Columbia June 2012

KNI GHT S O F CO LUMBU S

J UNE 2012

COLUMBIA

God’s Servant First.

“AT

A T I M E W H E N T H E E C O N O M Y I S S T I L L S T RU G G L I N G T O

R E C OV E R F RO M A D E E P R E C E S S I O N , T H E E XC E P T I O N A L S T R E N G T H O F O U R I N S U R A N C E P RO G R A M I S T H E RO C K O N W H I C H A G ROW I N G NUMBER OF

C AT H O L I C

FA M I L I E S B U I L D T H E I R F U T U R E S .”

- SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

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june 2012 ♦ Volume 92 ♦ number 6

COLUMBIA F E AT U R E S

8 God’s Servant First St. Thomas More, patron of statesmen and politicians, serves as a model of charity, courage and fidelity today.

BY DOMINICAN FATHER DOMINIC LEGGE

12 Freedom and Our Religious Heritage The future of the United States depends upon upholding its founding Judeo-Christian principles.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

17 The Admiral’s Memorial The Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., celebrates 100 years.

BY PATRICK SCALISI

20 Why Columbus Sailed An interview about Christopher Columbus and the religious motivations for his journey.

BY ALTON PELOWSKI

ColumbuS: josé m. obregon (1832-1902) / Gianni Dagli orti / The Art Archive at Art resource, nY — AD DeSIGn: justin Perillo

22 Treating Disorders, Transforming Lives A K of C-sponsored developmental center is expanding after more than three decades of helping children and families.

BY JEANNETTE COOPERMAN

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) is portrayed as a young man in this 19th-century painting. What motivated the Italian explorer, celebrated as the discoverer of America, to lead crew of 90 men across the Atlantic Ocean more than five centuries ago? (See interview on page 20.)

D E PA RT M E N T S 3

Building a better world

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As the strong right arm of the Church, Knights are called to pray for and defend religious liberty.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

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Learning the faith, living the faith We turn to the Lord amid the challenge to defend religious liberty against secularism.

11

Knights of Columbus News

26

Knights in Action

9th Philippine Convention Highlights Founder • Supreme Knight Visits Military Knights in Korea

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Columbianism by Degrees

Fathers for Good In life and death, my father taught me by his actions what it means to love sacrificially.

BY FATHER THOMAS VANDER WOUDE

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS Catholic Man of the Month

JUNE 2012

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 1

E D I TO R I A L

Founding Principles SIR THOMAS MORE, himself a character in his 1516 work Utopia, encounters Raphael Hythloday, who is said to have been a crewmember on one of Amerigo Vespucci’s journeys to the New World a decade earlier. Hythloday, whose name means “talker of nonsense,” tells More about an island called Utopia — a Greek word that could mean “Bestplace” or “No-place.” The discovery of the New World apparently inspired the young More, who was 14 at the time of Columbus’ first voyage, to wonder about other societies. He did not, however, portray Utopia as an ideal place, as the word is used today. When Hythloday is finished speaking, the fictional More notes that many things practiced on the island are “very absurd” and are not to be agreed to, adding that there are other aspects that he wishes were “followed in our governments.” Thus, it is not surprising that the ideas presented in the book have been widely interpreted.

Some aspects of the Utopian society described in More’s book are especially notable in light of events that followed — events such as Martin Luther’s posting of his Ninety-five Theses in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation, and More’s martyrdom in 1535 for refusing to accept King Henry VIII’s separation from the Catholic Church. According to the laws that govern Utopia, men may attract others to their own religion “by the force of argument and by amicable and modest ways,” but no one can coerce another to believe differently. And if one religion is true, then citizens can hope that “the native force of truth would at last break forth and shine bright.” Certain religious

ideas in Utopia — such as belief in “a wise overruling Providence” and the transcendent dignity of human nature — are rightly assumed to be prerequisites to a just and virtuous society.

It was largely due to More’s actions at the end of his life — humbly accepting death rather than compromising his faith and conscience — that he was canonized in 1935 and named the patron saint of statesmen and politicians in 2000 (see page 8). But for better or worse, More’s fictional writing also inspired thinkers that followed him. John Locke, whose own writings later influenced Thomas Jefferson, used similar arguments as those contained in Utopia. And one may wonder if More, in some small way, helped to shape the ideals of a new republic in the New World, which was founded on universal principles such as religious liberty and other God-given rights.

Although there is no such thing as a perfect society on this side of heaven, we may affirm that the fundamentally religious foundation of America is a great social good. The Founding Fathers understood that our liberties cannot be secure without a conviction that they are the gift of God (see page 12). As advocates of secularism work to exclude God from public discourse today, the freedom of religion is increasingly marginalized. In response, Knights take St. Thomas More as a patron and continue to witness to the truth of our faith and to the origin of our liberty, for the sake of the common good.♦ ALTON J. PELOWSKI MANAGING EDITOR

Supreme Convention and Guadalupe Celebration THE 130TH SUPREME CONVENTION will take place in Anaheim, Calif., Aug 7-9. For more or information, or to register, visit kofc.org/reservations or call 203752-4739. The Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will also co-sponsor a Guadalupe Celebration at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sunday, Aug. 5. The event will feature prayer, speakers and performances. Reserve free tickets at guadalupecelebration.com.

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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 St. Thomas More (1478-1535), patron saint of statesmen and politicians, is depicted in a famous 1527 portrait by Hans Holbein.

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

Answering the Bishops’ Call As the strong right arm of the Church, Knights are called to pray for and defend religious liberty

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson

DURING MY RECENT TRIP to tion to the common good of all Korea, I had the opportunity to pray Americans.” at the Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine The U.S. bishops have sounded a forts to shield the Church and her inoverlooking the Han River in Seoul. warning of emerging threats to reli- stitutions from the heavy hand of On that site, as many as 10,000 Ko- gious liberty, threats to the integrity those who now seek to restrict what rean Catholics were martyred in the and continued existence of many Pope Benedict XVI has called “that 1860s, nearly two decades before the Catholic institutions. The bishops most cherished of American freefounding of the Knights of Colum- ask, “Can we do the good works our doms, the freedom of religion.” bus. These ordinary men and faith calls us to do without having to I urge every brother Knight and women of extraordinary faith were compromise that very same faith?” every state and local council to partortured and decapitated, and their This question must be of utmost ticipate in the upcoming “Fortnight bodies were then thrown for Freedom” from June 21 over the cliff into the river. to July 4 by contacting their Catholics in Korea will tell local parish and diocese in I urge every brother Knight and you that this is one of the support of this program. most sacred places in their And I ask every K of C every state and local council to parcountry. I believe it is one family to take part in a ticipate in the upcoming “Fortnight novena for religious liberty of the most sacred places in the world. beginning June 21, using for Freedom” June 21-July 4 Today, South Korea has the prayer that our bishops one of the fastest growing have asked us to pray: Catholic populations, with Almighty God, Father of thousands of converts to the faith concern to every Catholic and espe- all nations, for freedom you have set us each year. We see there once again cially to the Knights of Columbus. free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1). We the mystery of salvation. The blood The bishops have directed a clear praise and bless you for the gift of reliof the martyrs is the seed of the call to action: “Once more we see gious liberty, the foundation of human Church. the need for an engaged, articulate rights, justice, and the common good.

It was an especially moving expe- and well-formed Catholic laity en- Grant to our leaders the wisdom to rience for me to be there since I had dowed with a strong critical sense … protect and promote our liberties; By arrived in Seoul from Washington, and with the courage to counter a re- your grace may we have the courage to D.C., after delivering an address at ductive secularism which would defend them, for ourselves and for all the National Catholic Prayer Break- delegitimize the Church’s participa- those who live in this blessed land. We fast on the new threats to religious tion in public debate about the is- ask this through the intercession of liberty in the United States. sues which are determining the Mary Immaculate, our patroness, and in the name of your Son, our Lord My visit to the Jeoldusan Shrine future of American society.” brought home the truth of what our As Knights of Columbus, we are Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy bishops have recently written: “Reli- proud of our reputation as “the strong Spirit, with whom you live and reign, gious liberty is not only about our right arm of the Church.” In 130 one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ability to go to Mass on Sunday or years, that arm has never tired, nor Together we can safeguard our pray the rosary at home. It is about has it wavered. I am confident that in most cherished freedom. whether we can make our contribu- the days ahead we will increase our efVivat Jesus!

JUNE 2012

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LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

Fortnight for Freedom We turn to the Lord amid the challenge to defend religious liberty against secularism

by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori

IN MY FIRST WEEKS as archbishop of Baltimore, I find myself surrounded by history. I live in the shadow of the Basilica of the Assumption, the nation’s oldest cathedral, whose cornerstone was laid in 1806. Beneath the basilica are buried many archbishops, including John Carroll, the nation’s first bishop.

On the walls of my residence are portraits of my 15 predecessors, many of whom were pivotal in the growth of the Church in the United States and in defending the freedom and reputation of the Church amid an anti-Catholic culture.

As I walk around my new home, the words of Cardinal James Gibbons, who served this archdiocese for more than four decades before his death in 1921, ring in my ears: “I belong to a country where the civil government holds over us the aegis of its protection, without interfering with us in the legitimate exercise of our sublime mission as ministers of the Gospel of Christ. Our country has liberty without license and authority without despotism.”

Cardinal Gibbons defended the proposition that one could be both a loyal American and a good Catholic.

Now we are called to be loyal Americans precisely by being good Catholics. The words Blessed John Paul II spoke when he visited Baltimore in 1995 remain true: “The challenge facing you, dear friends, is to increase people’s awareness of the importance for society of religious free4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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dom; to defend that freedom against those who would take religion out of the public domain and establish secularism as America’s official faith.”

we want to preserve, uphold and foster religious liberty as understood and taught by the Church, and hold fast to THE VINE AND the legacy of the Founding Fathers of THE BRANCHES the United States, then we need to pray During his visit here, Blessed John diligently as communities, as families Paul II prayed in a small private chapel and as individuals. in my new home. Many former archWith this in mind, the U.S. bishops’ bishops of Baltimore have offered Mass Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liband prayed in the same chapel, and this erty has suggested that we have a “Fortnight for Freedom.” This is to be a special period of prayer in the two weeks leadReligious freedom erodes when, ing up to the Fourth of July. in the face of an increasingly During this time, the Church will celebrate a number of secular culture, believers cease feasts days — including the feasts of St. Thomas More and to bring convictions born St. John Fisher, who couraof faith into family life, daily geously laid down their lives when King Henry VIII arrowork and social settings. gated to himself the leadership of the Church. inspires me when I consider the curAnd there are many other ways that rent challenge we are facing in defend- we can observe this fortnight for freeing religious liberty in the United dom in our liturgies: Petitions for the States and throughout the world. The preservation of religious liberty can be prayerfulness of my predecessors re- offered at Mass; special prayers that minds me that this struggle will not be have been composed for this time can won only by planning and political ac- be prayed, perhaps as a conclusion to tion. Something more is needed. the general intercessions; votive Masses In the Gospels, Jesus teaches that he for civil needs can be offered; and homis the vine and we are the branches. ilies on the Church’s teaching regarding Just as a branch cannot survive when religious liberty can be delivered. cut off from the vine, he says, “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRAYER We need to take this to heart in our The fortnight for freedom is an ideal struggle to defend religious liberty. If time to grow in our understanding of

LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

what the Catholic Church teaches about religious liberty.

We should make it a point for 14 consecutive days to thank God for the freedoms with which he has endowed us and commend to the Lord those who have died in defending our liberty.

Freedoms erode when they are taken for granted by citizens. Religious freedom erodes when, in the face of an increasingly secular culture, believers stop going to church and cease to bring convictions born of faith into family life, daily work and social settings.

