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april 2012 ♦ Volume 92 ♦ Number 4

COLUMBIA F E AT U R E S

8 Shredding the First Amendment Special Report: U.S. bishops and others continue to express grave concerns about an unprecedented attack on religious freedom.

14 Unanimous Victory for Freedom In a rare 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects a church’s rights to choose its own ministers.

BY MICHAEL P. MORELAND

16 Peace and Persecution in Egypt In the wake of revolution, Egyptian Christians struggle to find their place in a predominantly Muslim nation.

BY GREG BURKE

20 Minted in Faith A unique museum in Poland pays homage to Blessed John Paul II through medals and coins.

BY PAWEŁ PIWOWARCZYK

24 A Patriotic Burden New Mexico Knight carries cross 630 miles in honor of Father Emil Kapaun.

BY JOSEPH J. KOLB, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Moses is depicted with the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments on the pediment on the back of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

D E PA RT M E N T S 3

Building a better world

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In solidarity with the U.S. bishops, Knights defend religious liberty against an unjust government mandate.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec

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Learning the faith, living the faith The fifth luminous mystery of the rosary teaches us to grow in gratitude for the Blessed Sacrament.

Knights of Columbus News Order Assists African AIDS Orphans • K of C Coats for Kids Season Ends Warmly • Knights Respond to Devastating Tornadoes

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26

Knights in Action

32

Columbianism by Degrees

Fathers for Good The St. Louis Major League Baseball team has strong Catholic roots.

BY BRIAN CAULFIELD

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN BISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS Catholic Man of the Month

APRIL 2012

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E D I TO R I A L

Our Easter Witness AT ThE culmination of holy Week, the Easter Triduum commemorates the Paschal mystery: Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. This single liturgy begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on holy Thursday and concludes with the Easter Vigil on holy Saturday. In this celebration, the Church is mindful that Easter is not just another holiday, but rather the greatest feast of the liturgical year — and not just because our Lenten observances have come to an end and people who, for instance, abstained from their favorite desserts may now indulge. Our Easter joy is much deeper because it is rooted in Jesus’ resurrection, which is the central truth of Christian faith and hope.

Christian joy differs from mere enjoyment, and not only in degree.

Christ’s victory over sin and death does not mean that our life in this world will be easy. On the contrary, as both our Lenten preparation and the Triduum remind us, the path to resurrection always follows the Way of the Cross. The saints and martyrs testify to the “supreme goodness of knowing Christ Jesus,” but also to the fact that this involves the “sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death” (Phil 3:8-10).

The celebration of Easter — and every celebration of the Eucharist, which makes present the Paschal mystery — presents us with both a promise and a challenge. As Pope Benedict XVI noted in an Eastertide audience last year, we are called to “live the Paschal mystery in our everyday lives.” This, he said, involves putting to death earthly

desires such as impurity and greed, and replacing them with the “things that are above,” such as kindness, patience and, above all, love (cf. Col 3:1-14). In the end, lasting joy is found in the paradox of the cross — surrendering our will to that of God, casting selfishness aside and growing in Christian virtue.

The day before being elevated to the College of Cardinals in February, thenArchbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York noted, “The new evangelization is accomplished with a smile, not a frown.” he then pointed out that the red hat and robes that he and the 21 other new cardinals would receive the next day symbolize the blood of the martyrs. he added, “We are but ‘scarlet audio-visual aids’ for all our brothers and sisters also called to be ready to suffer and die for Jesus.”

As president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Dolan is helping to lead the fight against the U.S. government’s recent challenge to religious liberty and conscience rights (see page 8). he is joined by Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the Ad hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, and the other U.S. bishops. As in all things, the Knights stand behind their bishops, prepared to personally witness to the Christian faith in their daily lives and to stand up for the truths they hold most dear. Indeed, all Knights are called to do so with a spirit of determination, charity and joy.♦ ALTON J. PELOWSKI MANAGING EDITOR

National Catholic Prayer Breakfast – April 19 ThE 8Th ANNUAL National Catholic Prayer Breakfast will take place Thursday, April 19, in Washington, D.C. The event will feature keynote speeches on the topic of religious liberty by Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, apostolic nuncio to the United Nations, and Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson. For more information, or to purchase tickets to the event, which is sponsored by the Supreme Council, visit catholicprayerbreakfast.org.

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APRIL 2012

COLUMBIA PUBLIShER Knights of Columbus ________ SUPREME OFFICERS Carl A. Anderson SUPREME KNIGHT Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. SUPREME CHAPLAIN Dennis A. Savoie DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT Charles E. Maurer Jr. SUPREME SECRETARY Logan T. Ludwig SUPREME TREASURER John A. Marrella SUPREME ADVOCATE ________ EDITORIAL Alton J. Pelowski alton.pelowski@kofc.org MANAGING EDITOR Patrick Scalisi patrick.scalisi@kofc.org ASSOCIATE EDITOR Brian Dowling brian.dowling@kofc.org CREATIVE & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT ________

Venerable Michael 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 ADDRESS CHANGES 203-752-4580 OTHER INQUIRIES 203-752-4398 FAX 203-752-4109 CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-800-380-9995 E-MAIL columbia@kofc.org INTERNET kofc.org/columbia ________ Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

________ Copyright © 2012 All rights reserved ________ ON ThE COVER A copy of the Bill of Rights is pictured torn down the center, symbolizing disregard for First Amendment religious liberty protections.

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

We Will Stand Firm The issue is freedom as Knights stand in solidarity with the U.S. bishops against an unjust government mandate

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson CAThOLICS in the United States face insurers can provide this coverage for free, an unprecedented situation — one that and therefore, Catholics and Catholic inthreatens the essence of our religious stitutions should not be concerned. If the freedom. The U.S. Department of president’s logic were correct, insurance health and human Services’ health in- companies could offer many other pre- man to furnish contributions of money surance mandate will force Catholic scription drugs for free, since controlling for the propagation of opinions which he organizations to provide insurance cov- blood pressure and cholesterol, for exam- disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.” erage for sterilization, contraception and ple, is less expensive than treating patients In the 1950s, the Knights of Columabortifacient drugs for their employees. for heart attack and stroke. bus led efforts to have the words “under This requirement, which takes effect But we know that there is no such God” added to the U.S. Pledge of Allenext year, will be compulsory for every thing as a free lunch. The fact remains giance. These words came from Abraham Catholic organization. that Catholic organizations will pay for Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Like JefferUnder this rule, the Knights of health insurance programs for their em- son, Lincoln knew that America’s greatColumbus will be forced to use ness cannot be separated from membership dues and money the affirmation in the Declaragenerated through insurance tion of Independence that we sales to fund health care that are a nation of inalienable rights Today, the Knights of Columbus provides drugs and procedures “endowed by our Creator.” that violate the moral teaching In January, Pope Benedict has a critical role to play in of the Catholic Church on the XVI spoke out publicly about defending our religious liberty. transmission and sanctity of the new threats to religious libhuman life. erty in the United States. he Constitutional scholars have said: “It is imperative that the described the administration’s entire Catholic community in mandate as unconstitutional and illegal. ployees, and those programs will be re- the United States comes to realize the And the U.S. Conference of Catholic quired to provide services that violate our grave threats to the Church’s public Bishops has vowed to fight it, calling on moral beliefs. moral witness.” the president to rescind his mandate and Today, the Knights of Columbus has a And the National Right to Life Comurging Congress to pass legislation to pro- mittee has warned that the administra- critical role to play in defending our relitect our religious liberties. tion’s mandate may not stop there. The gious liberty. We must support our bishThis is not only a Catholic issue. Thou- administration’s logic provides the ops when they insist that President sands of Protestant ministers have pub- groundwork for mandating abortion cov- Obama rescind his unjust mandate. We licly opposed the mandate, with some erage in the future since abortion is less must also urge members of Congress to pass legislation to protect our liberties. saying that they would go to jail before vi- expensive than childbirth. olating their religious beliefs.

Never before has the federal govern- And we must pray that this threat to reliIn response to the firestorm of con- ment used its power to violate religious gious freedom will be overcome.

We face a time of great challenge. Every troversy that the mandate has created, liberty in this way, insisting that religious the Obama administration has offered organizations pay for programs that violate brother Knight must do his part. Like so many brother Knights before us, I am a so-called accommodation. But what their moral convictions. has been offered is both inadequate and A decade after drafting the Declaration confident that we too will stand firm in unacceptable. of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote the cause of freedom and in defense of The administration argues that since the Virginia Act for Establishing Religious our Church.

Vivat Jesus! contraception is less costly than childbirth, Freedom. In it, he stated: “To compel a

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LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

The Institution of the Eucharist The fifth luminous mystery of the rosary teaches us to grow in gratitude for the Blessed Sacrament

by Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori

YEARS AGO, while still a seminar- closest followers. As the Lord stoops light unfolds whenever Mass is celian, I visited a parish far from home to wash the feet of the apostles, we ebrated. When the Scripture readand was astonished by what I saw. see the beauty of self-giving love and ings are proclaimed, it is the eternal The priest did not preach a homily how to be signs of hope for a world Word of the Father, Christ himself, but instead called people up from shrouded in darkness. And as the who speaks to us, shedding the light the congregation and treated them holy Thursday liturgy unfolds, we of the Gospel upon our lives. As the like contestants on a game show. he draw near to him who is “God from bread and wine are offered and asked them questions and kept score. God and light from light.” The Eu- transformed into Christ’s body and The only things lacking were a glam- charist, the pledge of our future blood, his sacrifice is made truly orous assistant and prizes. present. In this way, we As my ordination drew near, share in what the Lord did the wise, holy priests who to save us, caught up in Taking part in the Eucharist, mentored my classmates and Jesus’ self-offering to the Fame warned us against calling ther for the sake of our salwe enter into a love that is pure attention to ourselves during vation. Taking part in the the celebration of the EuEucharist, we enter into a and holy, with no shadow of the charist. One of them said, love that is pure and holy, selfishness of sin, so that our souls with no shadow of the self“Don’t try to be stars when you are in the presence of the Sun.” ishness of sin, so that our might shine with the glory of Long before Blessed Pope John souls might shine with the Paul II gave the Church the luglory of Christ, the light of Christ, the light of the world. minous mysteries of the rosary, the world. these priests understood the Eucharist as a mystery of light, MARY, ThE WOMAN which originated on the cusp of glory, allows us to reflect the radi- OF ThE EUChARIST Calvary’s darkness. ance of Christ’s charity. We are con- Who better to help us grow in our nected to Christ’s sacrifice of love understanding and love of the EuA MYSTERY OF LIGhT on Calvary, by which the darkness charist than Mary, the Mother of Jesus instituted the Eucharist the of sin and death is defeated. The our Lord and “the sanctuary of the night before he died, during the Mass concludes with a solemn pro- holy Spirit” (Rosary of the Virgin Last Supper. Twenty centuries later, cession of the Blessed Sacrament to Mary, 16)? Although the Blessed the Church still celebrates the insti- a repository, a temporary tabernacle Virgin Mary was not present at the tution of the Eucharist on holy where we can spend time in adora- Last Supper, she remains for all time Thursday. During the evening Mass tion, contemplating the Lord’s real “The Woman of the Eucharist,” as of the Lord’s Supper, we are ushered presence.

