner that raised an additional $9,000. All of the funds were donated to the Diocese of Savannah to assist young men studying for the priesthood.

he tremendous charitable work the Order conducts annually is a by-product of continual membership growth. Members raise funds for the needy, volunteer their time and support a wide range of programs. This section of “Knights in Action” highlights those members who have made a concerted effort to grow the Order.

While some of the best recruitment work is done by Knights who have been in the Order for many years, a new Knight can do just as good a job if he is passionate and driven. A prime example is Doug Shwaluk, a Knight who joined St. Mary’s Holy Family Council 12465 in Kensington, P.E.I., in Sept. 2007.

When Shwaluk and his wife Eleanor retired, he was hoping to find a place where a practical Catholic man could be comfortable. It was an advertisement in his parish bulletin that made him aware of the Knights of Columbus.

“My mind opened to the thought that this just might be that utopia: a fraternity with moral and ethical Christian-Catholic values,” said Shwaluk. After a conversation with State Deputy Alvin R. Curley and some reflection on the principles of the Order, Shwaluk became a Knight.

“It wasn’t long before Brother Doug got into the recruiting mode,” said Curley.

Soon, Shwaluk was appointed as a round table coordinator and set out to spread the word. He began speaking with parishioners and giving short presentations after Mass.

“When several men joined, the momentum started to take hold, and my goal then became to recruit enough new members to form a new council,” said Shwaluk.

Within the first six months, Shwaluk had sponsored 28 new members. Through these efforts, a new council — Our Lady of Lourdes Council 14530 in Wellington — was officially instituted in May 2008, with Shwaluk elected to serve as grand knight.

When talking to eligible members, Shwaluk emphasizes that he is “not a salesman, but I am a practical Catholic.” He has found that potential members have a variety of reasons why membership appeals to them, including shared Catholic interests, support for others in need, promoting charity and maintaining the Church.

In the future, Shwaluk plans to produce personalized recruitment material for his council, and uses social gatherings and church picnics to spread interest in the Order.

“My goal with my council is to increase the membership by encouraging the present members to generate interest among the other men,” said Shwaluk. “At the very least, I would like for our new council to sustain itself so that we are able to continue as the right arm of the Church in full support of our priests.”

Yard Sale

Church Chaperones

Brother Reinhart Schroeder Council 9409 in West Biloxi, Miss., held a yard sale to benefit seminarian José Vasquez. The event raised $1,000 to offset the cost of Vasquez's education.

Knights from Saskatchewan and Manitoba provided volunteer manpower when Holy Eucharist Catholic Church was moved from Pelly to the St. Michael’s Church Camp at Madge Lake. Holy Eucharist, an Eastern Rite parish, was structurally moved to its new location, and the Eparchy of Saskatoon asked the Knights to assist with the building’s maintenance. Many Knights form the committee that keeps the church in working order.

Painting for Life St. Philip Council 11087 in Greenville, R.I., painted the exterior of a pregnancy resource center in Riverton.

Golf Outing Presentation Council 6033 in Upper Saddle River, N.J., held its annual golf outing to benefit the council’s scholarship fund as well as a Haitian medical mission.

Knights have raised more than $100,000 for charity.

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School Dinner Capt. Miles MacDonnel Assembly in Winnipeg, Man., held its annual charity dinner to benefit Catholic education. The event raised $9,200, which was donated to St. Ignatius of Loyola School.

Mass Kit American Charity Council 11822 in Friend-Exeter, Mich., presented newly ordained priest Father Ben Holdren with a traveling Mass kit. w w w. ko f c .o r g

Fogging Operation Siquijor Island (Visayas) Council 6129 conducted a fogging operation at Assisi High School and Siquijor Primary School. Fogging is the easiest way to eliminate mosquitoes that have the potential to carry diseases like malaria. By performing the work themselves, Knights saved the schools several thousand pesos.

Peace Theater Toronto (Ont.) Council 1388 donated $3,500 to the Children’s Peace Theater, a youth theater program in which students can express themselves creatively and learn alternative outlets in the face of conflict. The presentation was made at the final performance of A Line in the Sand, a play about global warming.

Van Purchased St. James the Lesser Council 8912 in Corinth, Miss., used money from its annual fund drive for people with intellectual disabilities to purchase a passenger van for Timber Hills Mental Health Services.

Supporting Youth St. Rita’s Council 14129 in Brooklyn, N.Y., raised $1,000 for its parish youth group. The money was collected during a parish raffle and will help purchase new athletic equipment.