Conversely, when we consciously thank God for our freedoms, we will be more apt to protect them.

HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTIONS

Offered in solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI

PoPe: CnS photo/Paul Haring — bISHoP bruTÉ: Courtesy of Daughters of Charity Archives, emmitsburg, md.

GENERAL: That believers may recognize in the Eucharist the living presence of the Risen One who accompanies them in daily life.

MISSION: That Christians in Europe may rediscover their true identity and participate with greater enthusiasm in the proclamation of the Gospel.

The fortnight for freedom will be an opportunity for every Knight and his family to set aside a little time each day to pray for religious liberty. Consider praying a family rosary, other devotional prayers or Archbishop John Carroll’s “Prayer for Government.” You might also set aside some time at dinner to discuss religious liberty. Ask family members to read parts of the bishops’ document titled “Our Most Cherished Freedom” (published in the May 2012 issue of Columbia) and be prepared to talk about it in light of current events.

Finally, what if we used spare moments during our day to pray for reli-

gious liberty? It might be as simple as having a prayer card in your pocket that you can pull out at a moment’s notice.

Years ago, Mother Teresa visited the seminary I attended, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. We all expected her to tell us about what she and her sisters were doing for the poorest of the poor around the world. Instead, she told us about the parable of the vine and branches. She helped us see that anything important requires prayer. So please, pray for religious liberty — at church, in K of C council meetings, at home and when you are alone.♦

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

Bishop Simon Bruté (1779-1839) SIMON WILLIAM Gabriel Bruté de Rémur was born to an affluent family in Rennes, France, in 1779, but his life of privilege did not last long. When he was 7, his father died, and three years later, the French Revolution began.

During this upheaval, Simon’s mother sheltered two priests in their apartment, and much of Simon’s education came from priests in hiding.

At 20, Simon began studies at the College of Medicine in Paris, later receiving honors as the school’s most outstanding student. He declined an appointment at a major medical center, though, deciding instead to pursue a vocation to the priesthood. Madame Bruté, believing that her son was destined to be a great surgeon, strongly opposed the decision.

After Simon’s ordination in 1808, he joined the Sulpician Order, desiring to be a missionary to India or China. Father Bruté’s first few assignments, however, were to teach seminary, which brought him overseas to St. Mary’s College in Baltimore and Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md. In Emmitsburg, he befriended a future saint, Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, and be-

came her spiritual director. He lived very simply and, in addition to teaching, frequently heard confessions and visited the homebound.

In 1834, Father Bruté was sent west to Vincennes, Ind. Despite protesting that he was unqualified, he was consecrated bishop of a new diocese that incorporated Indiana and much of Illinois — with the assistance of only two priests. Within five years, the diocese had 25 priests, 20 seminarians and two religious communities. Bishop Bruté died June 26, 1839, and his cause for canonization opened in 2005.♦

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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS

9th Philippine Convention Highlights Founder

Archbishop José Palma of Cebu, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (center) stands with Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and leaders of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines outside of the KCFAPI headquarters in Manila. Behind them stands a statue of Jesuit Father George Willmann, who is called the “Father McGivney of the Philippines” because of his work over many years with Filipino Knights.

“THIS IS A GREAT DAY for the Knights of Columbus, a great day for Father McGivney, a great day for the Philippine nation,” said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson in remarks at the conclusion of the opening Mass of the 9th Philippine National Convention, held in Manila April 27-29.

Anderson praised Filipino Knights for their fidelity to the Church, their support for their bishops and priests, and their dedication to the principles of the Order. He expressed “justified pride in the accomplishments of the Knights in the Philippines,” including their dedication to charitable works and steady growth in membership, which stands at more than 288,000 Filipino Knights.

Immediately following Mass, three 4-foot statues of Venerable Michael McGivney were blessed and carried in procession from Manila’s historic San Agustin Church. The statues were delivered to the deputies of the three Philippine jurisdictions — Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao — and will be sent on pilgrimage over the next year to council homes and parishes throughout the nation of islands.

Archbishop José Palma of Cebu, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, then joined the supreme knight at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Father Michael McGivney Multimedia Studio, located at the CBCP headquarters. Constructed with a grant from the Supreme Council, the state-of-the art studio will seek to educate and evangelize through videos promoting the sanctity of marriage and the family.

In his keynote address at the convention’s States Dinner, held April 28, Anderson said that the people of the Philip6 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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pines give the world new hope through their young people and their commitment to pro-life and family values. He spoke in strong terms about House Bill No. 4244 (also known as the Reproductive Health Bill) that has been proposed year after year in legislative sessions of the Philippine Congress. The bill, he noted, runs counter to the nation’s lifeaffirming, family-based culture.

“The defeat of the RH Bill must be the number-one issue for the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines,” the supreme knight said, drawing loud applause from the delegates. “We do this not just with political strategy, but with spiritual weapons, because this issue is not just political, but spiritual.”

He added, “The Philippines has a bright future; the Philippines has a great people. They don’t deserve the RH Bill. …

The people of the Philippines deserve a great culture.”

The supreme knight also encouraged bishops, priests and Knights to spread devotion and prayer to Father McGivney, who needs a miracle attributed to his intercession for beatification.

The convention concluded on Sunday morning with a Memorial Mass for all deceased Philippine Knights, offered by Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco of Cubao, who is also state chaplain of Luzon.

In his closing address to the convention, Anderson praised the Knights for their continued energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the Catholic faith. Expressing his heartfelt gratitude for all that the Knights do in the Philippines, he said, “You are a marvelous…example to your brother Knights in other countries.” ♦

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS

Supreme Knight Visits Military Knights in Korea

New Fourth Degree Knights join Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and Bishop F. Richard Spencer, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, following an exemplification conducted at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, South Korea. Nearly 40 members of Bishop John J. Kaising Council 14223 were initiated into the new Bishop Joseph W. Estabrook Assembly, which is named for a deceased bishop of the U.S. military archdiocese.

SUPREME KNIGHT Carl A. Anderson and Bishop F. Richard Spencer, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, visited South Korea to meet with fellow Knights there and assess the outreach to Catholic members of the armed forces.

The trip included meetings with Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla, apostolic nuncio to Korea; Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-Suk, archbishop of Seoul; Bishop Francis Xavier Yu Soo-il of the Military Ordinariate of Korea; and Sung Kim, the U.S. ambassador to Korea. The supreme knight’s delegation, which included the Order’s assistant for military affairs, Charles H. Gallina, also visited historical and religious sites.

Arriving April 23, the supreme knight met with Ambassador Kim

and military Knights who serve at the United Nations Command headquarters. He and Bishop Spencer then toured the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, which has divided the two countries for nearly 60 years.

“I have personally visited and walked inside the DMZ more than 11 times, and each time I walk away with prayers of hope on behalf of the people who live in this desperate country,” said Bishop Spencer, who is a member of Bishop John J. Kaising Council 14223 at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, South Korea.

The following day, Anderson and Bishop Spencer led military chaplains and Knights on a pilgrimage to the Jeoldusan Martyrs Shrine, atop a small cliff on the bank of the Han River. The shrine is named for a dark

period in Korean history: During the Catholic persecution of 1866, thousands of Catholic priests and lay people were martyred in revenge for the invasion of the French. Jeoldusan, in Korean, means “mountain where heads were chopped,” and the site is one of the most sacred places in the country.

The supreme knight and Bishop Spencer later met with Cardinal Cheong Jin-Suk, who related how he had worked with and assisted the U.S. military during the 1950-53 Korean War. The cardinal said that he remains grateful for the contributions that the United States continues to make on behalf of his people.

Following meetings with other members of the Korean Catholic hierarchy, the K of C delegation traveled April 25 to Yongsan to take part in a historic Fourth Degree exemplification. Nearly 40 members of Council 14223 were initiated as charter members of Bishop Joseph W. Estabrook Assembly, which is named for an auxiliary bishop of the U.S. military archdiocese who passed away Feb. 4 after battling pancreatic cancer.

The exemplification was followed by a special Mass during which Roy L. Mellon Jr. and Joseph Y. Pak were installed into the office of acolyte, a step in their formation toward becoming deacons. Both men are past grand knights of Council 14223 and, when ordained, will be the first-ever permanent deacons in service to the U.S. military archdiocese.

Concluding the visit with a celebratory dinner after Mass, Anderson thanked the military Knights for their hospitality and for their Christian witness among the ranks of fellow soldiers.

“A number of you have thanked me for coming all this way to be with you,” said the supreme knight to those assembled, “but really I should thank you because my wife, Dorian, and I are going to take back memories that we will never, never forget.”♦

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GOD’S SERVANT FIRST St. Thomas More, patron of statesmen and politicians, serves as a model of charity, courage and fidelity today

by Dominican Father Dominic Legge

s Thomas More mounted a scaffold outside the Tower of London where his masked executioner stood, axe in hand, a crowd waited to hear More’s final speech. Contrary to custom, King Henry VIII had ordered that he “not use many words.”

More was a formidable advocate, and the king’s new assertion of supremacy over the Church was unpopular and politically tenuous, pushed through Parliament with unprecedented pressure, bribes and threats. The king would take no chances now.

More’s case was already famous. Three years earlier, Sir Thomas held the highest office in the realm after Henry himself.

His integrity was impeccable, and he had an international reputation as a humanist and scholar. For most of Henry’s reign, More had been among his most loyal advisors. Now he stood alone before the executioner’s block.

In the popular understanding of St. Thomas More, and in the superb play and film A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, More is often seen as a martyr of conscience. As Bolt put it, More was “a man with an adamantine sense of his own self.” Having made a judgment about the king’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he remained true to himself in the face of bribes, threats and even death. While this is partly valid, it conceals the central truth for which More died in 1535, the true source of his strength and the lessons that St. Thomas More can teach us now. Ours is a season during which Christians face the challenge of remaining true to the faith despite political pressure, the threat of sanctions (the recent HHS mandate is but one example), and the stigma of social ostracism.

CRACKS BEGIN TO FORM The reign of King Henry VIII had opened with much hope, as even More called Henry “the everlasting glory of our time.” After 17 years on the throne — and 17 years of marriage to Catherine of Aragon without a male heir — Henry began an affair (not his first) with Anne Boleyn. Within a year, he resolved to leave 8 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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Catherine and marry Anne. He petitioned the pope to declare his marriage invalid.

The 16th century was a dangerous time for the Catholic Church. Although there had been occasional conflicts in England between the Church and the crown before, the Reformation was now in full swing, and Martin Luther had led much of Germany to break with Rome. A faction in England with its own agenda — both political and religious — recognized that the king’s divorce would be a ripe opportunity to undermine the Church’s authority. They encouraged Henry — who, it seems, did not need much encouragement — to bypass Rome and assert royal control over the Church, and so open a path to marry Anne. They knew, however, that this would meet intense opposition if done too quickly, so they devised a careful, incremental strategy to undermine the Church’s authority and replace it with civil law. The first stage was a campaign of books and pamphlets advocating parliamentary “reform” of clerical “abuses.”

The king wanted More to bring his sharp legal mind and impeccable reputation to his divorce effort, but More declined and carefully presented his reasons. Dissatisfied, Henry commanded More to confer with other royal advisors and to read a book ad-

CnS photo/marcin mazur

A

The tomb of St. Thomas More is seen in the crypt of the St. Peter ad Vincula chapel in the Tower of London. Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher were imprisoned in the tower in 1535 and executed on nearby Tower Hill. The crypt contains their headless bodies, along with those of two other Catholic martyrs. vocating the king’s position. More studied the arguments and much else besides, and he saw that the key to the question was not in the obscure details of marriage law, but whether the king could dictate Church teaching and discipline. Could the king define what it meant to be Catholic in England, or did that authority belong to the bishops in union with the pope?