John Paul II called her in his eninto the glow of the Upper Room as Whether in a grand cathedral or a cyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia. We Jesus shares a paschal meal with his small chapel, the same mystery of know from the Acts of the Apostles 4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

that Mary was present at the earliest celebrations of the Mass (2:42), and the Eucharist is never celebrated without invoking her name in the communion of saints.

But Mary’s role in the Eucharist goes deeper. Mary conceived the Word of God in her sinless heart before she carried him in her womb. By the power of the holy Spirit, she conceived physically the one whom we receive, “Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity,” each time we go to Communion. As she carried Jesus in her womb to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Mary “became in some way a ‘tabernacle’ — the

HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTIONS

Offered in solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI GENERAL: That many young people may hear the call of Christ and follow him in the priesthood and religious life.

CNS photo/l’osservatore romano

MISSION: That the risen Christ may be a sign of certain hope for the men and women of the African continent.

first ‘tabernacle’ in history” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 55).

More than anyone else, Mary followed her son and embodied the kingdom of the Beatitudes that he preached. She stood beneath the cross, sharing in her son’s sacrifice, her soul pierced with sorrow. She received the good news of the resurrection with joy and prayed with the apostles as the holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. She stored in her heart the living memory of Jesus and his saving deeds, which the Church remembers and re-presents every time the Eucharist is celebrated. Mary, who assented to the

mysteries of Christ, teaches us to say “Amen!” to the mysteries in which we are so privileged to share at every Mass.

When we meditate on the fifth luminous mystery, the institution of the Eucharist, we ask Mary to intercede for us, so that we may enter into the glory of this great mystery of faith. Let us ask Mary, from her place in the heavenly liturgy, to help us love the Eucharist and give thanks. And let us beg her intercession for the many Catholics who absent themselves from this mystery, which is indeed “the source and summit” of the Church’s life.♦

C AT H O L I C M A N O F T H E M O N T H

Blessed José Anacleto González Flores (1888-1927) JOSé ANACLETO González Flores was born the second of 12 children to a poor family in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico. As a young man, he showed exceptional aptitude in his studies. he attended the seminary but discerned that he was not being called to the priesthood. he studied law and became an attorney in 1922, and was married the same year.

A leader of the Catholic Association of Young Mexicans, Anacleto taught catechism and was dedicated to works of charity. he became a passionate advocate of nonviolent resistance against a series of anti-clerical laws that became enforced in 1926. Founding a magazine and protest group, he spoke out against things such as the government’s seizure of Church properties and silencing of priests.

As violent persecution escalated, he joined the National League for Defense of Religious Freedom, which supported the growing Cristero rebellion. Anacleto did not fight, but gave speeches and wrote pamphlets urging his fellow Catholics to assist the rebels with needed supplies.

On April 1, 1927, Anacleto and three companions were captured by government officials who sought to quell the rebellion by imprisoning its leaders. Interrogated and tortured, the four men remained silent. They then recited the Act of Contrition and were executed by firing squad.

When Anacleto and 12 other martyrs from Mexico were beatified Nov. 20, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI called their example “a stimulus for defending the faith and having faith in current society.”

González will be portrayed by actor Eduardo Verástegui in For Greater Glory, an upcoming film about the Cristero War. APRIL 2012

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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS

Order Assists African AIDS Orphans

Father Paul O. Gaggawala (right), a former Pennsylvania state chaplain and the current director of mission promotion for the Apostles of Jesus, breaks ground for a new school for AIDS orphans in Uganda with assistance from students and staff.

WORK hAS BEGUN on a primary school in Uganda as part of the Order’s outreach to provide care and shelter for some of the millions of children in Africa who have been orphaned because of AIDS. Father Paul O. Gaggawala, a former Pennsylvania state chaplain and the current director of mission promotion for the Apostles of Jesus, traveled to the site in Uganda for the new school’s ground breaking. Father Gaggawala is coordinating the Order’s involvement in this initiative, which will include a similar construction project in Kenya.

To expand and deepen existing services for orphaned children in Uganda and Kenya, the Order has partnered with the Apostles of Jesus, founded in 1968 as the first group of missionary priests and brothers to be established in Africa.

Most children being served became orphans when AIDS affected their families, but in Uganda, some families were split by the recent civil war, according to Father Gaggawala.

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APRIL 2012

Of the estimated 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths worldwide in 2009, more than 7 in 10 — a total of 1.3 million — occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the United Nations. These estimates show that there are now nearly 15 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the AIDS crisis.

Announcing the initiative at the 129th Supreme Convention in Denver, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson explained that, in pursuing this program, the Knights will be continuing the mission of Venerable Michael McGivney, who founded the Order to help the widows and orphans of 19th-century Connecticut.

“The Knights of Columbus cannot do everything — we cannot solve every problem,” said Anderson. “But where we can help, we do so. And I believe that we can help alleviate the suffering of at least some children orphaned by AIDS.”♦

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS

K of C Coats for Kids Season Ends Warmly AS EVIDENCE of spring is seen throughout North America, the Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids initiative is celebrating the end of another successful season that saw more than 32,000 needy children receive new winter coats for use during the cold weather months.

While many families — especially those with young children — continue to struggle because of the difficult economic climate, the Order has made a commitment to help by providing winter jackets to those in need.

For the 2011-12 winter season, approximately 750 K of C units purchased and distributed 26,508 coats.

In addition, the Supreme Council purchased 5,500 coats that were sent to several state councils for distribution, for a total of 32,008 coats donated. This is a significant increase over the 17,626 coats that were distributed in 2010-11.♦

A girl receives a new coat at a Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids distribution in Vancouver, British Columbia.

TorNaDo: CNS photo/Jim Young, reuters

Knights Respond to Devastating Tornadoes KNIGhTS ARE helping their neighbors and communities clean up following outbreaks of deadly tornadoes in late February and early March. Across the Midwest and southern parts of the United States, the tornadoes left dozens of people dead and caused millions of dollars in property damage. The wave of storms affected more than 10 states, destroying farm equipment, homes, businesses and, in some cases, entire towns.

Within days, Knights had mobilized to help their stricken communities. In southern Indiana, for instance, District Deputy William J. McDonald of Indiana District #28 coordinated relief efforts in the towns surrounding henryville, located about 95 miles south of Indianapolis.

Knights there began collecting cleaning supplies, power tools, baby items, toiletries and clothing, as well as funds for the state council’s charity fund.

In 2011, more than $175,000 was provided through the Supreme Council to supplement U.S. disaster relief projects. To contribute to local relief efforts this year, visit kofc.org/disaster to donate online or send checks to: Knights of Columbus Charities, 1 Columbus Plaza, P.O. Box 1966, New haven, CT 06509-1966. Please write “U.S. Disaster Relief ” in the memo line of your check.♦

A man helps clear debris from the ruins of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Ridgway, Ill., March 1. The church, built in 1894, was destroyed just after 5 a.m. Feb. 29 by a tornado that tore through the small southern Illinois town.

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special report

SHREDDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT U.S. bishops and others continue to express grave concerns about an unprecedented attack on religious freedom

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he Obama administration’s new mandate requiring statements, fact sheets and videos explaining the gravity of the nearly all U.S. health insurance plans to cover contracep- situation. State Catholic conferences, the Knights of Columtion, sterilization and some abortion-inducing drugs has cre- bus and numerous other Catholic organizations followed the ated a firestorm. bishops’ lead, appealing to supporters and members to contact But for the U.S. bishops, with broad support from religious their legislators. and secular leaders, the issue at stake is an even broader issue In testimony Feb. 16 before the house Committee on Overof First Amendment religious liberty protections and govern- sight and Government Reform, Bishop Lori explained the ment intrusion into religious faith Church’s position using what he and practice. The bishops’ argucalled “The Parable of the Kosher ments have made clear that, reDeli,” imagining a government gardless of how many people mandate that compelled all busifollow the Church’s teaching on nesses to serve pork, even kosher ever before contraception, government has no delicatessens. right to force religious organizaOf course, such a mandate has the federal tions to violate their clear and conwould be rejected, he said. “Does sistent teachings. the fact that large majorities in government forced “Never before has the federal society — even large majorities individuals and government forced individuals and within the protesting religious organizations to go out into the community — reject a particular organizations to go marketplace and buy a product religious belief make it permissithat violates their conscience,” ble for the government to weigh out into the marketCardinal Timothy M. Dolan, archin on one side of that dispute? place and buy a bishop of New York and president Does it allow government to punof the U.S. Conference of Catholic ish that minority belief with its product that violates Bishops, said in a video posted oncoercive power?” he asked. “In a line hours after the Jan. 20 annation committed to religious libtheir conscience.” nouncement by hhS. “This erty and diversity, the answer, of shouldn’t happen in a land where course, is no.” free exercise of religion ranks first The mandate is one of numerin the Bill of Rights.” ous regulations dealing with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care AN ASSAULT ON LIBERTY Act, commonly known as Obamacare. First announced in AuUnder the leadership of Cardinal Dolan and Supreme Chap- gust 2011 and reaffirmed in January 2012, the regulation lain Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman states that all employee health insurance plans must cover “preof the U.S. bishops’ Ad hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, ventive health services,” including prescription contraception the scope of the response has been unprecedented. Every drugs and devices, as well as elective surgical sterilizations. The diocesan bishop in the country, without exception, has pub- mandate states that insurers may not even charge a co-pay for licly opposed the mandate. The USCCB also set up a special these services, as they commonly do with virtually all other webpage (usccb.org/conscience) after the announcement with prescription drugs and surgical procedures.

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Consisting of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights was introduced by James Madison to the 1st United States Congress and adopted by the House of Representatives in 1789. The First Amendment states that the government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

In November 2011, then-Archbishop Dolan visited the White house and appealed to President Obama to extend a broad exemption for religious institutions and individuals with moral objections to contraception or abortifacients. Archbishop Dolan left the meeting stating that he was convinced the president was taking the concern seriously. however, when the hhS rule was announced in January, it was a different story. The administration held to its original plan of exempting only churches — that is, houses of worship — from the mandate. Any other religious ministry that either employs or serves people of different faiths, would not be exempt, including hospitals, Catholic Charities agencies, and schools and universities. The only thing that these institutions were offered was one extra year to comply.

“In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences,” declared Cardinal Dolan.

Although abortion-advocacy groups like Planned Parenthood cheered the ruling, Catholics and others saw it as unfathomable — seemingly declaring Catholic health, education and charitable ministries to be secular pursuits serving no religious purpose. For many, it appeared to be a not-so-thinlyveiled assault on religious liberty.

Groups such as the National Right to Life Committee further argued that the new rule would open the door to mandating that “every health plan in America cover abortion on demand.” If other “reproductive services” are considered basic, preventive health care, then why not abortion?