Hospital Servers Volunteers from Monroe (N.Y.) Council 2079 joined members of American Legion Post 488 to prepare and serve a barbecue lunch to patients, families and staff of the Castle Point VA Hospital.

Anthony Reale (far right) of Mary Immaculate Council 12769 in Secaucus, N.J., photographs an unnamed child while Past Grand Knight Gary Jeffas fingerprints another. The council offered free child identification kits during a four-day library fair and issued more than 260 kits to area families.

Ground-Breaking!

Welcome Home

Queen of Peace Council 3954 in Barrington, Ill., broke ground on a $4.6 million community facility called Columbus Centre. The 6000-square-feet building will host doctors’ offices on the first floor and community chambers on the second, including a council room.

Nonprofit organizations in the area, including the VFW, American Legion and Lions Club, will also have the opportunity to use the building for meetings or community activities.

West Park Council 2790 in Cleveland donated $816 to Welcome House, a residentialbased program for people with intellectual disabilities.

Baby Bottle Drives Sacred Heart Council 5337 in Willingboro, N.J., held a baby bottle drive that raised $4,600 for Way of Burlington County. Rev. Raymond F. Dugan Council 935 in Reynoldsville, Pa., held a similar drive that raised nearly $3,000 for Citizens Concerned for Human Life.

Hole in One Mary, Queen of Heaven Council 12253 in Malakoff, Texas, held its annual golf tournament to benefit an area college scholarship fund.

The event raised $5,000.

Benefit Concert South Plainfield (N.J.) Council 6203 held a live concert benefit at its council hall. The event raised $500 for the council’s charitable fund.

Haitian House St. Andrew’s Council 8400 in Holts Summit, Mo., donated $600 to build a house for a needy family in Haiti through the Haitian House Foundation.

Memorial Visit Jake Vercimak, Jeff Austin and Alan Guanella of Brother Elzear Council 5202 at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn., cook hot dogs and hamburgers during a benefit concert. Knights organized Rockin’ for Relief to aid the flood victims of southeast Minnesota. The event raised more than $5,000.

Father John Kennedy Council 4913 and St. Augustine Assembly, both in Valdosta, Ga., provided partial funding to send a group of 150 World War II veterans to visit the WW II memorial in Washington, D.C. Each veteran was accompanied by a “chaperone” for the trip to provide assistance and companionship.

Members of Oxnard (Calif.) Council 750 stand with Bishop José de Jesús Madera during a barbecue and Mass celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest.

Council 750, along with Sacred Heart Council 10067 in Saticoy and Camarilla Council 5272, provided volunteer manpower for the event, which fed more than 1,500 attendees. Bishop Madera is a 36-year member of the Knights and served as the coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Fresno and later as the auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of the Military Services, U.S.A. He retired in 2004.

c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 27

ChurchLoan Father Solanus Casey Council 12276 in Fort Wayne, Ind., was instrumental in securing funding for renovations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church through the Order’s ChurchLoan program. A sign announcing the Knights’ involvement was placed on church property.

Members of Du Portage Council 10097 in St. Louis Du Ha Ha, Que., along with their families and parishioners, repair the fence at a local cemetery. Knights repainted the fence and repaired a gate.

Bus Fund Wahoo (Neb.) Council 1833 donated $1,000 to the Bishop Neumann school bus fund. The money will help the school purchase a new bus to transport students.

Golf Tourney Obadiah Council 7642 in Kirkland, Wash., held its annual Holy Family Golf Tournament to benefit Angelorum Pregnancy Services.

The event raised $500.

Table Toppers St. James of the Marches Council 6574 in Totowa, N.J., donated several adjustable tables to the Department of Children and Families Regional School. Since many of the school’s students use wheelchairs, having adjustable tables that can be raised and lower was essential.

Road Cleaning St. Joseph Council 8113 in Whittaker, Mich., cleaned trash and debris from its adopted stretch of highway.

Fence Building Sts. Cyril and Methodius Council 10576 in East Helena, Mont., built a new fence at Our Lady of the Lake Church. Knights provided manpower and materials for the project.

Members of Msgr. José Torres Díaz Council 3836 in Rio Piedra, Puerto Rico, present a $1,000 donation to Sister Gladys Rosario and the residents of Hogar Santa Teresa Jornet, a retirement home located in Cupey.

Holy Scholars Military Friends Father William Tyrrell Assembly in Tampa, Fla., held a casino night that raised $2,000 for Friends of the Military at MacDill Air Force Base.

