columbia december 2010

DECEMBER 2010DECEMBER 2010

COLUMBIACOLUMBIAKNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

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-KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

DEC EMBE R 2 0 1 0 ♦ CO LUMB I A ♦ 1

COLUMBIAD e c e m b e R 2 0 1 0 ♦ V o L u m e 9 0 ♦ N u m b e R 1 2

F E AT U R E S

Let the Word Go ForthReflections about how President John F.Kennedy’s inaugural address continues tochallenge and inspire 50 years later.

The Quiet ConsensusThe supreme knight’s new book highlightsmoral agreement on a number of issuesthought to be divisive.BY MATTHEW ST. JOHN

The Depths of FaithGrace, a novel plan and the determination ofa Texas Knight combined to unearth theChilean miners.BY SHARI BIEDIGER

Ambassadors of HopeA special medical team reaches out to Haiti fol-lowing January’s earthquake.BY TOM TRACY

Charity in the Face of TragedyProviding flood relief and seeking interreligiousdialogue, Catholics in Pakistan respond in faith.BY SCOTT ALESSI

Greeting the SeasonKnights of Columbus Christmas card programhelps to keep Christ in Christmas.BY PATRICK SCALISI

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D E P A R T M E N T S

Building a better worldAlthough the world stands in judg-ment of the Gospel, we must allowChrist to transform our lives.BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

Learning the faith, living the faithWe are commanded to promote thegift of human life at all of its stages.BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN

BISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS Catholic Man of the Month

Fathers for GoodWelcoming a new child helped usto see the meaning of Advent.BY SÉBASTIEN LACROIX

Columbia ConversationAn interview about C.S. Lewis andhis Christian imagination.BY ALTON PELOWSKI

Knights in Action

Columbianism by Degrees

Knights of Columbus NewsKnights Celebrate Opening ofNew Seminary in Cuba • ‘Hopefor Haiti’s Children’ Program Un-derway • Knights of ColumbusUnderwrites Kennedy Grave siteRestoration • Three New Cardi-nals are Members of the Knights •Order Assists with Cause for Can-onization of Vietnamese Cardinal

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Together with Mary and Joseph, shepherds surround and adore the new-born Christ child who illuminates the scene in Rembrandt van Rijn’s17th-century painting.

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EDITORIAL

2 ♦ CO LUMB I A ♦ DEC EMBE R 2 0 1 0

“SO FAITH, HOPE, LOVE remain,these three; but the greatest of these islove” (1 Cor 13:13). Although these familiar words of St.

Paul are often associated with weddings,the love Paul writes about goes far be-yond the spousal love between a manand a woman. Rather, he is referring tothe theological virtue of charity (caritas),which is both the foundation and thegoal of Christian moral life.Of course, the word charity — like

the word love — can have various mean-ings. So what does it mean to speak ofcharity as a theological virtue? The Cat-echism of the Catholic Church teaches thatthe theological virtues “have the Oneand Triune God for their origin, motive,and object” (1812). From this perspec-tive, it is easy to see that when our livesare inspired by charity, it is love of God,and love of our neighbors for love ofGod, that moves us to action. But thetheological virtues of faith, hope andcharity also have God as their origin. As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his

encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God isLove), in order for a person to become“a source from which rivers of livingwater flow … one must constantlydrink anew from the original source,which is Jesus Christ” (7). The theolog-ical virtues are not acquired by humaneffort. Infused at baptism, strengthenedby the Eucharist and restored throughreconciliation, they are wholly a matterof grace and allow us to participate inGod’s very life, such that we can say

with St. Paul, “It is no longer I who live,but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).At the conclusion of his historic in-

augural address, delivered 50 years agonext month, President John F. Kennedyacknowledged that “here on earthGod’s work must truly be our own” (seepage 8). Those words serve as a valuablereminder to Knights of Columbus —and to all Christians — that ordinarypeople are able to accomplish extraor-dinary things when they cooperate withthe grace of God. When Texas Knight Greg Hall led

the remarkable rescue of Chilean min-ers this past fall, he recognized the workof a divine hand throughout the oper-ation (see page 14). When Dr. ManuelAlzugaray, a Knight from Miami, puthis medical expertise at the service ofsick and injured people in southernHaiti, he knew that he was not the ul-timate source of the people’s hope (seepage 16). And when Bishop AndrewFrancis of Multan, Pakistan, broughtaid and spiritual support to the peopleof his flood-ravaged nation, he did soas a humble servant in the name ofChrist (see page 18).But what do the theological virtues

mean for those whom God has notcalled to do extraordinary things suchas these? Blessed Mother Teresa of Cal-cutta had an answer: “Do ordinarythings with extraordinary love.”♦