Believing that he could persuade More to lend his credibility to the scheme, Henry appointed More as lord chancellor of England. More was surprised, and he did not want the position.

He saw its difficulties and its great danger. Yet, serving as lord chancellor would give him an unparalleled opportunity to defend the Church’s liberty. He might be able to steer Henry away from an outright break with Rome. Besides, refusal was hardly an option.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR Without ever speaking ill of the king, More worked tirelessly in public and in private to combat threats to the Church’s liberty. After a long day of official duties, he would spend the

night writing against proposals to legislate the Church’s internal rules. On the side, he lobbied members of Parliament against the bills.

The king’s next move was to co-opt the (then-Catholic) universities. After much cajoling, he induced a number of theology professors to opine that his divorce was justified. He would use this “expert opinion” again and again to press his case to undermine the pope’s authority.

As things progressed, Henry pressured the English bishops and imposed enormous fines, which they paid. Then, in the name of correcting clerical “abuses,” Henry asked the bishops to give him the authority to make rules to govern the Church.

They refused, issuing a stark public response. But Henry responded with open threats of life imprisonment and veiled threats of death unless they granted him plenary power over Church governance. When the bishops met again in convocation to debate their response, Henry sent envoys with an ultimatum: They must submit to him that very day. By a divided vote, the bishops surrendered.

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Paul Scofield plays St. Thomas More in the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons.

SPOKEN WITH SILENCE More’s fame and reputation were such that Henry wanted his complicity. As a superb lawyer, More saw that he could not be executed for a simple refusal to swear the oath. As a good Catholic, he knew that he must not volunteer for martyrdom.

He took refuge in silence and prayer. While he doubted his

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DOMINICAN FATHER DOMINIC LEGGE, formerly a constitutional lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, is writing a doctoral dissertation in theology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

He is a member of The Catholic University of America Council 9542 in Washington, D.C.

john Springer Collection/Corbis

The next day, More resigned. Though he never criticized the king, the whole world understood why he was no longer chancellor. And no one doubted the king’s fury at More.

The central truth that More defended — for which he later died — was thus not a right to autonomous self-determination.

It was, rather, that the spiritual authority and rightful liberty of the Church were given by God to be exercised by the bishops in union with the pope. No secular power — no king, no parliament, no civil law — had jurisdiction over man’s soul or the Church’s faith. The king had no right to dictate Church teaching or command the bishops how to govern the Church’s life.

More’s resignation was, in fact, a great act of obedience and self-denial. It would have been easier to give in to the king, as so many other Catholics did — including most priests and all but one bishop. But More knew better: He had informed his conscience by a careful study of the Church’s teaching. He would obey every lawful command of the king, but he was God’s servant first. A human law contrary to God’s law could not bind.

When Parliament later passed the Act of Supremacy that declared Henry as supreme head of the Church in England, it became a capital crime to deny that title. Every subject had to swear an oath affirming it, or face imprisonment.

courage in the face of prison and death, he trusted that, if he remained faithful, God would supply him strength.

More was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

All of his property was confiscated, impoverishing his family.

He was repeatedly asked if he denied the king’s new title. To reply honestly meant death, so More remained silent. After more than a year in the tower, the crown charged him with treason for allegedly denying the king’s new title in a conversation with one of the king’s agents. More said he had not done so.

At More’s trial — one of the most celebrated in English history — his masterful defense nearly upset the carefully laid plans for his condemnation. According to one account, More argued that, just as the city of London lacked authority to annul an act of Parliament for the whole of England, so Parliament lacked authority to transfer governance of the Church to the king, since the Church had been entrusted by God to the bishops and the pope. This, he noted, was codified in the Magna Carta two centuries earlier, was affirmed in the king’s coronation oath, and was recognized by all Christendom and by all previous Christian epochs. The chief judge fumbled and hesitated, “loath to have the burden of that Judgment wholly to depend on him.” He consulted his colleagues, and ultimately condemned More without ruling on his objection.

More’s defense of the faith and his extraordinary fidelity and courage are not his only lessons for us. His final days radiate the transforming power of God’s gifts of faith and charity. More was never bitter. He prayed daily for the king, giving thanks for the spiritual profit he obtained from his imprisonment, which he called “the very greatest” of “all the great benefits” the king “has heaped so thickly upon me.” He wrote to his daughter that God would turn his death to great good: “no matter how bad it seems, it will indeed be the best.” When the king’s messenger, weeping, brought the news that he would die that day, More encouraged him: “Be not discomforted, for I trust that we shall, once in heaven, see each other full merrily, where we shall be sure to live and love together, in joyful bliss, eternally.”

In the end, the king had nothing to fear from More’s speech on the scaffold — it is a model of Christian charity. One contemporary account reported: “He spoke little before his execution. He asked only that those looking on would pray to God for him on this side [of heaven], and he would pray for them on the other side. Then he begged them earnestly that they would pray to God for the king, that God would give him good counsel, protesting that he died the king’s good servant, and God’s first.”♦

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

A Father’s Sacrifice In life and death, my father taught me by his actions what it means to love sacrificially

Photo courtesy Thomas Vander Woude

by Father Thomas Vander Woude THREE AND A HALF years ago, I was called to an In our family of seven sons, we learned this self-sacrifice emergency room to console a family that had lost its dad. from our father. We learned love. My father influenced me I also anointed the injured son whom the father had died greatly in my own vocation and taught me how to love God to save. Priests are often called to the hospitals, but this and others. I watched him pray daily at Mass and lead our visit was different: The dad was my father, Thomas Vander family in the rosary. By example, he taught me and my Woude, and the son he saved was my youngest brother, brothers to sacrifice for loved ones and family. Dad gave Joseph. up a career in the military for our family. He and mom My father’s death came after Joseph, who has Down moved so their sons could receive strong Catholic schoolsyndrome, fell into a septic tank on the family’s land. My ing. My father spent time with us in sports and working father jumped into the tank to rescue Joseph but was un- around the house. He also taught me the lesson of hard able to climb out himself. work that he learned My dad’s heroic action growing up on a farm. was the fulfillment of his Granted, I did not learn vocation, as every husthe patience to work with band and father is called my hands as well as my to sacrifice his life for his brothers did. However, wife and children. His dad instilled in me the disfulfillment as a man and cipline to give my full efthe joy of his vocation defort in my work to get the pend on it. job done. As a priest, I St. Paul exhorts men to learned to love my spouse, love their wives “as Christ the Church, and my chilloved the Church, handdren, my parishioners. ing himself over for her” The news of my father’s (Eph 5:25). How does a death spread quickly husband and father hand through local and national himself over to his bride news. Even in our skeptiand children? He follows cal, self-centered culture, Thomas Vander Woude Sr. is pictured with six of his seven sons in 2002. the example of Jesus something is compelling Christ, who offered himabout the story of a father self on the cross for his bride (the Church) and for his chil- giving up his life for his son. It affirms everything we know dren (all of us). Most husbands and fathers will not be to be right and echoes the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. required to give up their lives to the point of death. But The example of a father to his sons can and should every husband and father is required to give up his life for guide them to live and love as men. Such an example will his wife and children in daily sacrifice. The small and hid- undoubtedly involve a life of daily prayer in which one enden sacrifices of family life can be challenging but can lead counters the perfect man, Jesus Christ. Sons will learn the to perfection when practiced over time. virtues necessary to be dedicated husbands and fathers, In fact, every man — whether single, married or conse- whether physical or spiritual. I am thankful to Almighty crated — is called to give himself to God and his neighbor. God for the gift of my father, who guided me in word and A boy learns this lesson of self-gift in the family, particu- example how to be a man.♦ larly from his father. Even more important than a father’s words to his sons is his example of self-gift to his family FATHER VANDER WOUDE is pastor of Holy Trinity Parish and to God. When a father speaks of sacrifice through his in Gainesville, Va., where he is a member of Our Lady of the Rosary Council 12986. actions, a boy learns the essence of manhood.

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

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Freedom and Our Religious Heritage The future of the United States depends upon upholding its founding Judeo-Christian principles

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson

EDITOR’S NOTE: The supreme knight delivered the following remarks April 19 at the 8th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

great reform movements of the 19th century. A third wave of religious energy led to reforms in education, labor and women’s rights.

Alexis de Tocqueville observed the profound connection bee offer thanks for the blessings of American liberty, a tween religion and liberty in our national life: “Religion does freedom that, in its extent and its endurance, is unique not give [Americans] their taste for freedom,” he said. “It sinin human history. We also affirm gularly facilitates their use of it.” our determination to preserve that We may ask: Is this historical liberty, for us and for our fellow citconnection between Christianity izens, and to ask the Lord’s guidance and liberty an accident of history, or in doing so. is it something fundamental? Our e must remind There are times when we need Founders answered that question that help more than others. This is unequivocally. They declared that our fellow Americans, such a time. I venture to say that we are “endowed” by our “Creator” and especially those never in our lifetimes has the reliwith inalienable rights. gious liberty of the American people who exercise power, been as threatened as it is today.

THE RIGHTS OF MAN, Of some things, we should not THE GIFT OF GOD that religious liberty — need to be reminded. There are George Washington’s Farewell Adthe freedom guaransome truths and some historical redress insisted that religion and alities that should not need repeatmorality are “indispensable supteed by the First ing. But in today’s society, and in ports of our political prosperity,” this year’s official Washington, we warning that “reason and experience Amendment — has must repeat them. We must remind both forbid us to expect that nabeen essential to the our fellow Americans, and especially tional morality can be retained those who exercise power, that reliwithout religion.” And John Adams founding, development, gious liberty — the freedom guarasserted, “Our Constitution was anteed by the First Amendment — made only for a moral and religious and improvement of has been essential to the founding, people. It is wholly inadequate to the American Republic. development and improvement of the government of any other.” the American Republic.

Those views have echoed down Before there was an American through our history — perhaps Revolution, there was what historimost notably in 1961 when Presians call the First Great Awakening, which swept through the dent John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address, spoke of the colonies and transformed their outlook. The Second Great rights for which our “forebears fought,” namely “the belief that Awakening led to the abolition of slavery, as well as the other the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.” According to a poll we conducted for the 50th anniversary The walls of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., feature of that speech, 85 percent of Americans still agree with several quotes that refer to God as the source of liberty and human rights. Across Kennedy’s statement.

This belief was also the driving force behind the life’s work the Tidal Basin, however, the memorial to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., dedof Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In his historic Letter from a icated in October 2011, is devoid of any mention of God.

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Birmingham Jail, Rev. King said that he and his followers “were Solzhenitsyn devoted his life to preventing the militant athein reality standing up for what is best in the American dream ists in his country from destroying the soul of the Russian peoand for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, ple by rewriting their history. How would Solzhenitsyn have thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of viewed the controversy surrounding the King Memorial? democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in Would he have seen it as preserving the spiritual unity of Amertheir formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of ica or as one more symptom of a trend to separate Americans Independence.” from their religious heritage?