The funds support families of deployed military personnel.

Helping A Local St. Thomas Council 605 in Beloit, Wis., donated $1,485 to Terry O’Brien, a local man who has cerebral palsy and cannot work. The funds were raised during a raffle and pancake breakfast.

Cross Display Father John R. Day Council 2659 in Howell, Mich., sponsored a prolife cross display in front of its council hall. Knights spent three hours erecting the crosses to raise awareness of pro-life issues.

Heart Help

The Annunciation Council 12761 in Longwood, Fla., donated $2,500 to Father Paul Vilhan, who is studying for his Ph.D. in Rome.

The donation was the first in a permanent scholarship fund that Council 12761 established to aid priests and religious who wish to pursue a higher education.

Hamburger Stand Our Lady of Guadalupe Council 9215 in Midland, Texas, ran the hamburger stand during its parish festival. Hamburger sales are used to fund improvements and renovations at the church.

Scholarship Fund Father Widmer Council 7877 in Stafford, Va., donated funds to Sister Lisa Lorenz, principal of St. William of York School. The funds will be used to establish a scholarship fund at the school.

Rahway (N.J.) Council 1146 donated an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to the Police Athletic League to be available at their sports activities.

New Stole Good Shepherd Council 6358 in Schertz, Texas, donated a stole to newly ordained deacon Harvey Balcer. Balcer is also a Fourth Degree member of Council 6358.

Bishop Allen H. Vigneron of Oakland, Calif., accepts a plate of food from John Jacques, a member of Au-Lac Council 10724 in Anchorville, Mich. Bishop Vigneron was visiting his family in Michigan and attended a parish festival at Immaculate Conception Church. Knights provided volunteer assistance for the event, which raised funds for the parish.

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Divine Signs Father Neil W. Seidl Council 13672 in Orangevale, Calif., provided funds and manpower to replace two signs at Divine Savior Church.

The signs, visible from the street, were both destroyed during a heavy rainstorm.

Rev. Patrick F. Pindar Council 3962 in Ramsey, N.J., donated an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to the Ramsey Office of Emergency Management. Pictured (from left) are: Ralph Venturini, Michael Adams, Art Nalbandian, Ramsey Mayor Christopher C. Botta, Joseph Reap and Stephen Adams. All except Nalbandian are members of Council 3962.

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Tree Removal Millville (Mass.) Council 11020 and the St. Theresa Church Round Table in Blackstone completed a landscaping project at their parish that also remedied a safety issue.

Knights paid to have a dead tree removed from church property and then landscaped the grounds with fresh plants.

Charity Game Ray Carney of Little Flower Council 13367 in Mobile, Ala., shares a laugh with Clara Brunk after presenting her with copies of

By Their Works and Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism. Brunk is the principal of Little Flower School, and Council 13367 donated the books for use in the school library.

The Knights of Columbus Queens County Conference and Kings Country Conference held their annual fundraiser and softball game to benefit New York Special Olympics. Knights from Brooklyn squared off against Knights from Queens. The event raised more than $5,000.

School Mission

Flood Aid

Maryland district deputies collected 201 backpacks filled with school supplies, 10 boxes of paper and $250 for Frederick Rescue Mission.

The organization, which aims to combat poverty, homelessness and chemical dependency, distributed the items to needy students throughout Frederick County.

Members of Owatonna (Minn.)

Council 945 loaded supplies into several vehicles and drove more than 90 miles to aid the flood-stricken town of Rushford. Knights provided lunch for volunteer workers and those displaced by the flood.

Parish Help San Marcos Evangelista Council 13910 and Rios de Agua Viva Circle 5031, both in Paraiso Tabasco, Mexico South, provided volunteer manpower at their parish for a church event. Knights and Squires aided with several activities and cleaned the church when the event was over.

New Fence St. Patrick of Heatherdowns Council 14155 in Toledo, Ohio, installed more than 300 feet of chain-link fence at its parish rectory, saving the church about $1,800.

New Classrooms Members of Trinity Council 747 in Hackensack, N.J., contributed 160 man-hours and $6,000 to construct two additional classrooms at Holy Trinity School. Knights also replaced school lighting with energy-efficient light bulbs.

Priest Outing Bardstown (Ky.) Council 1290 held its annual outing for all the priests in the surrounding counties. More than 100 Knights and priests enjoyed a steak dinner with all the fixings. The council has hosted a priest outing for more than 50 years.