ALTON J. PELOWSKIMANAGING EDITOR

‘God’s work must truly be our own’

COLUMBIA

Knights of Columbus Book Club — December 2010In World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty isVital to American National Security (Oxford, 2008), Thomas F. Farrargues for a new diplomacy for the United States that respects the piv-otal role religion plays in shaping global politics. Farr, a professor atGeorgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, served as the U.S.State Department’s first director of the Office of International Reli-gious Freedom. Please join us at kofc.org/bookclub for a discussionwith the author on Tuesday, Dec. 28, at 5 p.m. EST.

PUBLISHERKnights of Columbus

________

SUPREME OFFICERSCarl A. AndersonSUPREME KNIGHT

Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D.SUPREME CHAPLAINDennis A. Savoie

DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHTEmilio B. MoureSUPREME SECRETARYCharles E. Maurer Jr.SUPREME TREASURERJohn A. MarrellaSUPREME ADVOCATE________

EDITORIALAlton J. Pelowski

[email protected] EDITORPatrick Scalisi

[email protected] EDITORBrian Dowling

[email protected] & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

________

GRAPHICSMichelle McCleary

LAYOUTOriginal design by Lee Rader

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 USMAIL

COLUMBIA1 Columbus Plaza

New Haven, CT 06510-3326PHONE

203-752-4398FAX

203-752-4109E-MAIL

[email protected]

kofc.org/columbiaCUSTOMER SERVICE1-800-380-9995________

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 anapplicant or member accepts the teaching authority of theCatholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires tolive in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

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Copyright © 2010All rights reserved________

ON THE COVERThe Holy Family is depicted in a 19th-centuryMexican painting by Carlos Martínez.

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BUILDING A BETTER WORLD


THE FRENCH Catholic writerCharles Péguy (1873-1914) observed,“For the first time since Jesus, wehave seen, under our very eyes … anew world arise … after Jesus andwithout Jesus.” Péguy was speakingabout recent events in the Europe ofhis day, but as we reflect on thesewords a century later, we must admitthat the cultural trend about whichhe spoke has become more pro-nounced in Europe and throughoutthe Western Hemisphere. Despite Péguy’s sobering outlook,

we can experience a faith that is pro-found and life-changing. We haveseen the great saints of ourtime — such as MotherTeresa and Pope John Paul II— and have met other saintsknown only to their neigh-bors and colleagues.We are faced, then, with

the great mystery that someaccept the Gospel of JesusChrist and others reject it.Consider the story of theencounter between Zacchaeus, thetax collector, and Jesus. When theLord announces that he will stay withZacchaeus, who has climbed a tree tosee him, the crowd grumbles: “He hasgone to stay at the house of a sinner.”Yet, Jesus says, “Today salvation hascome to this house” (Lk 19:9).All the people assembled that day

saw the same Jesus and heard hiswords. But while it was a day of faithand salvation for Zacchaeus, othersleft grumbling in opposition.The lives of some today are likewise

changed forever when confrontedwith the living reality of Jesus Christ,

while others simply walk away withcontinued disbelief. In the end, we each stand before

the very mystery of creation and can-not escape the question that it pres-ents to us: Is this universe a realitythat is beneficent, malevolent or sim-ply indifferent? For thousands of years, countless

human beings believed that the uni-verse was a malevolent or an indiffer-ent reality. But the Book of Wisdomreminds us that the universe is neitherof these: “For you love all things thatare and loathe nothing that you havemade; for what you hated, you would

not have fashioned. And how could athing remain, unless you willed it; orbe preserved, had it not been calledforth by you?” (Wis 11:24-25).We know, too, that the Lord so