But perhaps we do need to be reminded that King’s letter relied upon our own Catholic natural law tradition. He cited NEW INTOLERANCE OF RELIGION St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” And he In 1954, the Knights of Columbus was instrumental in having asked, “How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? Congress place the words “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of AlA just law is a man-made code that legiance. Those words were placed squares with the moral law or the in our pledge in part to mark a stark law of God. An unjust law is a code contrast between the ultimate source that is out of harmony with the of our rights and the pretensions of moral law.” the atheist totalitarian dictatorships magine how those He then went on to say, “To put of the 20th century. it in the terms of Saint Thomas Today, we find a new hostility to in authority must have Aquinas, an unjust law is a human the role of religious institutions in searched to come up law that is not rooted in eternal and American life at a time when govnatural law.” ernment is expanding its reach in with 14 quotes of There you have the ancient extraordinary ways. And it is not teaching of the Catholic Church only because of the U.S. DepartRev. King without summed up by a Baptist preacher ment of Health and Human Serone mention of the under arrest for living by it. vice’s contraception mandate. This When you visit the new memomay have gotten the most attention, Almighty. There is rial to King on our national mall, but it wasn’t the first. read carefully the 14 quotations inArguing before the U.S. no more shocking scribed there. You will not find a Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor symbol of the ongoing single reference to God. Not one.

Evangelical Lutheran Church and Imagine how those in authority School v. EEOC last year, the campaign to drive must have searched to come up Obama administration sought unwith 14 quotes of Rev. King withprecedented limits on the autonreligion out of our out one mention of the Almighty. omy of churches and religious public life.

There is no more shocking symbol institutions. The administration of the ongoing campaign to drive argued that if any “ministerial exreligion out of our public life. ception” in employment exists, it King’s statue looks across the should be strictly “limited to those Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, dedicated to the presi- employees who perform exclusively religious functions.” dent who is now championed by secularists for inventing a That caused Chief Justice John Roberts to ask during oral ar“wall of separation” between church and state. Ironically, while gument whether even the pope could meet the administration’s the King Memorial was scrubbed of any reference to our Cre- definition of a religious minister. The Supreme Court unaniator, in Jefferson’s memorial, the walls tell us, “The God who mously disagreed with the administration, saying, “We are ungave us life, gave us liberty.” And they ask us, “Can the liberties sure whether any such employees exist,” because even the of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that highest ranking churchmen have “a mix of duties.” these liberties are the gift of God?” A great deal hinges on how Similarly, the HHS mandate allows only the narrowest exwe answer that question. emption for religious institutions. The exemption exists only On the occasion of receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature for institutions that, among other things, hire and serve only in 1970, Alexander Solzhenitsyn spoke of the ideological ma- members of their own faith. nipulation of history that occurred in Russia under Soviet As Cardinal Daniel DiNardo put it, “Jesus himself, or the communism. It was, he said, “a closing, a locking up, of the Good Samaritan … would not qualify as ‘religious enough’ for national heart, [and an] amputation of the national memory.” the exemption, since they insisted on helping people who did He warned that when this happens, a nation “has no memory not share their view of God.” Christians are called to reach beof its own self. It is deprived of its spiritual unity. And even yond their own denominations in teaching “all nations,” conthough compatriots apparently speak the same language, they sidering everyone their “neighbor” and doing “good to those suddenly cease to understand one another.” who hate” them.

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Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson delivers remarks April 19 at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, and Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, superior general of the Sisters of Life, also spoke at the event, which focused on challenges to religious liberty in the United States and throughout the world.

In the Hosanna-Tabor case, the administration sought to impose a new definition of ministry so narrow that ministers didn’t fit it. In its HHS mandate, the administration insists on an exemption so narrow that organizations can qualify only by violating the teachings of their church.

Consider if the administration’s view in the Hosanna-Tabor case had prevailed. Churches and religious institutions would have found themselves at the mercy of what the Supreme Court unanimously characterized as “government interference with an internal church decision that affects the faith and mission of the church itself.”

Precisely the same can be said of the HHS mandate. A government willing to affect the faith and mission of the Church is a government willing to change the identity of the Church.

And what can we expect in the future? The National Right to Life Committee makes a compelling case that the Obama administration’s “accommodation” for the HHS mandate — if accepted — paves the way for mandated coverage of “abortion on demand.”

But if the HHS mandate and the Hosanna-Tabor case have been among the most egregious assaults on religious liberty, they are not the only ones. Last year, the administration de-

nied renewed funding of the Catholic Church’s work with victims of human trafficking. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had successfully administered the program for five years, but after the ACLU filed suit demanding that the program refer women for abortions and contraception, HHS restructured the program. As a result, highly qualified providers such as the Catholic Church are now barred from the program because they cannot, in good conscience, provide what HHS calls the “full range” of reproductive services — namely abortion and contraception. Once again, the administration’s logic is consistent: Faith-based groups may apply only if their “faith and mission” are acceptable to the government.

Earlier, the Obama administration applied a similar standard to individual rights of conscience when it “rescinded most of a federal regulation that protected workers who refuse to perform services they find morally objectionable” (Washington Post, Feb. 18, 2011). Health care workers now face the choice of holding onto either their religious beliefs or their jobs. In other words, if the health care institution provides services contrary to Catholic moral teaching, Catholic doctors and nurses need not apply.

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And so, we see a new government intolerance of religion. Per- enemies of freedom and defiantly asked, “What kind of people haps this is why Cardinal Francis George has referred to the do they think we are?” Today, with the same defiance, we can Obama administration as “the most secularist administration I declare, “What kind of Catholics do they think we are?” think we have ever had in this country.”

Do they really expect us to go gently into the dark night they During his visit to Washington in April 2008, Pope Bene- are preparing for religious liberty in America? Do they not dict XVI noted, “Christians are easily tempted to conform know that people who believe in “one holy catholic and aposthemselves to the spirit of this age” (cf. Rom 12:3). The spirit tolic church” can never agree to compromise our Church by of our age is profoundly secular. And secularism accepts religion entangling it in intrinsically evil acts? Do they not see that faith— if it accepts it at all — only on its own terms. Under this ful Catholics will never accept cynical political strategies of “diview, religion is subordinated to the political interests of the vide and conquer” to separate us from our bishops? secular state. And it is precisely this subordination of religion You and I have reason for hope. We have been successful in to the state that the First Amendthe past. Consider, for example, the ment seeks to prevent. national campaign in the 1920s by Let us be clear: We value religious the Ku Klux Klan to close our liberty not only because it protects Catholic schools. They succeeded in our personal autonomy; we value the state of Oregon until the et us be clear: we religious liberty because of the good Knights of Columbus and others that religion brings into the life of pushed to have the law declared unvalue religious liberty the individual believer and into the constitutional by the U.S. Supreme life of our nation.

Court. In its landmark decision in not only because it Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the Court protects our personal A TIME FOR WITNESS, protected the rights of parents — of A TIME FOR CHOOSING all denominations — to guide the autonomy; we value Before he was elected pope, Cardieducation and moral upbringing of nal Joseph Ratzinger wrote that their children. religious liberty “neither embrace nor ghetto” can When we seek by such means to because of the good solve for the Church the problem of preserve our own identity as secular society (Principles of Catholic Catholics, we are not a divisive force that religion brings Theology, 391). Instead, Cardinal in society. To the contrary, actions Ratzinger counseled that we must that respect our religious diversity into the life of the constructively engage secularism. benefit all Americans. individual believer The question for us is: How do we We again recall Blessed John as Catholics go about doing this in Paul II’s words at the beginning of and into the life of the United States today? his great pontificate: “Do not be Last year, HHS Secretary Kathafraid. Open wide the doors for our nation. leen Sebelius told a NARAL lunchChrist.” We live in a time when, from eon, “We are in a war.” I sincerely the standpoint of religious liberty, it hope we can put away such partisan seems that there are more doors closrhetoric. We do not need a governing than doors that are opening. ment that sees itself at “war” with its own citizens. We should John Paul II often spoke of “a new springtime” of the Gospel. counsel a different approach.

If he had been an American, he might have spoken of a new As Christians, we are called to be witnesses. But to be true Great Awakening in America — one in which Catholics could witnesses, we must preserve our Catholic identity. And like St. play a greater role than ever before.

Thomas More, awaiting execution in the Tower of London, we Every great religious renewal in America has led to an admust preserve it especially from the heavy hand of government. vance in civil rights — from the Declaration of Independence We are also called to sustain our witness through prayer. and the Bill of Rights to the end of slavery and the pursuit of How appropriate, then, that our bishops have called upon us racial equality. But all of this has been achieved in the face of to take up a great fortnight of prayer for religious freedom established power structures strongly and often violently opfrom the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas posed to these rights.

More to July 4.

So this is a time for choosing — choosing whether as During the current HHS controversy, some have asked, Catholics we will stand together to keep open the doors of re“What kind of Christians would impose such a government ligious liberty. If we do so, then we will make possible the next mandate on our religious institutions?”

Great Awakening in America that will bring us closer to buildIn December 1941, with Britain in mortal peril and America ing that culture of life and that civilization of love about which reeling after Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill addressed the John Paul II so often spoke. May we, like Blessed John Paul II, United States Congress. In that worst of times, he scorned the be not afraid in our choosing.♦

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The Admiral’s Memorial The Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., celebrates 100 years

by Patrick Scalisi

john Whitman

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ommanding the front entrance of Union Station in Washington, D.C., on a roadway known appropriately as Columbus Circle, is a marble and granite memorial designed to inspire both patriotism and awe in the 90,000 people who pass through Washington’s major transportation hub each day. Rising 45 feet in front of the arched façade of the adjacent train station, the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain has stood for the past century as a tribute to the ingenuity and perseverance that led to the discovery of the New World.

Knights pushed for the memorial’s construction more than a century ago. Although the Order was less than 25 years old and had only 143,000 members at the time, the Knights successfully lobbied Congress to build the monument, which today would cost around $2.4 million.

SPREADING COLUMBIANISM Unveiled June 8, 1912, the Columbus Memorial was six years in the making and was fostered by the Order from the very beginning.

In January 1906, U.S. Rep. Joseph A. Goulden introduced a bill written by Joseph Paul Burg of Potomac Council 433 that called for the creation of a memorial to Columbus in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Council advocated for passage of the bill, which was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on March 4, 1907, with Congress appropriating $100,000 for the project.

For years, the Order had pushed for increased recognition of its patron. Knights lobbied for Columbus Day to be adopted as a national holiday, and Thomas Harrison Cummings, a member of the Knights in the 1890s, wrote and lectured widely about JUNE 2012

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A GRAND CELEBRATION Few events in the history of the Order have matched the majesty of the Columbus Memorial unveiling. Thousands of Knights attended, along with a legion of Fourth Degree members. The unveiling also attracted many dignitaries: President William H. Taft, members of Congress and their families, ambassadors from Germany, Japan, Italy and Britain, and Msgr.

Thomas J. Shahan, who was rector of The Catholic University of America and later an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Arriving in Washington June 7 for the weekend celebration, members of the Supreme Council made a pilgrimage to the tomb of George Washington, followed by a public reception.

The next day, countless people poured into the capital city’s streets, and Denis A. McCarthy reported in The Columbiad that, “Every possible vantage point was filled with spectators.

Windows, ledges, porticos, stairways and other portions of the Treasury were black with clerks watching the marchers, and thousands of persons were massed at the intersection of Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.”

At 3 p.m., Knights joined marching bands, floats and military representatives for a parade through the streets of Washington, which had been decorated with patriotic flags and

[Previous page] A Knights of Columbus honor guard stands in front of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., during ceremonies on Columbus Day 2011. [This page, from top:] A model of the memorial by sculptor Lorado Taft. • President William H. Taft delivers his address at the unveiling June 8, 1912. • A statue of Columbus crowns the center of the memorial. • Workers take a break during the memorial’s construction and installation.

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HISTorIC PHoToS: Harris & ewing Collection (library of Congress)

the explorer. A primary goal of these initiatives was to combat anti-Catholic sentiment by highlighting the contribution that Catholics had made to the discovery of the New World.