Blinded by the Light Members of Frank M. Meader Council 6064 in Georgetown, Mass., paint the home of Knight Henry Wladkowski.

Wladkowski needed assistance painting his house and provided lunch to all the volunteers.

Father Michael F. Barrett Council 9875 in Annville donated $3,500 — proceeds from its annual golf tournament — to Lebanon Catholic School. The funds will be used to replace shades and blinds in all of the school’s classrooms.

Father Leo Boyd and Bruce Lines, both members of Father Roche Council 7947 in Armstrong-Enderby, B.C., secure the strops around the restored belfry at St. Mary’s Church. Both men were involved with restoring the historic church, which was built in 1916 and required painting, sanding and roofing.

In addition, the belfry was removed, restored and reinforced before its return to the top of the church.

Spaghetti Dinner Our Lady of Victory Council 7968 in Crestview, Fla., held its annual spaghetti dinner to benefit its parish building fund.

Protecting the Environment Burgos (Mindanao) Santa Cruz Council 7830 sponsors a local movement called KAAMPAKA, which is composed of local fishermen and environmentalists concerned with protecting aquatic life in the area. The group, whose name translates to “Wake up people, protect the sea,” monitors an 879-acre preserve that is home to many species of fish, birds and plant life.

Several Knights also serve as officers of KAAMPAKA.

>kofc.org exclusive See more “Knights in Action” reports and photos at www.kofc.org/ knightsinaction

c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 29 UPPER LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CATHOLIC WEEK, ARCHDIOCESE OF MOBILE

IN SERVICE TO ONE, IN SERVICE TO ALL

East Anglia, U.K. Leamington, Ont.

•

• Busan, South Korea •

• Atsugi Naval Air Facility

• Les Cayes, Haiti Tamil Nadu, India •

Nigeria •

• Masaka, Uganda

U.K. Relay for Life t. George Council 14233 at the Mildenhall Royal Air Force Base in East Anglia, U.K., participated in the U.K. Relay for Life. Knights raised $1,100 for cancer research.

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Mission Computer t. Joan of Arc Council 9918 in Omaha, Neb., donated $500 toward the purchase of a computer and printer for Father Fred Kiwanuka, a mission priest from Uganda. Father Kiwanuka teaches at the Katigondo National Major Seminary in Masaka and traveled to Omaha to continue his studies at Creighton University.

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Fair Trade indsor Mills (Que.) Council 2841 donated $1,000 to Father Jean-Claude Labrecque, who operates a trade school in Les Cayes, Haiti.

The school teaches welding, electrical work and cabinet making to poor Haitians who could otherwise not afford to learn a trade skill.

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A Brother in India ew Glasgow (N.S.) Council 1667 and Msgr. Moses M. Coady

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Assembly in Pictou provide ongoing financial support to Father Michael Lawrence, director of the Perambalur Social Service Society (PSSS) in Tamil Nadu, India. Father Lawrence lived in Nova Scotia for more than a year, where he studied at the Coady International Institute. He also received special dispensation to become a Knight before returning to India. PSSS provides nondenominational aid to the poor of Tamil Nadu.

Senior Home Visit embers of Twenty-Six Martyrs Council 12970 at the Atsugi Naval Air Facility in Japan and the Camp Zama Round Table in Sagamihara volunteered at the Parangsae Senior Citizen Center in Busan, South Korea during the USS George Washington’s scheduled port visit there. Knights interacted with residents and provided cleaning services to the facility.

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Ron DelCiancio and Mario Ingratta of St. Michael’s Council 4501 in Leamington, Ont., load boxes of school supplies for shipment to Africa. Knights collected unused supplies at area schools and donated the items to Canadian Food for Children, an organization that provides outreach to the needy in Third World countries.

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Ken Iadorola (left) of St. Frances de Chantal Council 11793 in Wantagh, N.Y., teaches Father Anthony Udechukwu how to immobilize an injured arm.

Father Udechukwu, who lives in Nigeria but spends his summers in New York, attended the first aid clinic hosted by Council 11793.

The USS George Washington is currently deployed in the Western Pacific Ocean and providing strategic support in the region. w w w. ko f c .o r g

PROMOTIONAL & GIFT ITEMS • JANUARY 2009 Control No.

State Code

O F F I C E U S E O N LY

✁

B

Promotional and Gift Department 78 Meadow Street New Haven, CT 06519-1759 Checks or money orders payable to: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS SUPREME COUNCIL In U.S. currency — No C.O.D. Available in the U.S. and Canada only N AME STREET

C CITY/STATE/PROVINCE ZIP OR POSTAL CODE

A

PHONE NUMBER

Qty.