SERIOUS OBJECTIONS REMAIN In an election year, the story was proving problematic for President Obama’s campaign, with criticism coming from self-proclaimed “progressive” Catholics whose support helped pass Obamacare over objections from the U.S. bishops. E.J. Dionne, the liberal Washington Post columnist, charged that Obama had “utterly botched” the contraception issue and had thrown “his progressive Catholic allies under the bus.”

With the pressure rising, Obama appeared to reverse course abruptly on Feb. 10, announcing that he would issue a new regulation stating that non-exempt religious institutions would not have to provide the insurance. Instead, the employees of those institutions would be contacted directly by insurance companies and informed that they could have the coverage. The insurance companies themselves, Obama said, would be required to pay the cost of the contraception, not the religious employers.

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Although some initial critics of the mandate accepted this It is our ‘first freedom’ and respect for it must be broad and “accommodation” as an acceptable compromise, the bishops, inclusive — not narrow and exclusive.” pro-life groups and others observed that the proposed regulaFor the Obama administration, the accommodation antions had not changed. nouncement was successful in tamping down the story in the Testifying before the house Judiciary Committee Feb. 28, media, but the bishops have not given up the cause. They conBishop Lori noted that the original hhS rule, which caused tinue to push for legislative relief. the initial negative reaction, was actually finalized “without Many members of Congress have attempted to fashion change.” he called the accommodation a “legally unenforce- legislative remedies, thus far without success. The Respect able promise to alter the way the mandate would still apply to for Rights of Conscience Act, which would grant broad conthose who are still not exempt from it.” science exemptions for employers and individuals from havBishop Lori added, “In the world-turned-upside-down that ing to provide or pay for services they consider morally we have all entered since the mandate was issued, this is not objectionable, was introduced in Congress with bipartisan merely ‘no change,’ but is heralded as ‘great change,’ for which support. In the Senate, the legislation took the form of an the administration has been widely congratulated.” amendment sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). It was The U.S. bishops have identified a number of objections tabled March 1 by a vote of 51-48. that the accommodation failed to The Knights of Columbus is resolve: among many Catholic organiza• The rule will continue to protions that continue to urge memvide the original narrow religious bers to contact their representatives exemption for which, as the bishin support of freedom of conops’ conference noted, “not even science. Several lawsuits have also eligious liberty Jesus and his disciples would have been filed by Catholic employers, qualified” because it excludes including the Catholic broadcast does not depend on those who serve people of other company EWTN, Ave Maria Unithe benevolence of faiths. versity in Naples, Fla., Belmont • Religious employers will still Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., who is regulating us. pay for health plans that contain and others, in addition to at least the objectionable coverage, reseven state attorneys general.

It is our ‘first freedom’ gardless of the mechanism inObjections to the mandate and and respect for it volved in how the beneficiary is accommodation have also come told of the coverage. from a wide cross section of relimust be broad and • For religiously affiliated insurgious groups, as reflected in the ers, and the many Catholic entiFeb. 16 congressional hearing that inclusive — not narrow ties that self-insure, the religious included Catholic, Jewish, Bapand exclusive.” employer is the insurer and will tist, Lutheran and evangelical still have to provide the proleaders. At another hearing later scribed services. in the month, a diverse group of • The regulations will still force female leaders of many different individual private employers with faith traditions gave testimony moral objections to violate their consciences by providing this against the mandate. This followed an online petition coverage. signed by thousands of women stating that concern for • The federal mandate adopted the narrowest state-level re- women’s health did not automatically mean support for the ligious exemption and is stricter than any existing state man- contraceptive mandate. dates. The mandate closes off current options for religious Only time will tell how it will end up, but in their Feb. 21 employers, such as self-insuring or dropping coverage. It also letter, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori insisted that the fight includes sterilization, something not found in state plans where will continue: “We cannot rest when faced with so grave a contraception mandates have been enacted. threat to the religious liberty for which our parents and grandparents fought. In this moment in history we must work diliThE FIGhT CONTINUES gently to preserve religious liberty and to remove all threats In a Feb. 21 letter to their brother bishops explaining the to the practice of our faith in the public square. This is our Church’s rejection of the accommodation, Cardinal Dolan heritage as Americans.”♦ and Bishop Lori stated: “In the United States, religious liberty does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us. MARY DETURRIS POUST writes from upstate New York.

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Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, and representatives of other faiths testify at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington Feb. 16.

UNACCEPTABLE

Copyright benjamin J. myers/Corbis / apimages

The following letter, dated Feb. 10, was originally signed by former Vatican Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon, Princeton Professor Robert George, Notre Dame Law Professor Carter Snead, Catholic University of America President John Garvey, and Ethics and Public Policy Center Fellow Yuval Levin. Hundreds of national leaders have since co-signed the letter.

ThE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION has offered what it has styled as an “accommodation” for religious institutions in the dispute over the hhS mandate for coverage (without cost sharing) of abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception. The administration will now require that all insurance plans cover (“cost free”) these same products and services. Once a religiously affiliated (or believing individual) employer purchases insurance (as it must, by law), the insurance company will then contact the insured employees to advise them that the terms of the policy include coverage for these objectionable things.

This so-called “accommodation” changes nothing of moral substance and fails to remove the assault on religious liberty and the rights of conscience which gave rise to the controversy. It is certainly no compromise. The reason for the original bipartisan uproar was the administration’s insistence that religious employers, be they institutions or individuals, provide insurance that covers services they regard as gravely immoral and unjust. Under the new rule, the government still coerces religious institutions and individuals to purchase insurance policies that include the very same services.

It is no answer to respond that the religious employers are not “paying” for this aspect of the insurance coverage. For

one thing, it is unrealistic to suggest that insurance companies will not pass the costs of these additional services on to the purchasers. More importantly, abortion drugs, sterilizations and contraceptives are a necessary feature of the policy purchased by the religious institution or believing individual. They will only be made available to those who are insured under such policy, by virtue of the terms of the policy.

It is morally obtuse for the administration to suggest (as it does) that this is a meaningful accommodation of religious liberty because the insurance company will be the one to inform the employee that she is entitled to the embryo-destroying “five day after pill” pursuant to the insurance contract purchased by the religious employer. It does not matter who explains the terms of the policy purchased by the religiously affiliated or observant employer. What matters is what services the policy covers.

The simple fact is that the Obama administration is compelling religious people and institutions who are employers to purchase a health insurance contract that provides abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization. This is a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand. It is an insult to the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and other people of faith and conscience to imagine that they will accept an assault on their religious liberty if only it is covered up by a cheap accounting trick.

Finally, it bears noting that by sustaining the original narrow exemptions for churches, auxiliaries, and religious orders, the administration has effectively admitted that the new policy (like the old one) amounts to a grave infringement on religious liberty. The administration still fails to understand that institutions that employ and serve others of different or no faith are still engaged in a religious mission and, as such, enjoy the protections of the First Amendment.♦

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Dr. Anne Nolte, right, a family physician with the National Gianna Center for Women’s Health and Fertility in New York, follows Catholic teaching and guidelines for health care in her practice. She said about 40 percent of her patients are Protestants or have no religious affiliation.

This “Open Letter to President Obama, Secretary Sebelius and Members of Congress” was written by Helen M. Alvaré, associate professor of law at George Mason University, and Kim Daniels, former counsel to the Thomas More Law Center. Since it was first published Feb. 17, the letter collected thousands of signatures. See womenspeakforthemselves.com.

WE ARE WOMEN who support the competing voice offered

by Catholic institutions on matters of sex, marriage and family life. Most of us are Catholic, but some are not. We are Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Many, at some point in our careers, have worked for a Catholic institution. We are proud to have been part of the religious mission of that school, or hospital, or social service organization. We are proud to have been associated not only with the work that Catholic institutions perform in the community — particularly for the most vulnerable — but also with the shared sense of purpose found among colleagues who chose their job because, in a religious institution, a job is always also a vocation.

Those currently invoking “women’s health” in an attempt to shout down anyone who disagrees with forcing religious

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institutions or individuals to violate deeply held beliefs are more than a little mistaken and more than a little dishonest.

Even setting aside their simplistic equation of “costless” birth control with “equality,” note that they have never responded to the large body of scholarly research indicating that many forms of contraception have serious side effects, or that some forms act at some times to destroy embryos, or that government contraceptive programs inevitably change the sex, dating and marriage markets in ways that lead to more empty sex, more non-marital births and more abortions. It is women who suffer disproportionately when these things happen.

No one speaks for all women on these issues. Those who purport to do so are simply attempting to deflect attention from the serious religious liberty issues currently at stake.

Each of us, Catholic or not, is proud to stand with the Catholic Church and its rich, life-affirming teachings on sex, marriage and family life. We call on President Obama and our representatives in Congress to allow religious institutions and individuals to continue to witness to their faiths in all their fullness.♦

CNS photo/Gregory a. Shemitz

WOMEN SPEAK OUT

‘WE WILL NOT RUN FROM THIS FIGHT’ The following abridged letter, dated March 2, was sent to U.S. bishops by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

SINCE JAN. 20, when the final, restrictive hhS Rule was first announced, we have become certain of two things: religious freedom is under attack, and we will not cease our struggle to protect it. We recall the words of our holy Father Benedict XVI to our brother bishops on their recent ad limina visit: “Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.” … We have made it clear in no uncertain terms to the government that we are not at peace with its invasive attempt to curtail the religious freedom we cherish as Catholics and Americans. We did not ask for this fight, but we will not run from it. …

Of course, we maintained from the start that this is not a “Catholic” fight alone. I like to quote as often as possible a nurse who emailed me, “I’m not so much mad about all this as a Catholic, but as an American.” And as we recall, a Baptist minister, Governor Mike huckabee, observed, “In this matter, we’re all Catholics.” ...

When [President Barack Obama] announced on Jan. 20 that the choking mandates from hhS would remain, not only we bishops and our Catholic faithful, but people of every faith, or none at all, rallied in protest. The worry that we had expressed — that such government control was contrary to our deepest political values — was eloquently articulated by constitutional scholars and leaders of every creed.

On Feb. 10, the president announced that the insurance providers would have to pay the bill, instead of the Church’s schools, hospitals, clinics or vast network of charitable outreach having to do so. ... The [bishops’] conference announced at first that ... we would certainly give the president’s proposal close scrutiny. Well, we did — and as you know, we are as worried as ever.

For one, there was not even a nod to the deeper concerns about trespassing upon religious freedom, or of modifying the hhS’ attempt to define the how and who of our ministry. Two, since a big part of our ministries are “self-insured,” we still ask how this protects us. ... And what about forcing individual believers to pay for what violates their religious freedom and conscience? We can’t abandon the hardworking person of faith who has a right to religious freedom. … In many ways, the announcement of Feb. 10 solved little and complicated a lot. …

We will ardently continue to seek a rescinding of the suffocating mandates that require us to violate our moral convic-

tions, or at least insist upon a much wider latitude to the exemptions so that churches can be free of the new, rigidly narrow definition of church, minister and ministry that would prevent us from helping those in need, educating children and healing the sick, no matter their religion.