loves the world that he sent his onlySon to redeem it (cf. Jn 3:16). Be-cause of the reality of God’s love, wehave been liberated from the absurdfutility of a meaningless existence be-fore an indifferent cosmos. Instead,we have the privilege of praying toGod with the words “Our Father”and trusting in a redeemer who treatsus as a brother.The world today stands in judg-

ment of our faith, and we are facedwith the question, “Is it really pos-sible to live in a way that shows thepromises of Christ to be true?” AsPope Benedict XVI reminds us inhis encyclical Spe Salvi, people whopossess Christian faith and hope livedifferently. As Knights of Columbus, we greet

each other with the words, “VivatJesus!” These words testify to the fact

that we place our faith in aliving reality — a reality thatmakes a difference in the waywe live. Furthermore, wededicate ourselves to theprinciples of charity, unityand fraternity — not forsome special few, but for all,just as the Gospel requires.We stand in solidarity with

our bishops and priests —those men who, like Zacchaeus, havestood before Jesus in faith and havesaid, “yes.” They have dedicated theirlives to trusting in the promises ofChrist and to testifying not only forthe good of the Christian commu-nity, but also for the common goodof society as a whole. And now, as we await the coming

of our Savior’s birth, we must reded-icate ourselves to the work of the newevangelization. United in faith andhope, in charity and fraternity, we arecalled to seek the Lord and receive thesalvation that he brings.Vivat Jesus!

A Life-Changing FaithAlthough the world stands in judgment of the

Gospel, we must allow Christ to transform our lives

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson

We are faced with the question,“Is it really possible to live in away that shows the promises of

Christ to be true?”

LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH


THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT isat the heart of the Church’s teaching onthe sanctity of human life. It is at thecore of the Gospel of Life, which theChurch constantly proclaims in fidelityto her Lord who came to give us abun-dant life (cf. Jn 10:10). The lives thatJesus came to redeem are sacred by theirvery nature. Each person was created inGod’s image and likeness and created toenjoy God’s friendship. The starkly negative prohibition,

“You shall not kill,” is meant to protectGod’s great gift of human life, whichshould always be treated with respectand love (Compendium of the Catechismof the Catholic Church, 466). AsPope John Paul II wrote, “The giftbecomes a commandment and thecommandment itself is a gift”(Evangelium Vitae, 52).

PROTECTING THE INNOCENTThe Church teaches that there isa legitimate right of self-defense,but it must never be out of rage or useany more force than is necessary. PopeJohn Paul II reminds us of the beautifulwitness of those who, while grateful forthe gift of life, have laid down their livesfor others (EV, 55). Those responsiblefor the lives of others have not only the

right, but also the grave duty to defendthemselves and those entrusted to theircare (Compendium, 467). Moreover, public authorities may le-

gitimately punish those who break thelaw so as to protect public safety andto correct offenders (468). Such pun-ishment must be proportionate tothe crime. Today, because there aremeans other than capital punishmentto protect society from dangerouscriminals, both the Church and manysegments of society have reached theconclusion that, as a practical matter,capital punishment should no longerbe administered (469).

The Fifth Commandment unequiv-ocally forbids the taking of innocenthuman life, from conception to naturaldeath. The Church is clear that no oneis permitted to ask for, or even consentto, the killing of an innocent humanbeing — whether at the beginning,middle or end of life. “Nor can any au-thority legitimately recommend or per-mit such an action” (470; CDF,Declaration on Euthanasia, 3). Pro-life initiatives — such as those

undertaken by the Knights of Columbus— are inspired by the conviction thatthe Creator, not the state, endows eachperson with the inalienable right to life.Laws that permit abortion are inherently

unjust and weaken “the very founda-tions of a state based on law” (472). As health care becomes more and

more complex, questions arise about ap-propriate levels of care. Experimentaltreatments and organ transplants aremorally acceptable so long as the risksare not disproportionate and the patientor donor, when fully informed, givesconsent. Organ donation after death is“a noble act,” but before organs are re-moved, the death of the donor must be

verified (475-6). For those near death, ordi-

nary medical care should notbe interrupted. It is legitimateto administer drugs to managepain, but not to hasten death.There is no moral obligation toemploy drugs and medical pro-cedures without reasonable ex-pectation that they will benefit

the patient (471). “Right to die” legis-lation that seeks to legalize euthanasiamust be strongly resisted.The dying should always be given

loving care and supported by prayerand the sacraments so that they mightbe prepared to meet God (477). Believ-ing in the resurrection of the body, weare to treat the bodies of the deceasedwith love and respect. Cremation ispermitted so long as it is not a way ofdenying belief in the resurrection of thebody (479).