In 1892, Columbianism peaked during the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage. The Supreme Council organized a massive parade in New Haven, Conn., to commemorate the quadricentennial, and monuments to the explorer were erected around the world, including places like Druid Hill Park in Baltimore and Columbus Circle in New York. Columbus’ visage was not unknown in Washington, either. At the time — as today — the admiral was featured prominently in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and in the doors leading to this great room. But the city lacked a large public memorial to the explorer, and the Knights felt that the Columbus artwork at the Capitol was inadequate to “express the national sense of gratitude” that Columbus was due.

As a result, the successful push to create the memorial was an early victory for the growing Knights of Columbus. Delegates to the 1911 Supreme Convention set aside $10,000 for a celebration at the unveiling, and jurisdictions throughout the Order formed “On To Washington Clubs” to facilitate the travel of attendees.

bunting. McCarthy described the military escort as being comprised of 2,500 soldiers and sailors, including Marines from three battleships. The army contingent marched with cavalry and field artillery.

“A very stirring picture they made, these representatives of the land and sea forces of the United States,” McCarthy wrote.

Other civic, fraternal and ethnic groups accompanied floats, which — not unexpectedly — depicted Columbus, and the entire parade ended at the reviewing stand of the president, who made remarks.

“It is most appropriate in this beautiful place in which the visitor to the country’s capital first sets foot … that he should be confronted by a statue of the great mariner whose genius and daring opened this half of the world to progress and development,” said President Taft to the thousands gathered. “In front of a railway terminal station combining utility and art in the highest degree, and brilliantly illustrating the progress of the human race in transportation, and in a plaza that by a graceful sweep leads the eye up to the home of liberty and popular power, Columbus may well have his greatest and most fitting memorial.”

Followed by a grand banquet of 1,200 people, the memorial’s unveiling did more than reveal a stunning tribute to the discoverer of the New World. It established the Knights in the public consciousness as a group that espoused patriotism through its Catholic roots.

A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY Just as the Knights had a hand in building and unveiling the Columbus Memorial 100 years ago, so too is the Order associated with the monument today. Since 1971, Knights from

the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia have worked alongside the Daughters of the American Revolution and several Italian-American groups to hold a yearly celebration at the memorial. These groups formed what is now known as the National Columbus Celebration Association in 1989 to coordinate the annual event.

In addition, Knights are looking toward the memorial’s future.

Not unexpectedly, the 100-year-old monument is starting to show its age. Surveyed in 1994 by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the memorial has been listed for the past 18 years as “needing treatment.” The NCCA strongly supports any projects by the National Park Service that will restore the memorial to its original glory.

Knights will also participate in the memorial’s 100th anniversary at the annual Columbus Day celebration, which has been held at least since the 1930s. Preliminary plans for the weekend of Columbus Day call for special Masses, receptions and exhibits, as well as a program at the memorial on Oct. 8. (Information will be posted on kofc.org as it becomes available.)

Although the ceremony will likely not be as grandiose as the one that occurred 100 years ago, Knights remain as committed as ever to preserving and honoring the Order’s namesake. Much has changed in the past century, but the men of the Knights of Columbus remain the inheritors of a legacy that includes Catholicism’s role in the founding of America, a role that is epitomized in the marble and granite visage of the admiral who looks out over a capital of the land that he discovered.♦ PATRICK SCALISI is the associate editor of Columbia magazine.

Photo courtesy of the Tourist office of Spain

THE FAITHFUL DISCOVERER

THE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., isn’t the only Columbus monument that the Order helped realize. In 1927, the Supreme Council passed a resolution to assist the funding of a statue in Huelva,

Spain, near the spot where the mariner departed on his journey of discovery to the New World.

Called Monumento a la Fe Descubridora (“Monument of the Faith Discoverer”), and located on a peninsula on Spain’s southwestern coast, the statue was designed by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and dedicated Oct. 12, 1929, as “a gift of the American people to Spain.”

In the two years leading up to the statue’s unveiling, the Supreme Council established the Columbus Memorial Fund and urged members to donate 3 cents each to help finance the memorial. According to records from 1930, the fund totaled nearly $10,000 (about $134,000 today) for the purpose of its donation.

Past Supreme Knight James A. Flaherty also served on the board of directors for the statue’s sponsorship committee.

To this day, the monument rises 114 feet over the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by a double row of palm trees and a square plaza of white stone. Leaning on the arms of a massive cross, Columbus ponders the horizon and the lands upon which he exerted an indelible influence. – Patrick Scalisi

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Why Columbus Sailed An interview about Christopher Columbus and the religious motivations for his journey

by Alton J. Pelowski

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hen the Knights of Columbus was founded 130 years ago, their namesake, Christopher Columbus, was a symbol of the idea that there is no contradiction in being a Catholic and an American. In recent decades, however, Columbus has become a figure of controversy, leaving conflicting opinions about his legacy.

Carol Delaney, a cultural anthropologist and long-time professor at Stanford University, had little knowledge or interest in Columbus — that is, until she was teaching a course called “Millennial Fever” at Stanford in 1999 and came across a reference to the explorer’s apocalyptic beliefs. Delaney was intrigued and set out to research Columbus at Brown University in the summer of 2003. Two years later, she retired from Stanford to devote herself to research, which launched a remarkable journey in the footsteps of the explorer.

Columbia spoke to Delaney about the fruits of her research, published in her book titled Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem (Free Press, 2011).

COLUMBIA: You argue that most people misunderstand the purpose of Columbus’ voyage. According to your research, what were his motivations?

CAROL DELANEY: Everybody knows that Columbus was trying to find gold, but they don’t know what the gold was for: to fund a crusade to take Jerusalem back from the Muslims before the end of the world. A lot of people at the time thought that the apocalypse was coming because of all the signs: the plague, famine, earthquakes and so forth. And it was believed that before the end, Jerusalem had to be back in Christian hands so that Christ could return in judgment. Columbus actually calculated how many years were left before the end of the world. He seemed to think of his whole voyage as a mission, which was part of this apocalyptic scenario.

COLUMBIA: In addition to funding the crusade, did Columbus intend to evangelize the New World?

CAROL DELANEY: He was very much interested in evangelizing.

He wrote against the idea that the natives could just be baptized and automatically become Christian. Rather, they really needed to be instructed about the Christian faith before being converted. He wrote to the pope requesting that good priests be sent to provide this instruction and even left money in his will for it.

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Believing he was traveling to Asia, Columbus particularly wanted to convince the Grand Khan of China, who had already expressed interest in Christianity, to convert. He thought that the Grand Khan could help with the crusade to take Jerusalem by marching from the east, while the Europeans marched from the west — an interesting idea.

COLUMBIA: Why don’t more people recognize and accept your claims about Columbus’ intentions?

CAROL DELANEY: Scholars have written articles about Columbus’ religious motivations, but they were published in very arcane journals.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, historians wrote about Columbus as the first modern man, who used science and reason as an explorer and discoverer. But I don’t think that was his motivation. He was a medieval man in a very religious context. He was very close to the Franciscans, who were involved in proselytizing before the end of the world.

COLUMBIA: The popular view today is that Columbus is responsible for countless atrocities against the native peoples. In your opinion, is this a fair assessment?

CAROL DELANEY: No, not at all. The late 20th century brought a lot of critique about him from the perspective of the natives, and Columbus has become a symbol for everything that went wrong. But the more I read of his own writings and that of his contemporaries, my understanding of him totally changed. His relations with the natives tended to be benign. He liked the natives and found them to be very intelligent. He also described them as “natural Christians” because they had no other “sect,” or false faith, and believed that they could easily become Christians if they had instruction.

Columbus strictly told the crew not to do things like marauder or rape, and instead to treat the native people with respect. There are many examples in his writings where he gave instructions to this effect. Most of the time when injustices occurred, Columbus wasn’t even there. There were terrible diseases that got communicated to the natives, but he can’t be blamed for that.

A lot of the crewmembers didn’t like all of the restrictions and rebelled. In his writings, Columbus notes that the crew assumed that they could have slaves, that they could pick gold off of the trees, and that they didn’t have to work.

Caravels of Christopher Columbus, rafael monleon Y Torres (1847-1900) / Gianni Dagli orti / The Art Archive at Art resource, nY

COLUMBIA: What was Columbus’ view toward slavery?

CAROL DELANEY: As far as I can tell, Columbus never had any slaves, nor did he intend to get slaves when he went across the ocean. There was no possibility of enslaving the Grand Khan and his people. And [Columbus] believed the natives would become subjects of the Spanish sovereigns.

When they later met a different group of natives, whom they believed to be cannibals, Columbus’ brother sent some of these people back to Europe after their second voyage. It was considered morally acceptable at that time to enslave people who acted against their nature, with the hope that they would become good Christians. Slavery was common, even among people in the Caribbean. People ignore that fact and seem to think that Columbus instituted slavery.

Meanwhile, Bartolomé de Las Casas, an admirer of Columbus, is remembered for writing in defense of the Indians. But unlike Columbus, Las Casas owned slaves and operated encomiendas in the beginning. He didn’t have a change of heart until long after Columbus’ death, and even as late as the mid-16th century, he proposed slavery of African blacks as a substitute for the Indians.

COLUMBIA: In your research, what did you find most significant about Columbus’ own writings?

CAROL DELANEY: I read all of Columbus’ writings that are extant. Columbus’ original diary does not exist. Las Casas and Columbus’ son, Ferdinand, each had a copy, and a lot of the story coincides in their redactions. Many of Columbus’ writings express respect for the natives and concern about his crew.

Before I began my research, I didn’t know Columbus had written anything. I liked the tone of his letters, and I enjoyed

reading them. His devotion to his sons comes across, and he took care of the women in his life, which really helped change my opinion of him.

COLUMBIA: In addition to his faith, what were some of Columbus’ most notable personal qualities, and what role did they play in his quest?

CAROL DELANEY: I think he was very patient. He waited more than 10 years before his first voyage came about. He petitioned the Portuguese first, then the Spanish. The council rejected his proposal three times, yet he continued to persist. He really believed he could do it. He showed tremendous courage in going across the ocean in tiny wooden ships, with basically a compass to guide his way.

Also, when the crew was grounded on Jamaica during the fourth voyage, Columbus kept trying to negotiate with the rebels and expressed forgiveness.

COLUMBIA: To what extent can Columbus’ exploration be considered a failure or a success?

CAROL DELANEY: I think he went to the grave thinking that he had not accomplished what he wanted to do. He was angry with King Ferdinand for not pursuing the crusade, and he recognized that terrible crimes had been committed. From this point of view, he felt the quest was a failure. In reality, it was a major accomplishment. Columbus went across the ocean four times in small wooden ships, without the use of modern instruments. In the process, he discovered the New World, even though he thought that he had found only the periphery of Asia.♦ JUNE 2012

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Treating Disorders, Transforming Lives A K of C-sponsored developmental center is expanding after more than three decades of helping children and families

by Jeannette Cooperman 22 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

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A

WAITInG room: Photo by jennifer Silverberg — bubbleS: Courtesy SSm Cardinal Glennon Children’s medical Center

s a boy and his mother arrive to visit the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center at the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, a gentleman at the entrance gives Alice-in-Wonderland directions: “Down the hall, hang a right, go through the double doors, zig-zag, go down a ramp, take the elevator up to the fourth floor; the center’s in the corner.” The little boy hesitates, then agrees to climb into a wagon to make the journey. He holds on tight, his eyes scanning rapidly as his mother pulls him down corridors, into an elevator and through the door of their destination.

By this time next year, visitors like the boy and his mother won’t need a wagon to get where they’re going. The center will be three times bigger than its current location, occupying the entire second floor of a separate, newly renovated building.