In this regard, the president invited us to “work out the wrinkles.” We have accepted that invitation. Unfortunately, this seems to be stalled: the White house Press Secretary, for instance, informed the nation that the mandates are a fait accompli. … The White house already notified Congress that the dreaded mandates are now published in the Federal Registry “without change.” The secretary of hhS is widely quoted as saying, “Religious insurance companies don’t really design the plans they sell based on their own religious tenets.” That doesn’t bode well for their getting a truly acceptable “accommodation.”

At a recent meeting between staff of the bishops’ conference and the White house staff, our staff members asked directly whether the broader concerns of religious freedom — that is, revisiting the straitjacketing mandates, or broadening the maligned exemption — are all off the table. They were informed that they are. So much for “working out the wrinkles.” …

We will continue to accept invitations to meet with and to voice our concerns to anyone of any party — for this is hardly partisan — who is willing to correct the infringements on religious freedom that we are now under. ...

Congress might provide more hope, since thoughtful elected officials have proposed legislation to protect what should be so obvious: religious freedom. Meanwhile, in our recent debate in the Senate, our opponents sought to obscure what is really a religious freedom issue by maintaining that abortion-inducing drugs and the like are a “woman’s health issue.” We will not let this deception stand. Our commitment to seeking legislative remedies remains strong. And it is about remedies to the assault on religious freedom. Period. …

Perhaps the courts offer the most light. In the recent Hosanna-Tabor ruling, the Supreme Court unanimously defended the right of a church to define its own ministry and services, a dramatic rebuff to the administration, apparently unheeded by the White house. Thus, our bishops’ conference, many individual religious entities, and other people of good will are working with some top-notch law firms who feel so strongly about this that they will represent us pro-bono. In the upcoming days, you will hear much more about this encouraging and welcome development.

Given this climate, we have to prepare for tough times. …

We know so very well that religious freedom is our heritage, our legacy and our firm belief, both as loyal Catholics and Americans. There have been many threats to religious freedom over the decades and years, but these often came from without.

This one sadly comes from within. As our ancestors did with previous threats, we will tirelessly defend the timeless and enduring truth of religious freedom.♦

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Unanimous Victory for Freedom In a rare 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects a church’s rights to choose its own ministers

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eligious freedom has been in the news a lot this year, notably in the controversy over the U.S. Department of health and human Service’s Jan. 20 announcement of a rule that mandates that a range of religious institutions include coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs in their employee health plans. In another major development occurring just nine days earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court presented its decision in one of the most widely anticipated religious freedom cases in many years, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC. The issue before the court was whether religious institutions are free to choose and retain “ministers,” including not only ordained clergy, but also employees who perform a range of religious functions, without government interference. For many years, the lower federal courts had uniformly held that the First Amendment required such an exemption from employment discrimination claims.

When the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, the narrow issue before the court was whether a particular employee qualified as a “minister” for purposes of the ministerial exception. But because the court had never spoken directly to whether such an exception was required at all by the First Amendment, observers recognized that the case would be an important clarification of the scope of constitutional religious freedom.

DEBATING ThE MINISTERIAL EXCEPTION The circumstances that led to Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC are somewhat complicated. Cheryl Perich began working for the hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church in suburban Detroit in 1999, teaching both secular subjects and religion at its school.

She received a ministerial “call” from the church to teach but 14 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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in 2004 began experiencing health problems.

Perich then took an extended leave of absence, during which she was diagnosed with narcolepsy and the church hired another teacher. When the church asked Perich to resign, she threatened to sue. Because the church believed that such a threat was inconsistent with Perich’s ministerial “call,” her call was rescinded and she was terminated from her position in 2005.

Later that year, Perich filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who filed suit against the church on her behalf. The federal district court agreed with the church that the ministerial exception barred the employee’s lawsuit against the church, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reinstated Perich’s claim. In the view of the Sixth Circuit, the fact that the employee’s duties included teaching secular subjects placed her outside the scope of any First Amendment-based exception to employment discrimination law.

The case underscored a larger debate about the ministerial exception in U.S. law. In recent years, critics of the exception pointed to a 1990 case, Employment Division v. Smith, in which the Supreme Court held that there is no constitutional right to a religious exemption from a law that applies generally to all people. Since employment discrimination laws are, the argument ran, such neutral laws of general applicability, there should be no religious exemption from them. Supporters of the ministerial exception, meanwhile, pointed to an older line of cases in which the court had refused to interfere in the internal matters of churches. They argued that the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause — notwithstanding Smith — prevent state interference with ministerial employment decisions.

ap photo/pablo martinez monsivais

by

by Michael Michael P. P. Moreland Moreland

In a move that dismayed advocates of religious freedom, the with state interference in the selection of ministers, from U.S. Department of Justice’s brief in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC henry II’s fight with St. Thomas Becket regarding state conwent beyond the narrow issue of whether the ministerial ex- trol over ecclesiastical appointments to henry VIII’s assertion ception should apply to the facts of Perich’s claim and took of supremacy over the Church in England. the extreme position that there is no general ministerial exThe chief justice summarized how the First Amendment’s ception under the First Amendment’s religion clauses. In tak- free exercise and anti-establishment provisions apply to the ing this position, the Obama administration was at odds with case: “By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes a wide spectrum of religious groups who argued for a robust the Free Exercise Clause, which protects a religious group’s ministerial exception as a necessary component of religious right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointfreedom. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was joined ments. According the state the power to determine which inby numerous Protestant churches, Jewish and Muslim organ- dividuals will minister to the faithful also violates the izations, and others in filing amicus briefs on behalf of Establishment Clause, which prohibits government involvehosanna-Tabor. ment in such ecclesiastical decisions.”

Indeed, the administration took a position more hostile to Employment Division v. Smith was distinguished on the religious freedom than even the ACLU and Americans United grounds that there is a difference between regulation of outfor Separation of Church and ward conduct and interference in State, both of whom acknowledged the internal matters of a church. the ministerial exception in their The court described the adminisamicus briefs but argued that it tration’s position as “untenable” beshould not apply to cases in which cause the First Amendment “gives osanna-Tabor is a the alleged discrimination or retalspecial solicitude to the rights of reiation is unrelated to religion. By ligious organizations.” valuable reminder that contrast, the administration argued Although the opinion left unrethe First Amendment that what remains of religious freesolved the question of who, predom regarding ministerial decicisely, counts as a minister, it noted imposes meaningful sions is protected by the general that this case was clear because freedom of association. According Perich’s duties “reflected a role in and judicially to this view, the Catholic Church conveying the Church’s message enforceable limits cannot be sued for gender discrimand carrying out its mission.” Jusination for holding that women tice Clarence Thomas argued in a on the power of the cannot be ordained to the priestconcurring opinion that courts hood, but this is because of the should defer to a religious institustate to interfere with Church’s constitutional right to astion’s own determination about religious institutions. sociational freedom. This arguwho is a minister. Similarly, Justice ment was peculiar, in that it Samuel Alito and Justice Elena implied that the religion clauses of Kagan — the most recent appointthe First Amendment do not proment to the court by President tect the right of religious groups to Obama — argued in their concurselect ministers, but the right of free association — which rests ring opinion that future cases should look broadly to the funcon a tenuous constitutional basis somewhere amid freedom tions performed by an employee. of speech — somehow does.

Ultimately, Hosanna-Tabor is a resounding victory for reliIn this way, the administration’s view failed to acknowledge gious freedom. As Chief Justice Roberts noted, there is unthat there is a constitutional limitation on the power of the doubtedly a significant state interest in employment state to interfere in ministerial employment decisions, which discrimination, but there is a more important interest in reliis rooted in a long tradition of Western political theory. In- gious institutions being free to select their ministers. The case stead, it implied that such religious freedom, where it exists underscored the important roles that the various branches of at all, merely involves weighing the state’s anti-discrimination the federal and state government play in striking the right balinterest against a religious institution’s right to association. ance between asserted state interests and religious freedom.

Coming amid the heated debate over the administration’s conPROTECTING ThE ChURCh FROM ThE STATE traception mandate, Hosanna-Tabor is a valuable reminder In a 9-0 decision delivered Jan. 11, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment imposes meaningful and judicially that the First Amendment’s religion clauses require the min- enforceable limits on the power of the state to interfere with isterial exception and that the employee in the case qualified religious institutions.♦ as a “minister.” Chief Justice John Roberts’s opinion for the court began by noting that the framers of the U.S. Constitu- MIChAEL P. MORELAND is an associate professor at Villanova tion sought to avoid the problems experienced by the English University School of Law.

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Peace and Persecution in Egypt In the wake of revolution, Egyptian Christians struggle to find their place in a predominantly Muslim nation

by Greg Burke

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ocated next to a trash dump on the outskirts of Cairo, NEW GOVERNMENT, NEW ChALLENGES the Salam Center is a bit of an oasis in an otherwise Egypt has the largest Christian population of any Arab counpoor neighborhood. Dust and dirt abound, as the roads are try, but Christians remain a minority in the largely Muslim not paved, and the city’s trash collectors, most of whom are country. Most Christians in Egypt are members of the Coptic Christians, carry huge bags of refuse on donkey-drawn carts. Orthodox Church, which is distinct from the Catholic Coptic Children run everywhere amid the mess. The scene looks Church. The latter, which is in communion with Rome under like something from another age, but it is very much 21st- Patriarch Antonios Naguib of Alexandria, is relatively small, century Egypt. but still counts more than 200,000 faithful.

Inside the Salam Center, it is an impoverished, yet peaceful Although churches may be seen in many places around Cairo, setting. Some 19 religious sisters, wearing habits, cater to there is almost always the minaret of a mosque either in front Christians and Muslims alike. Conof the church or around the corner, sisting of a hospital, school and a not-so-subtle reminder of the prihome for senior citizens, the facility mary religion. If a woman in Egypt is run by the Daughters of St. does not wear a headscarf, a tradition t the funeral of Mary, an order of Coptic Orthodox that has grown in recent years, it is nuns. sign that she is probably either a the Maspero victims, Sister Maria, the head of the Christian or a moderate Muslim — convent associated with the Salam in either case, a minority.

Bishop Anis saw people Center, acknowledged that recent Christianity’s presence in Egypt mourn as each coffin developments in Muslim-Christian dates back to St. Mark the Apostle, relations have frightened her. who is believed to have brought the was brought out of the “Things all looked good during the Gospel to Alexandria, a port city on revolution, but now you’re seeing a the Mediterranean, in the 1st cenchurch. The people, lot of attacks on Christians,” she tury. St. Mark was martyred by though, also applauded. said. “It’s a bit worrisome.” being dragged through the streets of Many people in the region share Alexandria by a horse, and Egypt “You don’t clap except Sister Maria’s viewpoint. As the claims a long list of saints and marArab Spring swept through North tyrs who lived in the centuries that for a hero,” he said.

Africa more than a year ago, it followed. brought newfound hope for free“Egyptian Christians have hisdom. In downtown Cairo’s Tahrir tory in mind, and it’s a history Square, Egyptian Muslims and full of hardship, suffering and Christians celebrated the downfall of President hosni even bloodshed,” said Bishop Mouneer h. Anis, the AngliMubarak, who had been in power for more than 30 years. But can bishop of Cairo. “Without the blood of the early for Christians in Egypt, who make up about 10 percent of Christians, we would not be Christians today.” country’s 82 million people, the elation didn’t last long.