SEEKING PEACEThe Fifth Commandment also bids usto be peacemakers. This requires that

More than the absence of war,peace calls for a society that is both just and charitable.

The 32nd installment of SupremeChaplain Bishop William E. Lori’sfaith formation program addressesquestions 466-486 of the Com-pendium of the Catechism of theCatholic Church. Archived articles areat kofc.org.

In Defense of Human LifeWe are commanded to protect and promote the gift of human life at all of its stages

by Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori

Offered insolidarity with

Pope Benedict XVI

LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH


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each of us renounce hatred and seek tobuild bonds of understanding andfriendship in a fractured world (480).More than the absence of war, peacecalls for a society that is both just andcharitable (401-14). Yet, we also face the question of

when it is legitimate to use militaryforce. The conditions for a just war re-main: 1) The suffering inflicted by theaggressor must be lasting, grave andcertain; 2) all other peaceful meansmust be shown to be ineffective; 3)there are well-founded prospects ofsuccess; and 4) the use of arms, espe-cially weapons of mass destruction,must not produce evils greater than the

evil to be eliminated (483). Govern-ments have an obligation to adherestrictly to these standards, even as theyhave the right to ask citizens to defendtheir homeland. Governments also have the duty to

respect conscientious objectors; thosewho do not engage in national defensein time of war should perform someother community service (484). Weshould be grateful to those who bravelydefend their country and rememberthose who have paid the ultimate priceto defend human freedom and dignity.In time of war, every effort must be

made to treat innocent civilians,wounded soldiers and prisoners of war

humanely. The provisions of interna-tional law must be respected. All acts ofmass destruction and the exterminationof minorities or religious groups are ut-terly grievous evils. Orders to engage insuch acts should not be obeyed (485). In view of the crimes and atrocities

that occur in wartime, we must doeverything possible to avoid war. Ourcommitment to charity, fraternity andunity should prompt us to root out “allforms of economic and social injustice;ethnic and religious discrimination;envy, mistrust, pride, and the spirit ofrevenge” (486). In all these ways, we areto live the Gospel the Life and proposeit convincingly to the world.♦

HOLY FATHER’SPRAYER INTENTIONS

CATHOLIC MAN OF THE MONTH

Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916)

Memorial: Dec. 1

permission, he took up residence near amonastery of Poor Clare nuns inNazareth, taking the name BrotherCharles of Jesus.He returned to France for a time and

was ordained a priest in 1901. He spentmost of his remaining years in the Sa-hara Desert, living what he called the“hidden life of Jesus.” He was killed bya band of anti-French marauders in Al-geria on Dec. 1, 1916, and was beati-fied Nov. 13, 2005. The life of Charlesde Foucauld illustrates the greatlengths, both spiritual and physical,that a man must sometimes travel tofollow Christ.♦

GENERAL: That our personal ex-perience of suffering may be an oc-casion for better understanding thesituation of unease and pain whichis the lot of many people who arealone, sick or aged, and stir us allto give them generous help.

MISSION:That the peoples of theearth may open their doors toChrist and to his Gospel of peace,brotherhood and justice.