The Missouri Knights of Columbus raised the money to open the developmental center in 1981 because there was no place in the region dedicated to children with intellectual developmental disorders. It started small, staffed by two developmental pediatricians and a secretary. Then it spilled into the hallway and annexed offices in the psychology department.

Today, the center has experts on staff in psychology, psychiatry, pediatric neurology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, social work, education and research. These professionals can make an autism diagnosis as early as 18 months of age. And they are now evaluating and treating almost 2,000 children a year.

The Knights continue to support the center and watch over its needs. This spring, they presented $202,000 to the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation for the much-needed expansion.

HOPE FOR FAMILIES A new spacious waiting room next year will surprise former patients like Victoria Metzger, if she comes back from college to see the doctors who saved her sanity more than once. When she started coming to the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center as a second-grader, she had to smoosh onto her mother’s lap while her older sister, Ashley, sat cross-legged on the floor.

The family pediatrician had simply pronounced Victoria “a difficult child” — just as he did with Ashley. Then their father, Curt Metzger, went to a K of C state convention where a doctor spoke about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and thanked the Knights for their support. Almost every symptom the doctor listed held true for two of the Metzgers’ four daughters.

“I went home and told my wife, and she said, ‘We’ve got to call this center,’” Curt recalls.

The Metzgers had been trying to figure out why Ashley, who was going into seventh grade at the time, struggled immensely at school and would pull out her hair, pick at her skin until she had welts, and even bite herself. Victoria, meanwhile, was already showing signs of impulsivity, trouble learning, and temper tantrums — complicated in her case by anxiety and depression.

Curt had been a Knight since 1989. He had watched the Order translate the Catholic faith into practical, charitable action in the community, and he knew its concern for protecting families. But he never expected it to transform his own.

“The doctors at the center started teaching us,” says Curt, “so we could change the way we did things, give our daughters a chance of feeling like they were living a normal life instead of feeling so confused.”

Victoria remembers being “kind of freaked out” when she was first told she was going to a center for treatment. “I thought there would be pins and needles and I was going to get stuck. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I remember a yellow room.”

She confides that she hated going to school because of her poor academic performance. She would cling to her parents or tell the bus driver that she was sick. She would also pick fights with her sister.

“But once I started my medicine I became a totally different person,” says Victoria, whose reading skills climbed to gradelevel once her anxiety and depression came under control.

Today, Victoria is preparing to graduate from high school and start her college career. A far cry from the troubled student of her past, she received the Most Improved Senior Award for her class and plans to study criminal justice.

DIAGNOSING AUTISM In 2007, the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center was designated a Missouri Autism Center, and it has helped the state develop screening and treatment guidelines for this spectrum of disorders.

Children with autism used to be thought of as locked in their own world, cut off from human communication and refusing human contact. Now doctors understand autism as a complicated array of processing disorders, causing the brain to buzz with intrusive stimuli that children can’t sort out, pattern, or make sense of. Children with autism are hyper-aware of a jumble of details, yet they are often clueless about the big picture, missing social cues other kids integrate automatically.

“Autism is now understood as a neurodevelopmental disorder,” says Dr. Rolanda Maxim, the center’s medical director.

“With early intervention, we can actually reverse many symptoms. The brain can create new connections between nerve cells, and that will help the child learn, communicate and interact.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that, on average, 1 in every 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder — although in some studies, the prevalence has measured as high as 1 in 80. Boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism.

The number of children with autism spectrum disorders is increasing — either because prevalence is increasing, because diagnosis is improving, or both. “Autism is definitely a genetic disorder,” Maxim says. “Every day we are identifying more genes that are linked to autism.” Those genes only create a predisposition to the disorder, though. “There are certain triggers in the environment,” Maxim explains, “and we have only identified a few of them.” Immunizations, she adds, have been dismissed as triggering factors.

To evaluate children who might have an autism spectrum disorder — such as Asperger syndrome or “pervasive developmental disorder” — the center has developed a four-hour, JUNE 2012

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“With early intervention, we can actually reverse many

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Photo Courtesy SSm Cardinal Glennon Children’s medical Center

symptoms. The brain can

examining room. He is 9, and he could multidisciplinary evaluation that is innot care less about the grownups’ convercredibly thorough and produces increate new connections sation. He has been coming to the center creasingly accurate results. between nerve cells, and that for nearly seven years.

“Autism is a very complex disorder, and “He’s my fourth child, and he just — therefore it is important for families to will help the child learn, he didn’t smile like the other kids, he have a multidisciplinary team of experts didn’t have eye contact like they did,” reto support them,” says Colleen Dolnick, communicate and interact.” calls his mother, Kathy Turner. “He did a the center’s family resource specialist. She little hand flapping, not a lot. He got obexplained that the center’s evaluation insessed with things, like fire extinguishers.” cludes speech and cognitive tests, a physThe center’s autism evaluation gave the Turner family a plan ical exam and a detailed family history. It also includes a structured of action, and six years later, Sean’s life has changed dramatically: kind of play to see how children interact and participate.

Dolnick’s own son has autism, and this has helped her talk “He went from a little boy who was not that social to a boy who with parents in a way that the best clinician cannot. She ex- doesn’t know a stranger,” Kathy says.

Before coming in to the exam room for Sean’s appointment, plains, commiserates and gives bewildered parents a checklist of what to do first. She also helps them find support groups and Dr. Kimberly Twyman, a developmental pediatrician, spends connects them to resources in the community. a few minutes in her office, listening to a pediatric resident’s “Some kids are hypersensitive to touch; others love hard pres- report. “Seems like there have been some pretty decent imsure,” explains Dolnick. “An adult with autism once told me provements in his aggressive behavior, his impulsivity, his hythat chewing an apple was like chewing on sandpaper. I tell par- perkinesis,” the resident tells her. “He’s been using more ents to give a lot of reinforcement and to teach in fewer words profanity recently, he’ll still have outbursts, at times he’ll try and smaller steps, repetitively.” to run away.”

She looks away for a minute, out the window. “I wish my In the exam room, Twyman asks Kathy how much the hyperown son could have come to a place like this early on. To see activity is affecting Sean on a daily basis — is it interfering with kids come in and be communicating and interacting with oth- his schoolwork? ers, whereas before they were nonverbal and lost in their own “He gets almost straight As.” world....”

Twyman’s face lights up. “I always knew he was a smartypants!”

A CHANGE OF BEHAVIOR What’s really helping, Kathy adds, is that Sean has been workSean Turner stares rapt at his portable Nintendo, with his ing with a counselor on identifying emotions. Kathy describes mouth slightly ajar and feet wrapped around a chair leg in the a breakthrough: “He got upset with me at a cafe because he

[From left] Dr. Rolanda Maxim interacts with children at the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center in St. Louis, with the assistance of Higgins, the center’s dog. • Ashley Peeler (née Metzger, left) and her sister, Victoria Metzger (right), received treatment for ADHD at the developmental center. The two girls are pictured with their parents, Deborah and Curt Metzger. • Colleen Dolnick, the center’s family resource specialist, stands in one of the exam rooms.

Photos by jennifer Silverberg

wanted what I had ordered. I said, ‘You can have a bite.’ He wanted another. I said, ‘No, you will have to order it for yourself next time.’ He stood up, and I thought, ‘Oh, here we go…’”

Instead of spiraling into a tantrum, Sean blurted, “But — but — I’m jealous of you!”

Kathy was so excited she wanted to tell everybody in the cafe.

“I said, ‘Oh my gosh, buddy, that’s awesome! You just identified a feeling for yourself!’ And I gave him my sandwich.”

A SPACE TO SERVE Missouri State Deputy John Appelbaum chairs the national board of visitors that will oversee the center’s expansion. “It kept getting moved as the hospital grew,” he explains. “Now they’ll have their own facility, brightly colored and spacious, with separate parking and a separate entrance.”

And the staff will have room to breathe and work.

At the moment, Dolnick and two nurses share an office. They have learned to keep their voices low when all three are on the phone at once, discussing complicated, sensitive material with a patient’s family or trying to find a dentist who understands how to treat a child with sensory issues.

In addition to more office space, Maxim, for one, can hardly wait for the new observation rooms, which will be used to decipher a child’s status, assess progress and teach. “It’s crucial to observe the child’s nonverbal communication,” she explains. “We have kids who don’t have words.”

Observing a child’s eye contact and facial expressions, Maxim says, is invaluable in making a diagnosis. “A child who doesn’t have the language but tries to give a toy to his mom, looks at her — that’s a child with a language delay. A child that screams, doesn’t point, doesn’t look at the mother, has no words” — that’s

autism. And when that child begins treatment, Maxim often calls in her most trusted colleague, Higgins the dog.

“The children use more words around Higgins. They smile at him more,” she says. “They will even make eye contact with him when they won’t with a human being. Because dogs give unconditional love, they are not so threatening.”

An energetic and obedient goldendoodle, Higgins forgives tantrums. He submits to physical exams so Maxim can show a child what she will do. He trots alongside the child on trips to the lab for bloodwork. Maxim even uses dog therapy to ease the fears of children terrified of health care providers. “We know of nothing like it in the country,” she says.

The new facility will provide more space for Higgins to interact with the children, and his crate will no longer be jammed in a corner of the conference room. The new examining rooms, meanwhile, will be big enough to accommodate more family members and specialists. Maxim is also glad to have room for new, evidence-based programs like PEERS, which teaches social skills to teenagers while their parents get coached on the material in another room.

Right now, there is a single hallway crowded with patients and providers. When everything spreads out, kids won’t have to endure elbow-jostling strangers and unpredictable noise. Physicians will have offices removed from the traffic of the central hall. There will be a separate exit and check-out desk.

And the grown-ups will be able to work in the kind of peace and order their young patients crave.♦ JEANNETTE COOPERMAN is staff writer for St. Louis Magazine and the author of several books. She has won national and regional awards for her reporting on health care and social issues.

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KNIG HTS IN ACTI ON

REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

shield. Local residents responded by erecting small white crosses on their yards in honor of the town’s Christian heritage, eventually forcing the atheist to drop his case. Since that time, Saline (Mich.) Council 6674 has sold the lawn crosses as a reminder that God is present in everyday life. Knights sell the crosses for $3-5, with all proceeds donated to pro-life causes.

Participants walk and push strollers past the starting line during a 5K walk and race sponsored by St. Sebastian Council 14255 in Akron, Ohio. The fun walk and race, which attracted more than 350 participants, took place on municipal streets near St. Sebastian Church and Schneider Park and netted $4,500 for the council’s charitable fund.

CATHOLIC BOOKS DONATED

Pangborn Council 1365 in Hagerstown, Md., donated more than 300 Catholic books to the Apostleship of the Sea. The books will be available to the foreign seamen from around the world who stop in Maryland.

MUSICAL RIDE

Father Gerald MacKenzie Council 8608 in Pictou, Nova Scotia, hosted the world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride for two sold-out shows at the Hector Arena in Pictou. The show consists of 36 riders and horses performing intricate routines accompanied by music. The event required approximately 688 volunteer hours and generated more than $21,000 for charity.

POKER TOURNAMENT

Don White of St. John the Baptist Council 9167 in Johnsburg, Ill., loads donated food into the trunk of his car during a council-sponsored food drive. Knights solicited donations at an area grocery store, garnering 18 shopping carts full of food and $1,800 in monetary donations.

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St. Paul Council 13657 in Petersburg, Fla., hosted a poker tournament to benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the council’s charitable fund. About 70 players participated in the event, which raised more than $3,300.

ST. JOSEPH CELEBRATION

San José de Zapotlán Council 3338 in Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico Central, participated in a communitywide celebration of St. Joseph, the patron of the city. Knights helped plan the event, which brought together more than 25,000 people for a procession, veneration of relics of Blessed John Paul II and other faith-filled activities.