PG-380, PG-381, PG-382, PG-383 / PG-892

Item No.

Price Each

TOTAL

PG-75, PG-76, PG-77, PG-78

SHIPPING AND HANDLING

$8

CT residents add 6% sales tax CANADIAN residents add 5% GST NB, NFLD/LAB, NS residents add 13% GST

D

E PG-377

F PG-190

Check/Money Order No.

Amount

PG-608

A. GREY COLUMBIA FLEECE JACKET Columbia full-zip jacket featuring 100% polyester fleece, elastic cuffs, zip-closed hand-warmer pockets and drawstring hem. Available in Medium (PG-380), Large (PG-381), XL (PG-382), and XXL (PG-383). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48

Fax No. 1-800-266-6340 for credit card/charged orders.

DO NOT MAIL FAX ORDERS M.C. ❑ VISA ❑

B. KHAKI SOFT FRONT CAP Soft-front cap embroidered with full-color emblem of the Order.

PG-892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9

Expiration Date: Month

C. BLACK COLUMBIA CITY TREK PARKA 100% nylon shell with 100% polyester lining. Full-front zip that extends to top of collar with inside storm flap. Inside pocket on left chest. Lined zip pockets. Open-bottom style with Velcro® adjustable cuffs. Embroidered emblem of the Order in grey.

Available in Medium (PG-75), Large (PG-76), XL (PG-77), and XXL (PG-78). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $70

CREDIT CARD INFORMATION

D. “FUTURE KNIGHT” BABY BIB Infant bib in 100% cotton terry with navy contrast piping and embroidered with the words “Future Knight.” Snap close with two size adjustments.

PG-377. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.50 E. OLIVE WOOD VIRGIN MARY FIGURE Hand made by Christians in the Holy Land from native olive wood. Stands 10” tall. PG-190. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $76

Year

Signature

NAME STREET CITY

STATE/PROVINCE

ZIP/POSTAL CODE DAYTIME PHONE # (

)

F. HOWARD MILLER CLOCK Solid brass case clock measures 4 1/2” x 4 1/2” x 1 1/4”. Printed with emblem of the Order in black below dial. PG-608. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $52

OFFICIAL JANUARY 1, 2009 To owners of Knights of Columbus insurance policies and persons responsible for payment of premiums on such policies: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the provisions of Section 84 of the Laws of the Order, payment of insurance premiums due on a monthly basis to the Knights of Columbus by check made payable to Knights of Columbus and mailed to same at PO Box 1492, NEW HAVEN, CT 06506-1492, before the expiration of the grace period set forth in the policy. In Canada: Knights of Columbus, CASE POSTALE 935, Station d’Armes, Montréal, PQ H2Y 3J4 ALL MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, EDITORIAL MATTER, AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES SHOULD BE MAILED TO: COLUMBIA, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901. REJECTED MATERIAL WILL BE RETURNED IF ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND RETURN POSTAGE. PURCHASED MATERIAL WILL NOT BE RETURNED. COLUMBIA (ISSN 0010-1869) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326. PHONE: 203-752-4000, www.kofc.org. PRODUCED IN USA. COPYRIGHT © 2008 BY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW HAVEN, CT AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO COLUMBIA, MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 065070901.

CANADIAN POSTMASTER—THIRD-CLASS POSTAGE IS PAID AT WINNIPEG, MB, PERMIT NO. 0100092699 PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 1473549 REGISTRATION NO. R104098900 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS 505 IROQUOIS SHORE ROAD #11 OAKVILLE ON L6H 2R3 PHILIPPINES—FOR PHILIPPINES SECOND-CLASS MAIL AT THE MANILA CENTRAL POST OFFICE. SEND RETURN COPIES TO KCFAPI, FRATERNAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1511, MANILA. SUBSCRIPTION RATES—IN THE U.S.: 1 YEAR, $6; 2 YEARS, $11; 3 YEARS, $15. FOR OTHER COUNTRIES ADD $2 PER YEAR. EXCEPT FOR CANADIAN SUBSCRIPTIONS, PAYMENT IN U.S. CURRENCY ONLY. SEND ORDERS AND CHECKS TO: ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901.