CHARLES EUGÈNE de Foucauldwas born into an aristocratic Frenchfamily in 1858 and was orphaned at age6. Having rejected Christianity in hislater youth, he joined the French mili-tary and was stationed in North Africa.After a few years, he resigned his post

and set off to explore Morocco. Curi-ously, it was his encounter with Mus-lims that rekindled the Christian faithof his childhood. “My God,” he prayed,“if you exist, let me come to know you.” Returning to France in 1886, he

came back to the faith with the encour-agement and assistance of a local priest,who remained his confessor and spiri-tual advisor for most of his life. Reflect-ing on this experience, Charlesremarked, “As soon as I believed inGod, I understood that I could not dootherwise than to live for him alone.”This initially led him to become a

Trappist monk, first in France and thenat a daughter abbey in Syria. After fur-ther discernment, however, he recog-nized a call to serve God as a solitaryhermit. Having received the Church’s

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS


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IN CEREMONIES Nov. 3-5, theCatholic Church in Cuba inauguratedits first new seminary in more than 50years. The project was largely fundedby the Knights of Columbus, as well asby donations from the U.S. Confer-ence of Catholic Bishops and otherCatholic organizations. The new San Carlos and San Am-

brosio Seminary, located about 30miles outside of Havana, replaces asimilar facility that was seized by theCommunist government in 1966 — anevent that exemplified strained rela-tions with the Church over the pastfive decades. The opening of the newseminary signifies another step in theimproving relations between theCatholic Church and the state. In remarks Nov. 4, Supreme Knight

Carl A. Anderson said, “Today, wewrite a new page in the history ofCuba. We write this page mindful ofthe many sacrifices that have broughtus to this day. But we write this pagewith joy and hope because we write itin the bright light of the springtime ofthe new evangelization.”The project was made possible, An-

derson added, by Pope John Paul II,who blessed the cornerstone of the

Knights Celebrate Opening of New Seminary in Cuba

A statue of Christ is seen outside the new national Catholic seminary on the outskirts ofHavana Nov. 3. It is the first Catholic construction on the island in more than 50 years.

seminary during his 1998 apostolicvisit to Cuba.Supreme Secretary Emilio B. Moure,

who joined the supreme knight in rep-resenting the Order at the dedication,was born in Cuba and came with hisfamily to the United States in 1967 atage 11. He first met Cardinal JaimeOrtega y Alamino, archbishop of Ha-vana, at the Knights of ColumbusSupreme Convention in 2002. That

meeting eventually led to the Order’sinvolvement with the project.Also attending the dedication were

Cuba President Raul Castro, the bish-ops of Cuba, and representatives of theVatican and of the Catholic Church inthe United States, Mexico, Italy andthe Bahamas.The Order founded its first council

in Cuba in 1909 and in recent yearshas renewed activity there.♦

POPE BENEDICT XVI presided over a consistory Nov. 20in which 24 bishops and archbishops from around the worldwere elevated to the College of Cardinals. Three of them areKnights of Columbus. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal

of the Apostolic Signatura, joined the Order in 1977 in LaCrosse, Wis., while he was still a parish priest. He is currently amember of Bishops Council 10490 in St. Louis, where he servedas archbishop from 2004-2008. Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl be-came a Knight while serving as a priest in the Diocese of Pitts-burgh in 1979 and is now a member of The Catholic Universityof America Council 9542 in Washington, D.C., where he hasserved as archbishop since 2006. Finally, Cardinal KazimierzNycz of Warsaw, Poland, joined St. Wojciech Council 14271 inWarsaw soon after the council was established in 2007.♦

ON OCT. 22, the cause for the canonization of CardinalFrançois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002) — the Viet-namese prelate who heroically endured 13 years of Communistimprisonment for his Catholic faith — officially opened in Rome. The Knights of Columbus funded the travel expenses to

the event in Rome for three witnesses to the cardinal’s holi-ness, including two of his former prison guards. The Knightsalso assisted with the translation into Italian of a documen-tary about the cardinal’s life. Salt + Light Television inToronto originally produced the film, titled Road of Hope,with the Order’s support in 2008. On the occasion of the five-year anniversary of the cardinal’s

death in 2007, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said: “Thecardinal’s life of holiness is truly inspiring, and I am sure thatthe cause for his canonization will find widespread support.”♦