But Christian suffering in Egypt is not just the stuff of his“I thought that after the revolution we would get all our tory. Christians have been killed in recent clashes as well. More rights back, but that wasn’t true,” said Michael Eid, a 28-year- than two-dozen people died last year during a demonstration old pharmacist sitting in a church courtyard in a bustling part at Maspero, in downtown Cairo, many of them run over by of downtown Cairo. “Christians are still considered second- army trucks. At the funeral of the Maspero victims, Bishop Anis class citizens in Egypt.” saw people mourn as each coffin was brought out of the church.

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CNS photo/Suhaib Salem, reuters

Anti-government protesters hold a large Egyptian flag in Tahrir Square in Cairo Feb.11, 2011.

The people, though, also applauded. “You don’t clap except for a hero,” he said.

Under Mubarak, there were some serious incidents, including instances of Christians being thrown in prison or even killed for religious reasons. But according to Bishop Anis, life for Christians is getting a bit more difficult now, with more churches burned and demolished. “That never happened under Mubarak — although it was not easy under Mubarak,” he said.

Today, the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic political group, controls almost 45 percent of the seats in Parliament, and the more radical Salafists control 25 percent, together giving them an absolute majority. The rest of Parliament consists of moderate Muslims and their Christian allies.

What does this mean for Christians? The answer is not yet clear, although they hope the Muslim Brotherhood will allow for some protection of minorities when a new constitution is written. Bishop Anis suggested that the Muslim Brotherhood would gain recognition from the international community if it were to protect minorities and emphasize high standards of education for young people.

Poor education is one of the biggest problems in Egypt, and can play a role in fostering religious conflict, as people are not

taught to respect others who might practice a different religion or hold different beliefs. About 30 percent of the population can neither read nor write.

“This is the greatest sin of hosni Mubarak,” said Father Antoine Rafic Greiche, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Egypt. “he kept the people illiterate for 30 years.”

SEEKING JUSTICE On the surface, relations between Muslims and Christians may look promising in Egypt. There is, for example, a flourishing girls school for people of all faiths that is run by Catholic religious sisters in the heliopolis section of Cairo.

But according to Father Greiche, who lives near the school, one of the sisters was attacked not long ago by two men on a motorcycle. The assailants pulled off the sister’s habit and demanded that she say, “Muhammed is the Prophet.” They then cut her face with a razor.

“As a priest, I should not be scared, but we are a little scared,” Father Greiche said.

With the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists in power, Egyptian Muslims could be pushed in a much more radical direction, he added. “They will change the mentality of the APRIL 2012

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society, and that’s the most dangerous of thing. It’s a very foggy night right now for us.”

Catholic Coptic Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina of Giza recalled that the uprising in Egypt initially made him optimistic about the future of the country, but that has changed. The goal of creating a modern state remains far away, he said, adding that whenever a church gets burned or destroyed, the culprit is never found.

“We’re ready to pay for the church to be repaired, but we want the guilty parties found and tried,” Bishop Mina said. “humanly speaking, we don’t have a great future,” he said.

“But there have been worse times for Christians in Egypt, and Christians are still here. This could be a moment of purification.” he also referred to an incident in which six Christian families were forced out of a village after reports of an illicit relationship between a Christian man and a young Muslim woman.

“Where is the law?” the bishop asked. “If today they kick us out of a village, eventually they will kick us out of the country.”

The Christian population in Egypt may be small, but it is determined. People don’t try to hide their faith; in fact, many men and women have crosses tattooed on their wrists. Their 18 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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future, however, is dependent on relations with Muslims, relations that have been strained even since the Arab Spring.

Adel Abd El Malek Ghali, a medical doctor who helps out at the Salam Center, cited the lack of justice for victims of religious violence. “The truth is that if a Muslim kills a Christian, nothing ever happens,” he said.

Ghali stressed, however, that despite everything, Christians should be calm. “It doesn’t mean there won’t be persecution, but we shouldn’t be afraid.”

A man of faith, Ghali maintains a joyful disposition and has a special devotion Mary under her title Our Lady of Zeitoun, named for a miraculous apparition in a southern district of Cairo.

For Ghali and other Christians, there is still hope that the Arab Spring in Egypt will lead to a spring time for both Muslims and Christians, allowing them to live in a modern state in peace and mutual respect. But there is no guarantee that will happen, and some expectation that it may not.

Bishop Anis put it this way: “As an Egyptian Christian, I feel that hardship and suffering are part of the package. If you are a Christian, there will be a price to pay.”♦ GREG BURKE is the Rome correspondent for Fox News.

CNS photo/mohamed abd el-Ghany, reuters

People gather outside a burned Coptic Christian church May 8, 2011, after it was set on fire during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo.

At least 12 people were killed during the violence.

FAT H E R S F O R G O O D

Championship Cardinals The St. Louis Major League Baseball team has strong Catholic roots

by Brian Caulfield

ap photo/Jeff roberson

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s the St. Louis Cardinals made their improbable drive to the World Series title last fall, rushing from 10 1/2 games out in August to a World Series berth, special assistant general manager Matt Slater looked to his Catholic faith for spiritual guidance and emotional stability. Sunday Mass with his family, regular prayer, and a concern for the well-being of the players, not just the box scores, helped him maintain a healthy perspective. The Cardinals went on to clinch a playoff spot in the final regular season game, win a last-game squeaker for the National League title and eke out a seventh-game World Series win against the Texas Rangers last October.

“I rely on my Catholic faith every day,” said Slater. “It is the backbone of everything I do. It gives me inner peace.

It gives me strength to go on with the ups and downs of a baseball season, and the ups and downs of my life.”

Slater, 41, who is married and has three children, has worked in major league front offices since his freshman year at Jesuit-run Marquette University. he called the Cardinals “a very religious group of guys” that has a Bible study group and a number of Catholics in administrative positions, from General Manager John Mozeliak and Assistant General Manager Mike Girsch to traveling secretary C.J. Cherry and trainer Greg hauck.

The Catholic roots of the team run across decades, including Stan Musial, one of baseball’s all-time great hitters, who played out his whole 22-year career with the Cardinals (1941-1963). “Stan the Man” never missed Mass, despite constant road trips, and once asked for a pay cut when he didn’t perform to his own expectations.

Another noted Catholic is hall of Fame manager Red Schoendienst, who led the club to the 1967 World Series over the Boston Red Sox. More recent World Series heroes are also vocal about their Catholic faith. Pitcher Jeff Suppan won Game 3 to help the Cardinals earn the 2004 title and shortstop David Eckstein was the MVP for the 2006 World Series. In 2004, Suppan attended the first meeting

of the Vatican’s newly formed Office for Church and Sport in Rome.

One of the more famous Cardinal fans is himself a newly elevated cardinal — Timothy M. Dolan, who grew up in Ballwin, a St. Louis suburb. Though he now sports a Yankees cap since he was named archbishop of New York three years ago, the cardinal still holds his first home team dear.

The team’s chaplain, Father David A. Walter, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, is a walking encyclopedia of the Cardinals’ Catholic connections. Noting that Sunday Mass has been offered in the clubhouse for more than 20 years, he said, “The significant fact is that neither the archdiocese nor the priests went to the team to ask if they could offer Mass; it was the Cardinals’ management themselves who came to the archdiocese and asked if a priest could be assigned to say Mass.” he added, “We are dealing with some very good practicing Catholics at the highest level of the ball club. What is also wonderful is that those who come to Mass are from the front office, the players and the stadium staff, the ticket takers, the ushers, the maintenance crew — everyone together. Even players from the opposing team. There is the understanding that when we are there for Mass, everyone is a Christian, equal before God.” Currently, the Mass is coordinated by Catholic Athletes for Christ, which works with a number of professional teams to provide chaplains and the sacraments for players and other personnel.

After a stunning championship season, what can we expect from St. Louis this year? Slater, who is now the team’s director of player personnel, noted the loss of superstar Albert Pujols to free agency, but added that the Cardinals “have always known how to do our best with the talent we have.”♦ BRIAN CAULFIELD is editor of Fathers for Good for the Knights of Columbus.

FIND ADDITIONAL ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FOR CATHOLIC MEN AND THEIR FAMILIES AT WWW. FATHERSFORGOOD. ORG .

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•• Minted •• •••• in •••• ••• Faith ••• A unique museum in Poland pays homage to Blessed John Paul II through medals and coins

by Paweł Piwowarczyk Photography by Jan Welczewski

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hen time allows, Krzysztof Witkowski of Bishop Theodore Kubina Council 14955 in Częstochowa, Poland, enjoys giving tours of the museum that he founded last year. The tour begins in a darkened room with relics of Blessed John Paul II: a lock of hair and a fragment of the cross that the pope held on Good Friday 2005, just days before his death. here visitors have time to pray before starting their journey through the museum.

Inside the gallery, visitors are then surrounded by display cases comprised of blue backdrops, glass shelves and velvetlined boxes. Approximately 30,000 small bulbs light more 20 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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than 6,000 coins and medals, all with the same subject: Pope John Paul II. ‘A LIVING PORTRAIT’ According to Witkowski, every artifact in the Museum of Coins and Medals Commemorating John Paul II has a story.

The displays begin with coins that were released by the Vatican, followed by those from Poland. There are coins representing the majority of the world’s countries, as well as numerous smaller territories, islands and cities. And although every coin in the massive collection is important and valu-

A panel of coins from various countries is pictured (modified to show title) in the Museum of Coins and Medals Commemorating John Paul II in Czestochowa, Poland. crank-operated machine. There is even a medal that was struck to celebrate the opening of the museum itself.

The museum was dedicated Aug. 11, 2011, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the World Youth Day that took place in Częstochowa. At the dedication ceremony, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, archbishop of Kraków and the longtime personal secretary of John Paul II, called it a museum of living portraits from around the world, bringing countries and cultures closer together. Papal photographer Arturo Mari was also among the guests for the event.

The museum is located just three miles from Jasna Góra, the nation’s spiritual capital and one of the most significant religious sites on earth. In 2011, there were some 3.2 million pilgrims — including visitors from more than 80 countries — who came there to honor the Virgin Mary, who is revered as the Queen of Poland under her title Our Lady of Częstochowa. For centuries, numerous of faithful have made the trek each year by foot, traditionally in August.

When Pope John Paul II returned to his native land in June 1979, he spoke to the nation from Jasna Góra, where he previously made pilgrimages as a child, student, priest, bishop and cardinal. The pope later reflected that next to the Vatican, Jasna Góra was for him the main pulpit from which he spoke to the world.

able, each representing a piece of the legacy left by the beloved pontiff, there are some that carry special significance.

Notably, the first coin dedicated to John Paul II is from neither the Vatican nor Poland, but from the Dominican Republic, where the pope made his first apostolic visit in November 1978. The smallest group to honor the pope with a coin was a population of 120 Catholics from Tristan da Cunha, a remote volcanic island located in the south Atlantic Ocean.

