BUILDING A CULTURE OF LIFE

WHEREAS, the Knights of Columbus has a deep and historic commitment to oppose any government action or policy that promotes abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, euthanasia, assisted suicide, or other offenses against life; and

WHEREAS, the Order supports programs that provide women facing crisis pregnancies with alternatives to abortion, including adoption, and that we support projects that provide spiritual support to those women suffering from the traumatic emotional and psychological aftereffects of abortion; and

WHEREAS, our Ultrasound Program has provided a window into the womb by placing more than 1,400 ultrasound machines in 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Republic of Korea, and a growing number of Canadian provinces; and

WHEREAS, we reaffirm our commitment to building a “culture of life” by promoting policies that favor the family, and by recognizing that it is within strong and healthy families that moral values are taught and the spiritual heritage of the nation is transmitted; and,

WHEREAS, the Knights of Columbus has a long history of supporting marches and rallies for the cause of life in the countries where we have a formal presence; and

WHEREAS, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated that “Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of the grave responsibility before them, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature”; and

WHEREAS, Pope Francis has called abortion the product of a “widespread mentality of profit, the throwaway culture, which has today enslaved the hearts and minds of so many”; and

WHEREAS, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reminded us that “among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. … This defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development”; and

WHEREAS, in his encyclical, Laudato si', the Holy Father reiterated that “since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion”; and

WHEREAS, in remarks to the leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis reiterated that protection of the unborn is a “preeminent priority” and it is not first a religious issue, but rather an issue of human rights.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we will continue to speak out to our elected representatives about the need to enact legislation protecting human life in all its stages; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we believe women deserve better than abortion and will continue to support alternatives to abortion, including adoption, and that we support projects which provide spiritual support to those women and men suffering from the traumatic emotional and psychological aftereffects of abortion; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus will continue to uphold the Catholic Church’s authoritative teaching on the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Laudato si', and other documents; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we reaffirm our long-standing policies of not inviting to any Knights of Columbus event persons, especially public officials or candidates for public office, who do not support the legal protection of unborn children, or who advocate the legalization of assisted suicide or euthanasia, and that we prohibit such persons from renting or otherwise using facilities over which our members have control, or speaking at Knights of Columbus events, or bestowing on them honors or privileges of our Order of any kind, or inviting them to serve as honorary chairpersons of events, celebrations, or committees, or hold any office in the Knights of Columbus; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we once again commit ourselves to praying the rosary frequently, to fasting and to doing penance in reparation for the evils perpetrated against the gift of life and that we seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who herself said “yes” to life, to intercede on our behalf for the establishment of a “culture of life.”