Three New Cardinals are Members of the Knights

Order Assists with Cause forCanonization of Cardinal

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS


Order Underwrites Kennedy Grave Site RestorationRESTORATION work began Oct. 27at the grave site of President John F.Kennedy, where the words of his inau-gural address, engraved in a granitewall opposite the eternal flame over histomb, had become difficult to readafter decades of weathering. Therestoration of the lettering was under-written by the Knights of Columbus,of which Kennedy was a member from1946 until his assassination in 1963.On Jan. 20, 2011, the nation will

mark the 50th anniversary ofKennedy’s inaugural address, which isperhaps best remembered for thephrase, “Ask not what your country cando for you; ask what you can do foryour country.” That quote, as well asothers from the inaugural address andadditional speeches, is inscribed in thegravesite wall.The original engraving was done by

master stonemason John Everett Ben-son, who continues his trade in RhodeIsland at the age of 72. Gordon Pons-ford undertook the restoration workand has completed similar projects at

John Benson (left) joins Gordon Ponsford in restoring the engraved text at John F. Kennedy’sgrave site at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

more than a dozen sites in ArlingtonNational Cemetery in recent years.Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson

said that the Order “is proud and hon-ored to be able to make this contribu-tion to honoring the memory ofPresident Kennedy. His words inspiredan entire generation, not just in Amer-ica, but throughout the world. We are

grateful for the opportunity to workwith Arlington National Cemetery inhelping to ensure that those words willcontinue to inspire all who visit hisfinal resting place.”President Kennedy, the first Catholic

president of the United States, was amember of Bunker Hill Council 62 inCharlestown, Mass.♦

ients will be supplied with up to three prostheses (as they out-grow them) and two years of physical therapy.“Bringing the gift of mobility and independence to these

children is an important investment in their lives and,through them, in Haiti’s future,” said Supreme SecretaryEmilio B. Moure.♦

THREE MONTHS after the Knights of Columbus an-nounced its donation of $1 million to Project Medishare toprovide prostheses to Haitian children who lost limbs in theJanuary earthquake, a large shipment of the prosthetic de-vices was sent to Port-au-Prince in early November.At a Nov. 8 news conference held at the Hialeah, Fla., facility

where the prosthetic devices were being prepared for shipment,representatives of the organizations involved expressed enthu-siasm for the difference that the “Hope for Haiti’s Children”program will make in the lives of child amputees.An estimated 1,000 children underwent amputations after

suffering severe injuries in the earthquake. Project Medishare,which operates a critical-care, trauma and rehabilitation hos-pital in Port-au-Prince and clinics in the Central Plateau, isequipped to fit prostheses and to provide physical therapyonce patients have been fitted with the devices. The Knightsof Columbus agreed to underwrite the cost of both the pros-theses and the therapy for children who needed them. Recip-

‘Hope for Haiti’s Children’Program Underway

Supreme Secretary Emilio Moure, pictured with Dr. Robert Gailey ofProject Medishare, expresses the enthusiasm of the Knights of Colum-bus for the “Hope for Haiti’s Children” program.


President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address continues to challenge and inspire 50 years later

President-elect John F. Kennedy did not sleep more thanfour hours the night before he was sworn into office. Ris-ing on Jan. 20, 1961, Kennedy ate breakfast and at-

tended Mass at Holy Trinity Church near GeorgetownUniversity. A heavy snowstorm the night before mangled thecity’s traffic and closed the airport. As snow covered streets, cars,

houses and sidewalks, some suggested that the inaugurationshould be postponed.After meeting President Dwight D. Eisenhower for a cup of

coffee at the White House before the day’s events, Kennedy andEisenhower climbed into the black presidential limousine andtraveled in parade to the Capitol.

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Cardinal Richard J. Cushing of Boston, Greek OrthodoxArchbishop Iakovos, singer Marian Anderson, Vice President-elect Lyndon B. Johnson and poet Robert Frost took turns atthe lectern reciting prayers, the national anthem, speeches andpoetry before Kennedy came forward. At 12:51 p.m., with hishand on his family’s Bible, Kennedy took the oath of office anddelivered his historic inaugural address.Lasting 13 minutes and 59 seconds, his 1,364-word speech

told the world that Americans were “heirs of that first revolution”and that they would “pay any price” for liberty. They would worktogether, he said, to manage arms use, explore the wonders of

science and create a country “where the strong are just and theweak secure and the peace preserved.” The speech, in whichKennedy did not hesitate to quote Scripture, concluded by askingfor God’s blessing and help in these endeavors and noted that“here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”Much has changed in the past 50 years, but Kennedy’s speech

holds clear challenges for today, just as it did in January 1961.We include here several reflections from prominent Knights andChurch leaders on the enduring significance of Kennedy’swords, challenging us to look at them anew and to consider theirrelevance to the future of the United States and the world.

