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Pope Benedict encouraged the Knights of Columbus and
indirectly all of us to continue our efforts for religious freedom. This is the
responsibility of all of us. This is our time. Each generation has it
challenges – religious freedom is now ours. Will you step up to the plate or let
it pass with indifference? Following is the text of the message the Vatican
sent to the Knights. The elections are just around the corner. Will you vote to
defend the church, to stop this harassment of Catholics, to stop the trampling on
and removal of our religious rights?
PAPAL LETTER TO KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Via Zenit
[Emphasis added by
me]
"concerted efforts are being made to redefine and
restrict the exercise of the right to religious freedom"
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 3, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is the July 19
letter sent by Benedict XVI's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to
Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. The letter is on the
occasion of the Knights' 130th Supreme Convention, which will be held next
week, and deals with the matter of religious freedom.
* * *
Dear Mr. Anderson,
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was pleased to learn that
from 7 to 9 August 2012 the 130th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus
will be held in Anaheim, California. He has asked me to convey his warm
greetings to all in attendance, together with the assurance of his closeness in
prayer.
The theme of this year's Supreme Convention - Proclaim
Liberty Throughout All the Land - evokes not only the great biblical ideals of freedom and justice which shaped the
founding of the United States of America, but also the responsibility of each
new generation to preserve, defend and advance those great ideals in its
own day. At a time when concerted
efforts are being made to redefine and restrict the exercise of the right
to religious freedom, the Knights of Columbus have worked tirelessly to help
the Catholic community recognize and respond to the unprecedented gravity of
these new threats to the Church's liberty and public moral witness. By
defending the right of all religious believers, as individual citizens and in
their institutions, to work responsibly in shaping a democratic society
inspired by their deepest beliefs, values and aspirations, your Order has
proudly lived up to the high religious and patriotic principles which inspired
its founding.
The challenges of
the present moment are in fact yet another reminder of the decisive importance of the Catholic laity for the advancement of
the Church's mission in today's rapidly changing social context. The Knights of
Columbus, founded as a fraternal society committed to mutual assistance and
fidelity to the Church, was a pioneer in the development of the modern lay
apostolate. His Holiness is confident that the Supreme Convention will carry on
this distinguished legacy by providing sound inspiration, guidance and
direction to a new generation of faithful and dedicated Catholic laymen. As he
stated to the Bishops of the United States earlier this year, the demands of
the new evangelization and the defense
of the Church's freedom in our day call for "an engaged, articulate
and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-a-vis
the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church's participation in public debate about the issues
which are determining the future of American society" (Ad Limina Address,
19 January 2012).
Given this urgent
need, the Holy Father encourages the Supreme Council, together with each of
the local Councils, to reinforce the praiseworthy programs of continuing
catechetical and spiritual formation which have long been a hallmark of your
Order. Each Knight, in fidelity to his baptismal promises, is pledged to bear
daily witness, however quiet and unassuming, to his faith in Christ, his love
of the Church and his commitment to the spread of God's Kingdom in this world.
The forthcoming inauguration of the Year
of Faith, which commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the
Second Vatican Council, is meant to deepen this sense of ecclesial responsibility and mission in the entire People of God.
His Holiness prays that the celebration of this Year of spiritual and apostolic
renewal will inspire in the Knights an ever firmer resolve to profess their
baptismal faith in its fullness, celebrate it more intensely in the liturgy,
and make it manifest through the witness
of their lives (cf. Porta Fidei, 9).
In a particular way, His Holiness wishes me to convey his
profound personal gratitude for the spiritual bouquet of prayers and sacrifices
which the Knights and their families have offered for his intentions throughout
this year which marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of his episcopal ordination.
He is pleased to see in this act of spiritual solidarity not only an
outstanding testimony of love for the Successor of Saint Peter, who is
"the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the Church's unity
in faith and her communion" (cf. Lumen Gentium, 18), but also a sign of
especial fidelity, loyalty and support during these difficult times.
With these sentiments, the Holy Father commends the
deliberations of the Supreme Convention to the loving intercession of Mary,
Mother of the Church. To all the Knights and their families he cordially imparts
his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord.
Adding my own prayerful good wishes for the work of the
Supreme Convention, I remain
Yours sincerely,
[Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone]
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