In Solidarity with Pope Benedict
Resolution expressing gratitude to Pope Benedict XVI, adopted by the 128th Supreme Convention on Aug. 5, 2010.
WHEREAS, Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born at Marktl am Inn, in Lower Bavaria, on April 16, 1927 and was baptized on the same day; and
WHEREAS, his loving parents raised him in an atmosphere of goodness and hope, rooted in a devotion to the Church, even during those years in which the Nazi regime pursued a hostile attitude toward the Church; and
WHEREAS, he was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951 and served for more than two decades as both a pastor and a professor at the University of Tubingen, the University of Munster, and the University of Regensburg; and
WHEREAS, the young Father Ratzinger made a notable contribution at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) through his work as an expert and theological advisor; and
WHEREAS, in 1977 he received episcopal ordination and was appointed by Pope Paul VI as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, in Bavaria, and was named a Cardinal later that same year; and
WHEREAS, as the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and Freising, he took as his episcopal motto “Co-workers of the Truth”, explaining that his primary responsibility as a bishop was to follow the truth and be at its service; and
WHEREAS, in 1981 Pope John Paul II brought him to Rome and named him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican office charged with defending and explaining the truth of Catholic doctrine; and
WHEREAS, he served as President of the Preparatory Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which after six years of work (1986-1992) presented the new Catechism to the Holy Father; and
WHEREAS, in 2002 Pope John Paul II approved Cardinal Ratzinger’s election as Dean of the College of Cardinals; and
WHEREAS, after the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected the Successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, and the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church on April 19 of that year;
WHEREAS, after his election to the Chair of Peter, he explained that he took the name Benedict to remember Pope Benedict XV, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war, and Saint Benedict of Nursia, whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe; and
WHEREAS, as the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and later as Pope, the Holy Father has guided the Church with clarity and courage, both in his internal administration of the Church and in his proclamation of the Gospel to the Church and to the world; and
WHEREAS, in April of this year the Knights of Columbus encouraged Knights and their families around the world to pray a special novena for the Holy Father at this time of considerable challenge;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Knights of Columbus expresses its profound gratitude to Pope Benedict XVI for his lifetime of dedicated service to Christ and his Church as a priest, a pastor, a university professor, a theologian, a bishop, a cardinal and as the Supreme Pontiff of the universal Church; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that Knights of Columbus, along with their families, commit ourselves to prayers of thanksgiving to our heavenly Father for the great gift that Pope Benedict XVI is to the Church and to the world; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call upon the entire Order to express our solidarity with the Holy Father through a commitment to prayer, fasting and acts of charity for the intention that God may protect him from his enemies and grant him the courage and wisdom to guide the Church in these turbulent times; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus will never waver in its commitment to defend the Holy Father and assist him in his pastoral mission of bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.