‘Let the

Go Forth’word

President Kennedy delivers his inaugural address as former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy and a host of dignitaries look on.


INSPIRING A NEW GENERATION

Iremember it as if it were yesterday. Just about every studentin St. Joseph’s dormitory at Providence College filled therecreation room to watch President John F. Kennedy deliver hisinaugural address to millions of people across the country. Thesense of excitement at our small Catholic college was over-whelming. Pre-med majors joined young men studying for thepriesthood to watch history being made in America. Many ofus had seen and met Sen. John F. Kennedy only a short distanceaway from our college the day before he was elected president. Inauguration Day had started like any other day at P.C. —

with Mass in the chapel. I’ll never forget what Dominican Fa-ther Robert Slavin, then-president of Providence College, saidto us that day: “Gentleman, you’re living in a great and chang-ing country. The barriers that your parents and grandparentsexperienced have been removed — not just because of an elec-tion, but because of prayer, courage and perseverance. Alwaysremember that with God, all things are possible.”During that historic evening, we listened to President

Kennedy’s moving and eloquent address on television. Hechallenged and inspired us to give, not just take — to ask our-selves what we can do for our country and for the cause offreedom. These were among the most important words of ad-vice that my generation ever heard.When the speech was over, a cart filled with soda and sand-

wiches was wheeled into the jam-packed room. Father Ray-mond St. George turned off the TV and led us in a prayer ofthanksgiving.“Back to the study hall, men,” Father St. George said. “To-

morrow is a new day in America, and many challenges re-main. But always remember the motto of our greatDominican college: Veritas. Truth.”I was in the U.S. Army when President Kennedy was killed,

and I stood outside the White House when his body wasbrought home. I thought of those two days many times over theyears, but always with determination and pride in being aCatholic.

RAY FLYNN is a former member of the Massachusetts House ofRepresentatives (1971-79), Mayor of Boston (1984-93) and U.S.Ambassador to the Holy See (1993-97). He is a member of PereMarquette Counil 271 in South Boston, Mass.

‘THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT’

After so many years and so much history, John F. Kennedy’s1961 inaugural address can be hard to read. It’s too pure,

too strong in its simplicity, and too moving — especially forthose of us who actually heard it delivered as young adults andbelieved in its promise. Kennedy gave one of the great speechesof American public rhetoric — maybe the greatest since Lin-coln’s Gettysburg Address. His words, at the same time forcefuland elegant, distilled the best of the American spirit — andKennedy clearly embodied those words.However, it is impossible to look honestly at America today

and compare it to Kennedy’s vision without seeing that some-thing vital about our country, something precious and fun-damental, has been squandered. We’re not the same nationthat heard Kennedy speak on that January day 50 years ago.At a time when many of our leaders, educators and mass

media representatives seem embarrassed by words like “therights of man come not from the generosity of the state, butfrom the hand of God,” then even the greatest speech haspassed from living witness to dead nostalgia. When many ofAmerica’s young people no longer know who Isaiah was, orwhy Kennedy might quote him, or from what book Kennedygot his exhortation to “undo the heavy burdens” and “let theoppressed go free,” then we’re reading a museum piece, not acall to action.We create the future by our choices, and we make a decent

and worthy future when we remember that the fear of God isthe beginning of wisdom. The American experiment had thatsimple biblical truth as one of its foundation stones. The morewe remember it as disciples and citizens, the more life webreathe back into Kennedy’s great text.

MOST REV. CHARLES J. CHAPUT, O.F.M. CAP., archbishopof Denver, is a member of Denver Council 539.

From left: Words from the conclusion of President John F. Kennedy’s in-augural address are seen engraved in granite near Kennedy’s tomb inArlington National Cemetery. • Kennedy delivers his inaugural addressJan. 20, 1961, at the U.S. Capitol. • Gordon Ponsford works to restorethe engraved words of Kennedy’s address, made difficult to read bydecades of weathering (see story on page 7).