CASH CALENDARS

Father Francis Murray Council 10809 in New Liskeard, Ontario, donated $500 each to four area food banks.

Money for the donations was raised through the council’s “Cash Calendar” program, which gives players the opportunity to win a cash prize every day of the year.

PRE-BURIAL CHAPEL

St. Catherine Council 8449 in Gattaran, Luzon, erected an outdoor pre-burial chapel at the Public Cemetery of Gattaran so that families can pray with the remains of their deceased loved ones before final interment.

LAWN CROSSES

In 2008, a local atheist filed suit against the town of Frankenmuth, Mich., to remove Christian symbols from the town’s official

Two members of St. Paul Council 10775 in Ingabanga, Visayas, hang a sign protesting the reproductive health bill that is currently being considered by the Philippines government. Knights hung signs protesting the bill in several highly visible public places. home was damaged by a fire and a typhoon within days of each other. The funds helped the Knight and his wife purchase new clothes and belongings that were damaged or destroyed in the double disaster.

SIGN CLEARED

St. Lawrence Council 1141 in Massena, N.Y., cleared overgrown brush from a sign that lists the Mass schedule for every Catholic parish in Massena and Louisville.

Once clear, Knights refurbished the sign and updated the Mass times.

SPOKEN ALOUD

DOUBLE DISASTER

San Antonio de Padua Council 7686 in San Antonio, Luzon, donated 700 pesos to a council member whose

St. Marcelline Council 7694 in Schaumburg, Ill., donated $600 to St. Macelline Church to help update the church’s sound system.

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N ROSARIES FOR STUDENTS

Councils from in and around London, Ontario, have partnered with a program called “The Living Rosary in the Schools” to spread devotion to the rosary and to present K of C rosaries to graduating eighth-grade students. Through the program, trained volunteers visit schools to lead students in praying the rosary. This past year, eight area K of C councils donated Knights of Columbus rosaries to encourage students to continue praying the rosary after graduation.

fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation that sells lemonade to raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Squires dressed up in costumes to attract customers to the stand, which raised $91,000 in 2011.

MEETING ROOM DEDICATED

Members of Father Roche Council 7947 in Armstrong, British Columbia, cut wood for a woman with disabilities. In preparation for winter, Knights split and stacked seven cords of wood for a wheelchair-bound parishioner from Enderby Catholic Church and her daughter.

HELPING A REFUGEE

Michigan District #30 collected $318 from its member councils to purchase a headstone for Fadhila Kala at St. Joseph Cemetery in Lansing. Kala, a Chaldean Catholic, fled from her native Iraq after her village was forced to convert to Islam.

Settling in Lansing prior to her death, she lived in nearpoverty due to her cancer treatments. Her grave at St. Joseph Cemetery was unmarked until the Knights stepped in to help.

CHAPLAIN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Father Louis A. Williamson Council 8123 in Hartsville, S.C., began a program to assist military chaplains in Iraq and Afghanistan. By forming contacts with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, the council raised funds to purchase altar linens, prayer books and a Stations of the Cross set for Catholic priests serving on the front lines.

BRIDGING THE GAP

Sharpsburg Council 12862 in Newnan, Ga., donated $1,000 to Bridging the Gap,

an organization that provides food for more than 800 needy people in Coweta County each week.

arranged a rental truck to deliver the machines and built a new examination table to accompany them.

NEW CABINETS

SELLING LEMONADE

Members of Holy Spirit Council 8157 in Duncanville, Texas, volunteered 320 hours to design, build and install new cabinets in the sacristy of their parish church.

Father Joe Lee, pastor of Holy Spirit Church, had specific requests for the renovation of the sacristy, including deeper closets and drawers for liturgical garments and equipment. By undertaking the work themselves, Knights saved the parish approximately $18,000.

St. Basil Circle 5509 in Kimberton volunteered at a

ULTRASOUNDS DONATED

Father Leo John Dehon Council 14051 in Olive Branch, Miss., helped facilitate the donation of two ultrasound machines to the CARE Pregnancy Resource Center in Southaven. When a local college purchased new ultrasound machines for its sonogram technician program, it donated its old machines to Council 14051 for the pregnancy center. Knights

St. Thomas the Apostle Council 13174 in Chickasaw, Ala., dedicated its newly renovated meeting room in honor of James A. Cooper, a deceased council member who was instrumental in starting the remodeling process. The council also invited Cooper’s family to the dedication ceremony as guests of honor.

MONASTERY HELP

The Knights of Columbus Judge John M. Roll Chapter in Tucson, Ariz., visited the monastery operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration to wash, repaint and repair the facility’s sidewalks. Knights spent the morning power washing the ornate, rose-colored sidewalks that surround the monastery. The chapter regularly offers assistance to the Benedictine Sisters by providing grounds work and repair services at their 61,000-square-foot building.

CELTIC CROSS

George McMahon (right) of The Infant Jesus of Prague Council 11667 in Kilmarnock, Va., assists Special Olympics athlete Shirley Carroll during a Special Olympics bowling league match at the 435 Play Entertainment and Bowling Center. Knights donated $500 toward the league’s expenses and volunteer at each match, helping to manage the athletes and assist with the games.

Queen of All Saints Council 6347 in Knox, Ind., donated a Celtic cross to St. Thomas Aquinas Church for the church’s new prayer garden.

Knights worked with the parish’s Altar Rosary Society to raise $2,000 for the cross.

The rest of the garden, including an archway, fountain, benches and many remembrance bricks, came about as a collaboration between parishioners and the parish’s current and former pastors.

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

couraged the teachers to recite the pledge at the beginning of each class.

IN TIMES OF CRISIS

Don Jacobovitz of Palatka (Fla.) Council 5758 trains for a 100mile bicycle ride to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The council donated $200 to help Jacobovitz reach his fundraising goal.

Knights also donated several items for use in a silent auction to benefit the foundation.

JAM SESSION

Prince of Peace Council 6593 in Roscommon, Mich., cohosted a “Rhythm and Blues Jam Session” with area musicians to benefit food pantries in two nearby counties. The event raised $1,021, which was split between the Christian Help Center in Grayling and the First Congregational Church of Roscommon.

CHURCH FOR DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

St. Odilia Council 9598 in St. Paul, Minn., sponsored a cinder block campaign to help build a new church in the village of Rincon in the Dominican Republic. When the council learned that the Catholic community in Rincon was using an abandoned butcher’s shop to celebrate Mass, Knights asked the Diocese of Puerto Plata for an estimate on how much it would cost to build a new church on diocesan-owned property. With a fundraising goal of $6,500, the council began selling cinder blocks at its parish for $5 each. In addition to raising enough money to build the church,

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several council members and their families also traveled to Rincon to help with the final stages of construction.

HELP FOR SISTERS

Msgr. Kevin S. Mullen Council 12956 in Tampa, Fla., and its ladies’ auxiliary volunteered at Holy Name Monastery, painting 15 bedrooms and hanging 10 ceiling fans for the Benedictine sisters who live there. Taking a break from the renovation work, volunteers also prepared a barbecue lunch for the sisters.

CHICKEN BREAST DINNER

McCormack Council 5769 in Gander, Newfoundland, prepared a take-out chicken breast dinner that raised $1,500 for Special Olympics.

FLAGS PLACED

St. Catherine of Siena Assembly in Orange Park, Fla., put flags in all of the religious education classrooms at St. Catherine of Siena Church.

Knights also presented each religious education teacher with a copy of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance and en-

Msgr. Maurice Helman Council 11280 in Lincoln, Neb., sponsored a pancake breakfast for Wes Welcomer, who has leukemia and whose father is a member of the council. The event raised $3,320 to assist with Welcomer’s medical expenses.

These proceeds supplemented a previous donation of $2,400 from the council’s crisis assistance fund.

DOORS WIDENED

Italian buffet. Proceeds from the dance went to charity, with a portion of the funds going to the newly formed St. Rose of Lima youth program.

PASTORAL CENTER

St. James the Apostle Council 10448 in Sañta Margarita, Visayas, donated 10,000 pesos (about $230) toward the construction of the Centennial Pastoral Center in Calbayog City. At a ceremony dedicating the center’s cornerstone, Bishop Isabelo C. Abarquez of Calbayog thanked the Knights for their contribution and presented them with a plaque of appreciation.

Bishop McFaddan Council 3777 in North Canton, Ohio, widened two doorways at the Sancta Clara Monastery for wheelchairbound religious sisters there.

Knights worked with a remodeler to widen the doorways by six inches, which necessitated rewiring light switches, installing and painting new doors, patching carpeting, and replacing thresholds. The council also brightened the monastery’s dining area by installing brighter, energyefficient bulbs.

PERUVIAN SEWING PROJECT

Arnprior (Ontario) Council 2082, Canadian Martyrs Assembly in Renfrew and the Catholic Women’s League of Canada raised $2,500 to revive a sewing project for women in Peru. The funds helped Peruvian women purchase sewing equipment to make school uniforms for their children, encouraging the families to be more selfsufficient.

OLDIES DANCE

East Hanover (N.J.) Council 6504 hosted a dance at St. Rose of Lima Church that featured oldies music and an

Leon Ramler and Bryan Coey of Airdrie (Alberta) Council 8045 modify roof trusses inside the old rectory at St. Paul Church to support an additional 18 feet of ceiling height. At the request of their pastor, Knights undertook a massive project to renovate the parish’s disused rectory into a 50-seat day chapel.

Knights donated $20,000 toward the effort and volunteered more than 440 hours to demolish the interior of the building; modify insulation, walls and electrical systems; install doors and a vapor barrier; and raise the existing ceiling of the structure. The new chapel is used for daily Mass.

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N AIDING THE SEARCH

West Toledo (Ohio) Council 3122 is selling car magnets with images of three area boys who were abducted by their father in 2010. For a $10 donation, Knights provide car magnets with photos of Andrew, Alex and Tanner Skeleton that urge residents to call 911 if the boys are spotted. Proceeds from the sales are used to subsidize the cost of the magnets.

MCGIVNEY SHRINE

Nineteen K of C units from in and around Saratoga, Calif., donated funds to build an outdoor shrine dedicated to the Order’s founder, Venerable Michael McGivney, at Church of the Ascension in Saratoga. The idea for the shrine came from Father Joe Galang after he was appointed as the chaplain of St. Francis of Assisi Council 4981 in Cupertino. In addition to raising funds to build the shrine, Knights also assisted with the construction to keep costs down. Future plans for the shrine include memorial pavers, benches and more.

nine years of weathering.

Knights collected money for the repairs at the parishes that the councils serve.

FRATERNAL CAMPING TRIP

James Madison University Council 9286 in Harrisonburg, Va., and Cardinal John Newman Council 11323 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg joined forces for an overnight, fraternal camping trip at Gap View Kennel.

During the trip, college Knights shared ideas for improving the college council programs at their respective schools. The excursion concluded with Mass celebrated

by Father James Curran, chaplain of Council 9286.

MISSION TO HAITI

St. Joseph the Worker Council 10921 in Orefield, Pa., provided support for its parish’s weeklong medical mission to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In addition to providing funds for the trip, as well as transportation to and from the airport, several council members also volunteered to

SHOOTING STARS

St. Eugene Council 1406 and Christ the Servant Council 8631, both in Cranbrook, British Columbia, donated $1,000 to the Kootenay ICE hockey team to help the team meet its fundraising goal for the East Kootenay Foundation for Health’s Starlite Campaign for Excellence. The campaign is raising $100,000 for the health foundation’s digital mammography project.