OPINIONS BY WRITERS ARE THEIR OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.

c o l u m b i a / j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 31

COLUMBIANISM BY DEGREES C HARITY [Left] Pat Sinclair of Father Perez Council 1444 in Chicago collects money from motorists during the council’s annual fund drive for people with intellectual disabilities. The drive collected more than $30,000. • Holy Rosary Council 1896 in Clinton, Mo., donated $75,000 to its parish for the construction of a parish hall. Knights operated a cook shack concession stand to raise funds for the donation.

U NITY [Right] Ken Saveth, Michael Saveth and Jacob Hobbs make their plates during a potluck dinner hosted by Harry L. Harper Council 6606 in Broken Arrow, Okla.

The event was held to honor local priests, deacons and seminarians. Proceeds from the dinner were donated to Center of Family Love, Birthright and St. Gregory University. • Pope John Paul I Assembly in Rio Rancho, N.M., donated a Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree chalice to Msgr. Lawrence Mukasa, vicargeneral of the Diocese of Kiyinda-Mityana, Uganda. Msgr. Mukasa will present the chalice to one of 10 newly ordained priests in his diocese.

F RATERNITY [Left] Terry Ryan (left) of Ronn J. Barton Council 12146 in Tallahassee, Fla., displays a K of C banner while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain, which is located in Tanzania, is the largest freestanding mountain rise in the world. • North Topeka (Kan.) Council 2608 held a garage sale for a brother Knight who unexpectedly moved to a nursing home and had to sell his house. The event, which also served to clean the home before its sale, raised more than $600.

P ATRIOTISM [Right] Bob Fabrizio of Ramapo Valley Council 5846 in Oakland, N.J., throws his horseshoe during a council-sponsored tournament to benefit the Wounded Warrior Program. More than 250 people attended the event, which also included refreshments and a raffle. The tournament raised $18,000 for the Wounded Warrior Program, which provides services and support for wounded veterans and their families. • F. Randolf Howell Assembly in Columbia, Tenn., provided a grilled lunch for about 60 National Guard soldiers stationed at the National Guard Armory in Columbia. Knights treated the soldiers to hamburgers, hot dogs, cake and soda.

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w w w. ko f c .o r g

THE KNIGHTS

OF COLUMBUS In service to One. In service to all.

Mike Welch and Ray Hynson of Archbishop Seghers Assembly in Fairbanks, Alaska, stand with the assembly’s ice sculpture during the “North Pole Christmas in Ice” festival. Knights served crepes, hot chocolate and cider at their display, and raised $1,000 to support the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Assemblies throughout the Order are raising half of the Supreme Council’s $1 million contribution to the shrine’s Incarnation Dome.

Building a better world one council at a time.

Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a difference. Whether it’s through community service, raising money for their parish or prayer. We celebrate each and every Knight for his strength, his compassion and his dedication to building a better world.

To be featured here, send your council’s “Knights in Action” photo as well as its description to: Columbia, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326 or e-mail: columbia@kofc.org.

I FOLLOW MY MASTER WHEREVER HE GUIDES ME, AND I KNOW THAT HE IS FAITHFUL

Aug. 8 is always a very special day in the Congregation of

the Dominican sisters that familiar zeal for the salvation of the

Dominican Sisters. It is the feast of St. Dominic and a day of

world — above all, the eagerness for the salvation of those who

solemn profession for the junior sisters. As an adolescent, I

do not realize their own hunger for God and his love. There was

witnessed this ceremony many times. However, this year it was

indeed a very short leap between my initial admiration of the

much different. In the company of six other young sisters, I

sisters and my own commitment to God in consecrated life.

publicly prostrated myself and asked God for his mercy and the intercession of his holy Church to become worthy of the grace of

I entered the Congregation saying “yes” to Jesus, who was

consecration.

patiently waiting for me to join his mission. The rest was just the consequence: years of formation, ministry with children,

Like many generations of Dominicans before me, I thought

taking a part in different apostolic works and, recently, joining

about the long journey that brought me to this point of my life. I

the American Province of the Congregation. I follow my Master

recalled the unfulfilled childish hunger for infinity, the adoles-

wherever he guides me, and I know that he is faithful.

cent longing for the revelation of Jesus and the adult desire to spread the word of the Gospel. Experiencing these significant

If you hear the voice calling you to follow him, do not be afraid.

longings made me ready to receive God’s blessings. I find among

He will not leave you alone on the way.

SISTER M. SIMON GROSICKA, O.P. Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Province Justice, Ill.

Keep the Faith Alive www.kofc.org

Please, do all you can to encourage priestly and religious vocations.

Your prayers and support make a difference.