There are also a few dozen coins from the United States and Canada. John Paul II is on a limited edition U.S. halfdollar and on souvenir pennies that were impressed by a

GUIDED BY PROVIDENCE Witkowski’s personal devotion to Our Lady of Częstochowa grew in 2004, when he suffered a stroke that left the entire right side of his body paralyzed. he confided in Our Lady, and his recovery led to a renewed gratitude for life. This experience, and the death of Pope John Paul II the following year, had a great impact on him.

But Witkowski’s interest in coins and medals dates back even earlier. Years before, his father had become very ill and began selling parts of his large collection to afford medicine and treatment. One part of the collection, though, was untouchable. Eventually, the only pieces that remained of the collection were 55 medals honoring John Paul II, and Witkowski inherited these upon his father’s death.

As time went on, Witkowski kept the collection in his office in Częstochowa, where he owns and manages a company that sells radio and telecommunications equipment. For some time, Witkowski considered the idea of building a place of remembrance for John Paul II but was waiting for the right moment.

One day, visitors from Russia asked about the person who was represented in all of the photographs and medals in Witkowski’s office. The experience impressed upon Witkowski a duty to introduce John Paul II to those who did not know him. And to those who did know John Paul II, he saw the need to remind them about the late pope’s life and teachings.

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The museum’s exhibit space features more than 6,000 coins and medals that honor the life and legacy of Blessed John Paul II. “When I created the museum, I was directing it at young people, at children,” said Witkowski. “I want this museum to speak to young people and tell them about who John Paul II was for our generation. I want to remind them about his words on love, about how love is about caring for another person.”

Witkowski has also found inspiration in being a member of the Knights of Columbus. Since the Order expanded to Poland in 2006, Knights there have adopted Our Lady of Częstochowa as a special patron as they work to preserve the nation’s religious heritage. And the Order’s close relationship with John Paul II is reflected in a series of commemorative medals struck by the Knights and featured at the museum — including one released on the occasion of the restoration of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica, a project initiated by the Order in 1984.

BUILDING ThE COLLECTION In April 2010, the collection totaled only 365 coins and medals, a sum Witkowski was initially happy with because he “had a medal for every day of the year.” At the same time, he knew that his collection was not large enough to justify 22 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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Krzysztof Witkowski, a coin collector who founded the Museum of Coins and Medals Commemorating John Paul II in August 2011, is a member of Theodore Kubina Council 14955 in Czestochowa. an entire museum, which he assumed would take 10 or even 20 years to realize.

A turning point, however, came when Witkowski bought several thousand John Paul II-related coins and medals from Wojciech Grabowski, a well-known collector from London. An older man with a passion for the arts, Grabowski wanted to leave his rich collection, which he began decades earlier, with someone he could trust. Witkowski’s love for John Paul II and his plans to display the medals in Częstochowa made him the ideal candidate to receive the collection.

During the months that followed, the collection expanded even more. With passion and determination, Witkowski convinced other collectors to let go of their prized possessions so as to share them with others in one place. In this way, treasures once stored away in closets and on shelves found their way to galleries where they would help tell the story of John Paul II to thousands of admiring visitors.

In addition to the darkened relic room and main exhibit space, the museum houses an auditorium. Special meetings and lectures will take place there monthly from March 2012 to May 2020, leading up to the 100th anniversary of John Paul II’s birth. The first guest presenter was Archbishop

Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv, Ukraine, who served as a secretary to John Paul II for nine years.

There is also a cafeteria where visitors can relax and eat a kremówka, a cream pastry popular in the pope’s home city of Wadowice, or Italian ice cream made according to a recipe from Castel Gandolfo, home of the papal summer residence.

Finally, visitors walking through the exhibit space can view a short movie that explains, among other things, the development of the museum. Immediately afterward, there is a light show that symbolizes the light of Christian faith. Indeed, these features are simply more facets of an unconventional exhibit that seeks to open the doors of faith to its visitors. For Witkowski, presenting the legacy and teachings of John Paul II through coins and medals ultimately encourages visitors to become pilgrims on an even larger spiritual voyage, one that can move them from darkness to light.

For more information about the Museum of Medals and Coins Commemorating John Paul II, visit the multilingual website www.jp2muzeum.pl.♦ PAWEŁ PIWOWARCZYK writes from Kraków, Poland, where he is a member of John Paul II Council 14000.

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a patriotic burden New Mexico Knight carries cross 630 miles in honor of Father Emil Kapaun

by Joseph J. Kolb, Catholic News Service

F

or some, Father Emil Kapaun may be a footnote in a conflict many have come to know as the “Forgotten War.” But for John Moore of Gallup, N.M., the Korean War chaplain’s heroic exploits deserve the attention of congressional and Vatican officials in a movement to have the Kansas priest honored with the Medal of honor and with sainthood.

For his part, Moore, 61, embarked on a 630-mile pilgrimage Sept. 11, 2011, from the National Cemetery in Santa Fe to Pilsen, Kan., Father Kapaun’s rural hometown in the Wichita Diocese, where Moore arrived the morning of Nov. 11, 2011 — Veterans Day. There, Moore delivered a handmade wooden replica of the cross that has come to represent Father Kapaun, the Army chaplain who saved the lives of dozens of soldiers and died as a prisoner of war in Pyoktong, North Korea, on May 23, 1951. The model of the cross was designed by a fellow prisoner of war, Gerald Fink, a Jew who came to respect and love the diligent priest before his death. The canonization cause for Father Kapaun was formally opened June 29, 2008, with a Mass at St. John Nepomucene Church in Pilsen. Church officials in Kansas and elsewhere had been collecting documentation to support the sainthood cause for years prior to its official opening.

Averaging 15.75 miles of walking per day, Moore — who is a member of Fray Marcos Council 1783 in Gallup — said he only had three days of rain and heavy wind during his trek.

Among the most grueling parts of the journey were the mountains of New Mexico and the lack of shoulders on some roads in Oklahoma and Kansas that wreaked havoc on his feet.

At one point, Moore lost his footing and fell, scraping his knees and face. The fall caused the large wooden cross, which he carried attached to a backpack, to fall on top of him. Moore said later that both he and the cross needed slight repairs.

Moore said he became aware of Father Kapaun after reading a small article about the priest in the Knights of Columbus magazine, Columbia, and quickly became immersed in the saga of a man who served his country and men in the most deplorable of conditions.

Father Kapaun was among the first wave of American troops to arrive in South Korea after it was attacked by the communist North in June 1950. he never shirked his responsibility to provide comfort, religious services (often conducted on the hood of a Jeep) and guidance to his troops, even under heavy enemy fire.

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It didn’t take long for the priest’s bravery to be recognized. he received a Bronze Star in August 1950 when he rescued a wounded soldier in the midst of heavy enemy fire. Then, on the frigid night of Nov. 1, 1950, Father Kapaun was captured after attempting to rescue some of his men.

Father Kapaun’s life in the POW camp was one of deprivation, but he always performed his spiritual and life-sustaining responsibilities with compassion and a smile. Father Kapaun died in the camp in May 1951.

Despite numerous testimonies confirming his bravery, the Medal of honor — the nation’s highest military honor — has eluded Father Kapaun. There is a groundswell to have the medal bestowed to him posthumously.

“I often think about all of the people he christened and married and what he did for his troops,” Moore said of his inspiration when his trek became difficult or lonely.

Quick to recognize the efforts of Moore is hershey Miyamura

CNS photo/Joseph Kolb

John Moore, a member of Fray Marcos Council 1783 in Gallup, N.M., carries a wooden cross along a New Mexico highway in September 2011 in memory of Korean War hero Father Emil Kapaun. Beginning Sept. 11, Moore made a 630-mile pilgrimage on foot from Santa Fe, N.M., to Pilsen, Kan., arriving at Father Kapaun’s home parish Nov. 11. of Gallup, a Medal of honor recipient and a former POW. Miyamura, who has read about Father Kapaun, agrees that the priest deserves the medal. he also feels Moore’s efforts go above and beyond the call.

“It is quite an honorable deed what John is doing,” Miyamura said. “I feel it is important to help the father’s family get him the medal but it also brings awareness to the public of what we did in Korea.”

Miyamura said the value of what Father Kapaun did was immeasurable for the troops. he added that he didn’t have a chaplain in his POW camp when he was there for nearly two years and recognizes the indisputable contributions Father Kapaun would have made.

“I saw so many young men die because they just gave up,” Miyamura said. “We needed to keep our faith, and for them to have Father Kapaun among them would have been so uplifting for morale.”

Moore said the cross is made from an alligator juniper tree from heber, Ariz., and was constructed by Mark Chavez, a retired Albuquerque firefighter.

“I don’t want any recognition for this, I just look as myself as the donkey carrying Christ,” he said. “And anytime you do something for a veteran, you do good.”

For more information about the effort to have the Medal of honor awarded to Father Kapaun, visit frkapaun.org.♦ JOSEPh J. KOLB writes for the Catholic News Service.

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KNIG HTS IN ACTI ON

REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

ment Community, 24 displaced seniors found temporary shelter at the council’s hall. Knights stopped what they were doing to set up tables and cots and to work with the Red Cross to ensure that the seniors were comfortable while waiting for their families to arrive.

cost, which, including travel and hospital expenses, totalled more than $17,000.

Knights held several fundraisers that netted approximately $14,000 for Sherrill to have this procedure. Additional K of C units from Louisiana and New Jersey also found out about the effort and contributed as well.

STUFF FOR SOLDIERS

Members of Bethlehem Catholic Circle 5455 in Bethlehem, Pa., break ground for a raised garden at ARC of Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Squires set the groundwork for two 8-foot by 4-foot plots for growing flowers and one 32-foot by 4-foot plot for raising vegetables.

FILM SCREENING

St. Joseph Council 443 in New York co-sponsored an appreciation night for veterans with American Legion Post #581 and the Catholic War Veterans of the Bronx.

The night included a special screening of the documentary Chosin on the Chosin Reservoir Campaign during the Korean War, followed by an ice cream social. The event raised nearly $1,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project and the James J. Peters VA Medical Center.

NEW SMILE, NEW HOPE

Cotabato City (Mindanao) Council 3504 partnered with the Cotabato City Rotary Club and other civic organizations to co-sponsor cleft lip and palate surgery for 25 needy individuals from area villages. Knights provided food for the program’s attending surgeons.

BLOCK PARTY

Marquette Council 588 in Sparta, N.J., teamed with several area organizations to sponsor a block party for homeless teens living at

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Covenant House, a Catholic shelter for homeless, at-risk and runaway teenagers.

About 125 attendees enjoyed an afternoon of barbecue food, dancing, kite flying and a marshmallow roast. For many of the teens, this was their first cookout of any sort.

HERO’S LAST CALL

Hot Springs (Ark.) Council 6419 donated $500 to Hero’s Last Call, an organization that provides, without charge, a special funeral tribute to first responders who perish in the line of duty.

NEW PLAYGROUND

St. Raphael Council 12598 in Fayetteville, Tenn., erected a new playground at St. Anthony Church to accommodate the growing number of children and young families who belong to the parish.

