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Supreme Knight's Report Called 'Newsworthy'
The annual report of Supreme Knight Carl Anderson will be timely and newsworthy, the Knights of Columbus announced at a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Anderson will deliver the report Tuesday, Aug. 5, at the opening session of 126th Supreme Council Meeting in Quebec City.
The theme of the meeting is “Building a Civilization of Love Through Charity, Unity and Fraternity.” Charity, unity and fraternity are the three principles of the Knights of Columbus.
Deputy Supreme Knight, Dennis Savoie, addresses the press conference.
Patrick Korten, vice president for communications, said that Supreme Knight Anderson will speak with strength and clarity about the Order’s commitment to life issues – including abortion, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research – and the sanctity of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The words of the Supreme Knight will have added significance given the fact that there is a general election in the United States this year, and in Canada next year, Korten noted.
Greetings to the convention will be sent in a letter from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and U.S. President George Bush will supply a videotaped greeting.
Also speaking at the press conference were Deputy Supreme Knight Dennis Savoie and the Order’s Supreme Director from Quebec, Yves Duceppe, who is chairman of the 2008 convention.
Speaking in French, Duceppe said that some 2,000 delegates and their families from Canada, United States, Philippines, Mexico, Poland and the Caribbean are attending the convention in Quebec City, which is celebrating the 400th anniversary of its founding by French Catholic explorer Samuel de Champlain.
Savoie said that the Knights of Columbus convention is designed this year to build on the spiritual renewal begun in Quebec City by the 49th International Eucharistic Congress held in Quebec City in June.
“We hope to add to the renewal so that we will see results for Quebec and all of Canada for years to come,” Savoie said.
Resolutions for Life and Marriage
Korten said that the delegates at the convention will vote on a number of resolutions that have importance for society at large, such support for religious liberty, natural marriage, building a culture of life, Catholic education and keeping the words “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
He also said that a new fatherhood initiative, called Fathers for Good, will be launched by the Supreme Knight during his address. The centerpiece for the initiative is a Web site, www.fathersforgood.org, which also launches on Aug. 5.
The convention theme is based on the words of the late Pope John Paul II, who used “a civilization of love” to describe the kind of culture Catholics seek to establish, Korten said. Pope Benedict XVI has also used the phrase, most recently when addressing hundreds of thousands of young people in July at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia.
Last March, Supreme Knight Anderson published a book based on the theme – A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World.