SIGN REFURBISHED

Msgr. T. J. McCarthy Council 9252 in Toronto and Father Aloysius Nolan Council 10655 in Kinkora refurbished a pro-life sign on Highway 23 in Kennicott that had been damaged over

Members of St. Isidore the Farmer Council 10141 in Watford, Ontario, remove old concrete from the entrance of Our Lady, Help of Christians Church. Knights sponsored a dinner that raised $2,000 to replace the broken cement in front of the church. Council members also prepared the site by removing the old concrete, placing leveling gravel, and installing rebar and wire. accompany the medical mission and provide support in Haiti. In total, about 1,100 Haitians received evaluations and medicine during the trip.

ROOFING FOR LIFE

St. Elizabeth Council 11193 and St. Anthony Council 14093, both in Columbus, Ohio, provided volunteer labor and partial funding to replace the roof at a pro-life pregnancy resource center.

Knights removed and installed new shingles at the 1,900-square-foot facility, saving the organization approximately $7,400.

MEMORIAL WALL

Members of Calvary Council 8144 in South Portland, Maine, and their wives offer baked goods for sale following Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church. Glenna Goulet, the wife of council member Dick Goulet, baked all of the available treats. The sale, coupled with individual donations, raised $1,500 for area pro-life causes.

raised when council members operated several concession stands at University of Phoenix Stadium during the Arizona Cardinals football season.

St. Helen Council 11738 in Glendale, Ariz., donated $10,000 to build a memorial wall at St. Helen Church as part of a renovation that expanded the church’s rear vestibule. The memorial wall incorporates the old stainedglass doors that once hung at the rear entrance to the church and honors parishioners who have provided exceptional service to St. Helen Parish over the years.

Funds for the donation were

MEMORIAL REPLACED

Springfield (Ohio) Council 624 hosted a fund drive to replace the Tom Turnbull Memorial at Springfield Catholic High School’s Hallinean Field. By selling memorial plaques for a minimum $100 donation, Knights raised $15,000 for a new memorial in honor of Turnbull, a former council member and avid supporter of the athletic and academic programs at the high school.

PLAYGROUND MOVED

Joseph C. Carroll Council 5390 in Marion, Iowa, moved a playground at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church to a new location on the church grounds. The playground, now up to code, has an enclosed fence, six inches of woodchips under the equipment and two new trees.

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

which also featured a silent auction and raffle, raised approximately $30,000 for the soup kitchen, which serves thousands of people each year.

MOVEABLE FLOOR

Soldiers and staff from the medical center at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan look on as a wounded soldier uses a netbook equipped with Skype to speak with his family back in the United States. Bishop Vath Assembly in Birmingham, Ala., worked with 10 K of C units to purchase and ship 30 netbooks to Bagram Air Force Base for use by soldiers recovering from combat-related injuries.

St. Thomas More Council 11134 in Spokane, Wash., owns a portable dance floor that it rents out for weddings, receptions and other special events. The floor, comprised of interconnecting wood tiles, can be easily assembled, disassembled and cleaned. So far, the rentals have generated more than $2,000, which is distributed among area shelters, hospices and food banks.

An honor guard from Cardinal Richard Cushing Assembly in East Detroit, Mich., looks on as a veterans memorial is dedicated at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Roseville. The assembly partnered with Catholic War Veterans Post #1346 to purchase the memorial, which was blessed by Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Byrnes of Detroit.

SERVICE CAPS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Bellingham (Wash.) Council 829 presented a $1,000 scholarship to Alice and Sam Brulotte, the children of council member Robert Brulotte. The presentation was made in memory of the Brulottes’ 2-year-old daughter, Anna, who was killed crossing a street next to Assumption Catholic School in Bellingham. The annual scholarship will help pay for Alex and Sam’s tuition until they graduate, after which it will be given to other deserving students.

HELP AROUND THE COUNTRY

In 2010, Southwest Council 3910 in Houston received a request from a Knight in Massachusetts seeking assistance for his sister, who was in Houston at the MD Andersen Cancer Center receiving treatment for leukemia.

Though the woman lived in Florida, her condition was so severe that she required treatment at a more advanced hospital. What followed was an outpouring of support over the next 18 months in

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which Council 3910 solicited white blood cell donors to help with the woman’s treatment; provided assistance to the woman’s family, who made frequent back-andforth trips from the East Coast; and invited the woman and her family to multiple council events.

STORMING HEAVEN WITH PRAYERS

Franklin (La.) Council 1420 hosted a 24-hour eucharistic adoration event to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

At the event, titled “Storm Heaven with Prayers for Vocations,” members prayed for one-hour periods throughout the entire day.

FILLING EMPTY BOWLS

St. Genevieve Council 13969 in Las Cruces, N.M., volunteered at an “Empty Bowls” fundraiser event to benefit the El Caldito Soup Kitchen.

Knights sold empty bowls made by the Potter’s Guild of Las Cruces that customers could then fill with food from any number of 44 participating restaurants. The event,

Father Vincent Capodanno Assembly in North Ridgeville, Ohio, presented new military service caps to residents at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky. At the request of veterans at the home, Knights purchased 60 baseball caps with the emblems of various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Knights then presented a cap and thank-you note to each veteran.

TABLES FOR SHELTER

Bishop Zardetti Council 5548 in St. Cloud, Minn., donated $6,000 to Place of Hope Ministries, an organization that provides meals,

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shelter and resources for people facing homelessness. The funds were used to purchase new tables, which will seat nearly 100 people.

VAN FOR SISTERS

K of C units from in and around Toronto raised money for a new van for the Sisters of Life Visitation Mission. Nineteen councils and assemblies collected funds to help the sisters purchase a Dodge Grand Caravan. In addition, two members of Blessed Trinity Council 11681 negotiated with Chrysler Corporation to purchase the van at a significant discount.

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

‘40 Cans for Lent’ Helps Families in Need

K OF C ITEMS OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS IN THE UNITED STATES THE ENGLISH COMPANY INC. Official council and Fourth Degree equipment 1-800-444-5632 • www.kofcsupplies.com LYNCH AND KELLY INC. Official council and Fourth Degree equipment and officer robes 1-888-548-3890 • www.lynchkelly.com IN CANADA ROGER SAUVÉ INC. Official council and Fourth Degree equipment and officer robes 1-888-266-1211 • www.roger-sauve.com

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

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06/12

Please enroll me in the Father McGivney Guild: NAME ADDRESS

Photo by Robin Jerstad

Knights of Alamo Council 4298 partnered with staff and students of St. Pius X Catholic School in San Antonio for a “40 Cans for Lent” program. Knights served as judges for a “Can-struction” contest, in which the children built structures with the donated goods before bringing them to a local food bank.

KNIGHTS at the local level helped to alleviate hunger during the Lenten season — one can at a time.

Launched by Our Lady of Guadalupe Council 8306 in Helotes, Texas, in 2011, the “40 Cans for Lent” program has become an Orderwide initiative, motivating local K of C units to conduct springtime food drives to benefit pantries and soup kitchens in their communities.

Through the program, council members and parishioners are encouraged to contribute one can of nonperishable food per day for the duration of Lent. When Council 8306 hosted the program in its inaugural year, Knights netted 4,300 cans of food for the needy. This year, units in at least 33 jurisdictions held their own “40 Cans for Lent” events.

“It just amazes me that more councils have taken this on, which is a great tribute to the Knights of Columbus,” said Dennis Chaput of

Council 8306, who conceived of the program in late 2010. “I’m hearing great results, I’m seeing great results.

It gives me great joy to know that we’re honoring God’s plan.”

The “40 Cans for Lent” program is among the Order’s Food for Families initiatives, a series of programs launched in 2009 to help families facing food insecurity in the wake of 2008’s economic downturn. So far for the 2011-12 fraternal year, K of C units have reported collecting approximately 2.06 million pounds of food for the needy and volunteering more than 258,000 hours at pantries and soup kitchens.

Though need is great year round, food pantries are often low on stock in the spring, following the dual holiday rush of Christmas and Thanksgiving. In 2010, 5.6 million households in the United States obtained emergency food from a food pantry one or more times, according to Feeding America.♦

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 JUNE 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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♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 31

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

Patriotism

Unity

Fraternity

MEMBERS OF Holy Family Council 6099 in Chattanooga, Tenn., sort through 650 pounds worth of aluminum cans during an ongoing recycling drive to benefit three seminarians. Knights recycle the cans every other month to support three local seminarians.

• Lake Leelanau (Mich.) Council 11664 hosted a benefit dinner for Paige Bugai, 9, who has cerebral palsy.

The event, which featured a spaghetti dinner and bake sale, raised $3,300 for Paige and her mother, who has been unable to work since Paige fell ill in September 2011.

MARYLAND KNIGHTS unload new wheelchairs for distribution to veterans at various VA medical facilities in Maryland and Washington, D.C. The Maryland State Council donated 110 wheelchairs through the Global Wheelchair Mission for patients at five VA facilities. Prior to distribution, the wheelchairs had to be unloaded and made ready by K of C volunteers. Pictured are (from left): Sean Kelly of St. Katharine Drexel Council 14011 in Frederick, Jim Campbell of Mount St. Mary’s College Council 1965 in Emmitsburg and Bill Traube of Our Lady of the Valley Council 11703 in Middletown.

MEMBERS OF Solomon (Kan.) Council 1086 look on as striker Thomas Ryan (second from left) hits the ball during a Nov. 6 game of baseball between Council 1086 and Salina Council 601 using the game’s 1865 rules. Knights gathered for a fraternal game using the old-time guidelines, which prohibit baseball gloves and bunting, among other rules. Salina won the game 7-3.

• South Plainfield (N.J.) Council 6203 and South Plainfield Circle 5295 participated in a paintball family day. Knights, Squires and their fathers took to the paintball field for an afternoon of fraternal competition and teambuilding.

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PATRIOTISM: Tracy A. Woodward/The Washington Post

Charity

FRATERNITY: Photo courtesy of The Register, Diocese of Salina

MEMBERS OF Father Edwin F. Kelley Assembly in Woodbridge, Va., and Father Edward L. Richardson Assembly of Prince William County clean the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. Knights and their families traveled from Virginia to the nation’s capital to undertake the project, which involved cleaning the memorial’s wall, walkway and statues.

• Father Philip Grant Assembly in Pawleys Island, S.C., brought packages filled with food, socks, underwear and personal care items to patients at the Myrtle Beach branch of the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. Earlier this year, the assembly adopted the clinic.

KNIGHT S O F CO LUMBUS

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

Volunteers at St. James Secondary School in Jjaga, Uganda, carry the school’s new water tank to its installation site. Nativity of Our Lord Council 10961 in Broomfield, Colo., hosted several charity breakfasts to raise $2,500 to purchase the tank, and two council members traveled to Uganda to aid in the installation. Before obtaining the tank, the school had to rely on a muddy waterhole that was only accessible at certain times during the year between dry seasons.

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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

‘DISCERNMENT IS BOTH A PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFAIR’

Photo by Scott Stewart

Although I didn’t think all that much about my vocation growing up, the seeds of my religious vocation were there from the beginning.

There was always an attitude of openness in our Catholic home. When I first felt a tug in my heart towards religious life, I mentioned it to my parents and some friends. Their support encouraged me to ask, “Is God actually calling me to be a religious?”

I will never forget the generous response of my family and friends when I entered religious life after high school, including the donation from the Knights at my parish in Flagstaff, Ariz.

My own experience has helped me realize that vocational discernment is both a personal and community affair. I needed the wise advice of my parents and kind priests, and the prayers of my friends, in addition to financial support.

God knows what each of us needs before we do, and it has been a joyful experience for me to recognize his provident care through the love and support of others.

SISTER RENE NOEL Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist Ann Arbor, Mich.