OFFERING SHELTER

Ogemaw Council 2022 in West Branch, Mich., responded to an urgent call for assistance during the council’s officer installation ceremony. When a fire broke out at the nearby Brook Retire-

Our Lady of Czestochowa Assembly in Luzerne, Pa., donated personal items and games to G Company of the Pennsylvania National Guard, which is stationed at the 109th Field Artillery in Wilkes-Barre and is due for imminent deployment.

CROSS REFURBISHED

St. Benedict Council 1225 in Florence, Colo., removed, restored and replaced the cross atop St. Benedict Church.

The church, along with its crowning crucifix, was built in 1914. Council members also refurbished all of the pews within the church.

NEW TILE INSTALLED

Members of St. Francis of Assisi Council 12610 in Mocksville, N.C., replaced 2,700 square feet of carpeting with new vinyl tile at their parish hall. The project included removing the old carpeting, cleaning the floor, gluing down the new tile and installing baseboard molding.

HELPING HOMELESS VETS

Father Harry T. Hayes Assembly in Nampa, Idaho, donated $500 to the Boise Rescue Mission to help homeless veterans, either with free meals or through the mission’s transitional program.

CAR SHOW

Urbana (Ohio) Council 1727 hosted a car show at Trenor Motors that raised $3,000 for charity. The funds were generated through concession sales, car registrations and event sponsors.

MONEY FOR PROCEDURE

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Council 7211 in Lumberton, Miss., and St. Joseph Council 15121 in Poplarville came to the assistance of Michael Sherrill, a young boy who has quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy. Sherrill required a procedure in New Jersey that would let him sit up independently, but the boy’s insurance would not cover the

Bob Edgar of Lake City (Fla.) Council 7589 uses a wet saw concrete cutter to remove damaged areas of the sidewalk at Epiphany Catholic School. Using the saw and a jackhammer, Knights cleared away several broken sidewalk slabs and patched the areas with new concrete.

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N HOSPITAL ROOMS ADOPTED

Eastern Laguna Lake Assembly in Siniloan, Luzon, adopted rooms to refurbish at General Cailles Memorial Hospital, a pediatric medical facility in Pakil. Knights repainted one room, complete with a mural of animals, and donated electric fans to three others.

FEEDING NEEDY CHILDREN

St. Margaret Mary Council 11091 in Algonquin, Ill., volunteered at a packaging event with the organization Feed My Starving Children.

Knights and their families packaged enough food to feed 28 needy children for one year.

five years later at the age of 91. Following the completion of the repair work, the council hosted a memorial service and dedicated a plaque at the stations in honor of McAulay.

CLINIC FUNDRAISERS

St. Theresa Council 2657 in Gonzales, La., spearheaded a fundraiser to benefit St. Elizabeth Community Clinic, a facility that provides healthcare services to uninsured or under-insured parishioners at Ascension Church. With assistance from three other K of C units and a local supermarket, Knights raised enough money for the clinic to purchase a new diabetes analyzer and additional medical testing equipment.

REPAIRING THE WAY

BAPTIZED INTO LIFE

Father Albert Butler Council 9176 in Grand Bay, New Brunswick, repaired the Stations of the Cross at St. Matthew Church in Grand Bay-Westfield. The stations were erected in 2000 under the leadership of Joe McAulay, a longtime council member who passed away

In an effort to promote a culture of life at St. John Westminster Church, Westminster (Md.) Council 1393 presents the parents of each baptized child with a special certificate thanking them for choosing life for their child. The presentation is typically made by the council’s pro-life couple.

CONTINUING STUDIES

A client from the Hazlet-AberdeenMatawan Therapeutic Recreational Program (right) holds a fish that he caught during a fishing trip for people with intellectual disabilities sponsored by St. Joseph Council 3402 in Keyport, N.J. Knights and other volunteers worked with the special needs fishermen to catch 34 fluke in about three hours.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Council 14101 in Queen Creek, Ariz., held a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and silent auction to benefit council member and seminarian Jacob Gonzales, who is being transferred to Germany for additional studies. Following the dinner, Knights presented Gonzales with a donation of $2,000 to help defray his traveling and educational expenses.

ADVANCING MCGIVNEY’S VISION

St. Dominic Council 3729 in New Orleans, La., in conjunction with the men’s club and the youth program pro-

Ken Carlsen (left) and Joe Grimes of Fairport (N.Y.) Council 7085 stand with cans that council members collected during a council-sponsored recycling drive. The can and bottle collection raised $500 for a local prolife center and to send an area youth group on retreat. gram at St. Dominic Church, hosted a benefit dinner and raffle to aid the family of a parishioner who died suddenly, leaving his wife and children with no means of financial support. The events raised $10,000 for the family.

KNIGHTS, STUDENTS WORK TOGETHER

George C. Shields Council 420 in Mansfield, Mass., in conjunction with religious education students at St. Mary’s Parish, raised more than $7,400 through the council’s “Help a Knight, Change Someone’s World” stewardship program. Using clean Chinese food takeout containers, Knights and students collected spare change over a six-month period for the Our Daily Bread food pantry.

also attended the dinner. The new post was named after two New Bern natives who were killed in action: Ensign Henry P. Whitehurst Jr., who died in World War II, and Spec. Bobby M. Ware, who died in the Persian Gulf War. LUNCH TABLES

Our Lady of the Rosary Council 6288 in Union City, Calif., donated and assembled four tables to Our Lady of the Rosary School for students to use during lunch on the school’s outdoor patio.

A GIFT OF GRACE

Atlanta Council 660 volunteered at the Gift of Grace House, a facility operated by the Missionaries of Charity for indigent women with AIDS. Knights cleaned the facility inside and out and removed several bags of trash.

NAMING CEREMONY

Msgr. James R. Jones Council 3303 in New Bern, N.C., hosted the naming ceremony dinner for the new American Legion Post #539. U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C., 3rd District) delivered the event’s keynote address. Uniformed personnel from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces

STANDING FOR VETERANS

Seaside Council 17 in New London, Conn., donated $550 worth of clothing and toiletries to “Stand Down — Connecticut Cares,” a program to assist needy veterans at the Connecticut Veterans Home in Rocky Hill.

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K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

over the years was successful, the council realized that the current real estate market was too prohibitive to purchase a K of C facility. Instead, Knights donated a portion of their home association fund — $30,000 — to Christ on the Mountain Church to begin renovations on the church’s worship and gathering spaces, neither of which had been significantly updated in 35 years.

A woman winces as she prepares to give a donation during a blood drive hosted by San Juan Bautista Council 1543 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The blood drive netted 33 pints of blood.

MONTHLY COLLECTION

For the past 18 years, Our Lady of Lourdes Council 9924 in Venice, Fla., has hosted a monthly food and fund drive at all weekend Masses at Our Lady of Lourdes Church to benefit the poor and needy. Donations are packaged and delivered to Catholic Charities, to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and to other parishes in the area.

BENEFIT BREAKFAST

Ascension Council 7991 in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, hosted a benefit breakfast to support council member Fred Gorman, who has ALS. The event raised more than $3,600 to assist with Gorman’s medical costs.

PARISH FESTIVAL

Jesus the King Arab Christian Council 15045 in Markham, Ontario, organized a parish festival for Jesus the King Melkite Catholic Church.

Knights and their wives prepared food and entertainment for the event, which raised $13,000 for the parish.

PANCAKES FOR JOEY

Members of Ambrose Council 8403 in Annandale, Va., guide the base of a new wooden cross into place at St. Ambrose Church.

Knights replaced an old cross at the church and donated funds to help renovate the church’s bell tower.

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St. Bernadette Council 11214 in Severn, Md., hosted a pancake breakfast that raised more than $400 for Joey Sudo, the son of a council member who has been fighting a rare form of cancer. The donation will help the Sudo family pay for Joey’s steadily increasing medical bills.

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Eleven K of C councils from the Tidewater region of southeast Virginia gathered for the first-ever Tidewater Knights of Columbus Pro-Life Leadership Conference. Participants included council pro-life directors, pro-life couples and grand knights. Hosted by Father Nicholas J. Habets Council 4632 in Virginia Beach, the event provided a venue for councils to share pro-life information, resources and programs, as well as updates on the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative and the 40 Day for Life campaign.

BICYCLE DRIVE

St. Jerome Council 15012 in West Long Branch, N.J., hosted a bicycle drive to benefit Second Life Bikes in Asbury Park. Knights collected more than 55 used bikes by soliciting donations at St. Jerome Church and St. Mary of the Assumption Church. Second Life Bikes allows needy children and young adults the opportunity to select their own bike in exchange for working 15 hours in the organization’s bike repair shop.

A DIFFERENT PLAN

In 1994, Christ on the Mountain Council 7640 in Lakewood, Colo., formed a home association to begin raising money for a council hall. Though fundraising

CHURCH RENOVATIONS

Two K of C councils undertook renovations at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Milford, N.J. Immaculate

Jeffrey S. Patino of Marian Council 3773 in Pacifica, Calif., and his 6-year-old daughter, Trinity Rose, present the Knights of Columbus Silver Rose before a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Knights presented a pro-life program to coincide with the rose’s visit that included a time of prayer and family consecration and a traditional Mexican dinner.

Donations from the event — $591 — were donated to the Order’s Culture of Life Fund.

Conception Council 6245 in Annandale volunteered 1,000 hours and donated construction materials to refurbish the parish’s catechetical house.

Meanwhile, Delaware Valley Council 7581 worked to overhaul the parish business offices and the main doors of the church.

PRAYER GARDEN

Sacred Heart Council 11352 in Tonganoxie, Kan., raised nearly $25,000 through memorial brick sales and other fundraisers to construct a walking rosary prayer garden at its parish. Archbishop James P. Keleher, archbishop emeritus of Kansas City and a member of The Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Council 12026, blessed the prayer garden upon its completion.

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

camp operated by the Diocese of Helena. The small stipends, which defrayed the cost of attending the camp, were a great help for many of the families.

GAZEBO COMPLETED

Keith Armbrust of Hyde Park (N.Y.) Council 6111 sands the flagpole at Regina Coeli School in preparation for painting. At the request of their pastor, Knights painted the badly rusted 40-foot pole, borrowing a cherry picker to complete the project.

PARISH BREAKFASTS

St. Jérôme (Quebec) Council 1892 and its ladies’ auxiliary serve breakfast at their parish once a month for seven months out of the year.

Knights and their wives serve about 400-500 meals at each event, and the breakfasts raised $7,200 for the council and its parish last year.

Blessed Trinity Council 12274 and Blessed Trinity Circle 5146, both in Greer, S.C., assembled a gazebo for a local special needs group home.

Knights and Squires volunteered 56 hours to construct the gazebo, which is fully enclosed and was donated by the sister of one of the residents.

CART FOR PANTRY

Madonna Council 520 in Englewood, N.J., donated $3,000 to the food pantry at St. Cecilia Church to purchase a new battery-powered food cart. The cart will play a vital role in the operation of the pantry, which transports 3.75 tons of food from its warehouse each week to feed poor families throughout the area.

next to the church’s rectory into a perpetual eucharistic adoration chapel. Knights volunteered about 750 hours to the project, which also included building a new altar over the home’s fireplace.

Lynch Library was built by council members and features a variety of religious materials available for parishioners to borrow.

FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL

FATHER LYNCH LIBRARY

Des Frontières Council 10068 in Dégelis, Quebec, donated $1,584 to St. Rose Church to help repair the church bells.

St. Vincent de Paul Council 15093 in Tallahassee, Fla., dedicated a library at its parish in honor of departing pastor Father Francis Lynch, who has served at St. Vincent de Paul Church since 1982 and has been a priest since 1950. The Father Francis

Through its “Military Food for Families” program, Fray Francisco Dumetz Assembly in San Bernardino, Calif., has delivered 200,000 pounds of food to active, reserve and retired military families in California. The assembly also works with other K of C units to fulfill food requests from other military bases.

FIRE RESPONSE

Ascension Council 14943 in Bastrop, Texas, mobilized at Ascension Church to aid evacuees following a series of devastating wildfires in the area.

Knights coordinated work shifts to set up the parish hall and education center, and to sort incoming donations of food and clothing to assist residents — and several council members — who lost their homes in the disaster.

Richard Birch of St. Bernard Council 2087 in North Grosvenordale, Conn., helps Father Charles R. LeBlanc and Father Richard Breton Jr. bless a statue of Mother Teresa that the council donated to St. Joseph Church and School. In addition to purchasing the statue and the stone pedestal on which it sits, the council also prepared and landscaped the plot in front of St. Joseph School where the statue is displayed. The total project cost about $15,000.

FLOOR REPLACED

Holy Family Council 15234 in Brentwood, Tenn., installed a new hardwood floor for an area family that needed assistance. Overwhelmed with health problems and with maintaining its farm, the family could not afford to replace the floor. Knights responded in one day, removing the old carpet, preparing the subfloor and laying the new hardwood.

CAMPING FUNDS

HOME CONVERT

Holy Family-Spirit of Christ Council 13022 in Missoula, Mont., provided $25 each to help 40 young people attend Legendary Lodge, a summer

St. Aloysius Council 6451 in Hickory, N.C., in conjunction with the St. Aloysius Parish Home Improvement Ministry, converted a 60-year-old home

FOOD FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

COLUMBIA magazine

is now available on the

For more information, visit kofc.org/columbia

APRIL 2012

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 29

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

IN SERVICE TO ONE, IN SERVICE TO ALL

Mississauga, Ontario • San Juan Capistrano, CA •

• Memphis, TN

Matamoros, Mexico • Les Cayes, Haiti • • San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic Banga, Visayas •• Halawig-Gogon, Luzon

• Mombasa, Kenya

FREE THE KIDS

Msgr. Paul Martin Council 7519 in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., hosted a talk by Father Marc Boisvert, founder of Free the Kids in Les Cayes, Haiti. Father Boisvert discussed Hope Village, a place where Haitian youth can receive medical care and education to help break the cycle of poverty. Following his talk, council members presented Father Boisvert with $16,300 that the council raised to support his efforts to expand

the village’s vocational training facility.

PRISONERS VISITED

San Pedro and San Pablo Council 15218 in Matamoros, Mexico Northeast, visited an area prison with one of the Order’s traveling images of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Knights met with prisoners and with the facility’s chaplain, Father Martín Guzman Vega, who had coordinated an effort by

the inmates to build a chapel at the prison. Following a prayer service, all those in attendance shared coffee and pastries.

CHALICES FOR KENYA

When Father Paul Wangaih of the Archdiocese of Mombasa, Kenya, was visiting Memphis, he was informed by his archdiocese that two new parishes were opening in his home country and that both were in need of supplies. In response, Msgr. John A. Welsh Council 4312 purchased two chalices and patens for the new parishes in Kenya.

SMALL BUSINESS LOAN

Members of St. Francis Xavier Council 15220 in Halawig-Gogon, Luzon, use lawn equipment to clean the grounds of St. Francis Xavier Church. At the request of their parish priest, Knights removed tall grasses and other overgrown plants from the church grounds. The council also cleaned the grounds of Tabgon High School.

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Banga (Visayas) Council 5362 raised 4,000 pesos (approximately $93) to help several families start businesses to supplement their meager income. Many of the poorest families in the community live on $10-35 per month and have children with disabilities.

The funds from the council allowed the families to begin crafting hand-woven bags and belts that are sold to residents throughout the jurisdiction.

Gil Gaspar (right) of St. Dominic Council 14968 in Mississauga, Ontario, looks on as Father Phil Jones, pastor of St. Dominic Church and council chaplain, selects the winning ticket during a raffle at the council-sponsored “Fiesta Dominicana!” The two-day event, which included raffles and Latin entertainment and food, raised more than $3,300 for the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and their mission in the Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic.

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K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

Preparing for the Resurrection Knights undertake a variety of initiatives during Lent

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J O I N T H E FAT H E R MCGIVNEY GUILD

!

04/12

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Irv Eastman (left) and Michael Bane of Auburn (Calif.) Council 6149 serve fish to a parishioner during a council-sponsored Lenten fish fry. Knights prepared a meatless fish dinner each Friday during Lent.

WHILE K OF C units are known for their famous fish frys, these delectable meatless meals aren’t the only initiatives that Knights undertake during Lent. Below is a roundup of some the unique ways that Knights prepare for and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Michael Kirby/Auburn Journal

• In anticipation of the Lenten season, Our Lady of Lourdes Council 11241 in Boca Raton, Fla., distributed nails to parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. The nails, which parishioners were instructed to carry with them throughout Lent, remind Catholics of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.

• Members of Holy Spirit Council 13919 in Malolos City, Luzon, were chosen to act as the Twelve Apostles during Holy Week activities at their parish. Knights participated in processions, vigils and other events in the days leading up to Easter.

• After the youth group at Our Lady of Grace Church presented a living Stations of the Cross, members of Our Lady of Grace Council 13243 in Palm

Bay, Fla., conducted a nightlong vigil at the tomb of Jesus. Council members, their families and parishioners took one-hour watches and prayed the rosary until 8 a.m. on Easter morning.

• Bishop Laurence J. Fitzsimon Council 4635 in Amarillo, Texas, delivered Easter baskets to patients at Baptist St. Anthony Hospital and Northwest Texas Hospital.

• Members of Lawrence Council 7000 in Trenton, N.J., fasted from the meal that is normally held after their monthly council meeting and donated the money saved on dinner, beverages and desserts to Operation Rice Bowl.

• Oak Ridges (Ontario) Council 13094 hosted an Easter egg hunt for children ranging in age from infancy to 12 years old. About 80 kids participated in the event.

• Immaculate Conception Council 14405 in Cainta, Luzon, erected a large wooden cross at its parish for veneration following the Lenten Stations of the Cross.

ADDRESS CITY STATE/PROVINCE ZIP/POSTAL CODE Complete this coupon and mail to: The Father McGivney Guild, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326 or enroll online at: www.fathermcgivney.org

OFFICIAL APRIL 1, 2012:

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, Place d’Armes Station, P.O. Box 220, Montreal, QC H2Y 3G7 ALL MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, EDITORIAL MATTER, AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES SHOULD BE MAILED TO: COLUMBIA, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901.

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PHONE: 203-752-4000, www.kofc.org. PRODUCED IN USA. COPYRIGHT © 2012 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 06507-0901.

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APRIL 2012

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C O LU M B I A N I S M B Y D E G R E E S

Charity ELIKEM DORBU of St. Dominic Savio Circle 5078 in Parrish, Fla., power washes the front of Southeast High School while working on his Eagle Scout project. Mother Cabrini Council 12155 donated part of the $4,000 needed for Dorbu to restore and modify the entrance to the school’s administration building.

• Marysville (Wash.) Circle 5421 held its annual “Wash for Life” car wash to benefit Pregnancy Aid, a pregnancy resource center in Everett. Squires washed 52 cars and sold refreshments at the event, netting $450 for the organization.

Unity

Fraternity

Patriotism

MEMBERS OF Blessed Martyr Father Jerzy P. Popieluszko Council 15239 in Tarnobrzeg, Poland, prepare to hand out bread following Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church as part of a “Feast of Bread” tradition.

To instill in parishioners a sense of thanksgiving for the simple, needful things in their lives, Knights handed out loaves of bread that were blessed during Mass.

• Father Patrick McAlpine Council 9094 in Biloxi, Miss., prepared lunch and dinner for the diaconate candidates at Sacred Heart Church and their wives following the candidates’ first week of study.

MEMBERS OF St. Clare of Assisi Council 9708 in Houston level the backyard of Lucy Coles before laying new sod. Lucy’s husband, Matthew, was a member of the council who died in late-2010 at the age of 27, leaving behind his wife and three children.

Since then, Knights have adopted the family and performed maintenance tasks large and small at the family’s home. The council refurbished the backyard so the children would have a place to play and put down new grout in the master bathroom.

U.S. ARMY CAPT. Andrew Adcock (second from left) presents Grand Knight Rene Bodin (center) of St. Francis of Assisi Council 9543 in Madison with a U.S. flag that flew in Afghanistan. Upon his return from a yearlong deployment to the Middle East as deputy chief of public affairs for Joint Sustainment Command in Afghanistan, Adcock, a council member, presented the flag to fellow Knights. Also pictured are: State Master Larry Roberts, Bill Amadio and Johnny Biggert.

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APRIL 2012

KNIGHT S O F CO LU MBU S

Building a better world one council at a time Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a difference — whether through community service, raising money 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

C OLUMBIA , 1 C OLUMBUS P LAZA , N EW

Members of Immaculate Conception Council 14405 in Cainta, Luzon, unload relief goods that were collected for victims of Typhoon Sendong. Knights collaborated with the Family Rosary Crusade to collect rice and other sundries for people who were affected by the devastating storm.

“K NIGHTS IN A CTION ” H AVEN , CT 06510-3326

PHOTO AS WELL AS ITS DESCRIPTION TO : OR E - MAIL : COLUMBIA @ KOFC . ORG .

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PLEASE, DO ALL YOU CAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

KEEP T HE FAITH ALIV E

‘I FELT A SENSE OF PEACE AND ENCOURAGEMENT’ In the years after college, I earned a nice salary and felt I could buy anything I desired.

I seemed happy, but my life lacked meaning. A non-practicing Lutheran, I resumed weekly worship in the hope of finding that meaning.

Instead of finding answers, I doubted the reality of heaven and the existence of God. Frustrated and ready to declare myself an agnostic, I sent a message to a Catholic priest that I knew. He generously offered to teach me the Catholic understanding of life, and we met many times over several months. I was amazed.

In April 2005, I was confirmed, received the Eucharist and enjoyed a newfound peace.

Shortly after, three people suggested I consider a religious vocation. During a trip to Italy the next year, after 10 days of prayer in Rome and Assisi, I felt a sense of peace and encouragement knowing that God wanted me in the seminary.

After my studies at Kenrick Seminary in Saint Louis, Mo., I was ordained a Catholic priest at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck, N.D.

Photo by Glasser Images

FATHER JASON SIGNALNESS Diocese of Bismarck, N.D.