WITH SINCERE APPRECIATION

Kennedy’s inaugural address was an oratorical masterpiece,the equal of anything ever written by Jefferson or Lincoln.

His staff would tell me later that Kennedy resented speculationthat Ted Sorensen had written it for him. Though Sorensenundoubtedly contributed several resonant phrases to the fin-ished work, the thoughts and expressions were pure Kennedy,a past master at oratorical magic. He deserved full credit. Con-sider, for instance, the phrase: “Let the word go forth from thistime and place.” Would any other American president havedared to employ such imperialistic words, matching those ofthe Declaration of the Independence? And even years later, Iwonder what the reaction of today’s courts would be to thespeech’s pronounced spiritual language to quietly, but effec-tively, speak for all mankind. Kennedy couldn’t have beenmore emphatic about the need for religious convictions in thework of government: “Knowing that, here on earth, God’swork must truly be our own.” …Before the inauguration, Kennedy had wryly announced that,

symbolic of his dedication to the office of the president, he wouldbe at his desk “by the crack of nine” the morning after taking theoath. And he was. I can vouch for it because his first call fromthe Oval Office — as I later discovered — was to me. …[I told him:] “We — I — am so very proud of you. People

will be quoting those words for generations.” (Little did Iknow I’d be doing exactly that at his funeral less than threeyears later.) My praise, apparently, caught Kennedy off-guard.He seemed both genuinely surprised and touched by my sin-cere words of appreciation.

MOST REV. PHILIP HANNAN, archbishop emeritus of NewOrleans, is a member of Washington Council 224.This passage was excerpted from The Archbishop Wore Combat

Boots: Memoir of an Extraordinary Life (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010)with Nancy Collins and Peter Finney Jr.

A FAIR WARNING

From his first moments in office, President Kennedy gavethe world fair warning: Americans are by nature a very

stubborn people. They would never stand for even “the slowundoing of those human rights to which this nation has al-ways been committed, and to which we are committed todayat home and around the world.” No, Kennedy vowed, whenit came to human rights, we would be implacable. We would“pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, supportany friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the suc-cess of liberty.”The new president also had a warning for his fellow Amer-

icans. He cautioned against complacency, lest authentic free-dom be undermined at home. “We dare not forget,” he said,“that we are the heirs” of the American Revolution and theprinciple that animated it — that “the rights of man comenot from the generosity of the state but from the hand ofGod.” That was Jefferson’s argument in the Declaration of In-dependence. It was Lincoln’s argument at Gettysburg. And itwas the message of Congress and President Dwight D. Eisen-hower in 1954, when they amended the U.S. Pledge of Alle-giance to include the words “under God” — a change madeat the urging of the Knights of Columbus. Those words ofthe Pledge serve as a reminder that the government must re-spect the rights of the people because those rights come froma source higher than the reach of the state. This vision of freedom, of course, will always have its en-

emies and must constantly be defended. Kennedy saw that,and he enjoined on all Americans a now-famous statement:“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you cando for your country.”These words serve as something of an examination of con-

science. At this moment in our history, we ought to ask our-selves: What is the single most important thing we can do forAmerica? The logic of Kennedy’s inaugural address surely sug-gests the answer: We must remember just Who it is that sets thegovernment’s lawful limits. We Americans must be true to ournature. We must be stubborn. We must be very, very stubborn.♦

KEVIN J. “SEAMUS” HASSON is founder and president of theBecket Fund for Religious Liberty and a member of Potomac Council433 in Washington, D.C.

The Knights of Columbus invites all Catholic high schoolstudents to participate in an essay contest titled Why PresidentKennedy’s Words Still Matter. Entries are due Jan. 20, 2011.For details on contest rules, resources and prizes, visitkofc.org/jfk. For questions or to obtain a contest kit for yourschool, call 203-752-4264 or 866-522-8465.


Many are wondering what the future holds for the UnitedStates. There is much to be done, and there is no short-

age of crises to address, including those of national finance,war, immigration, health care and parti-sanship. But there is another foundationalproblem that most Americans see — amoral crisis. The cause of this predicament and how

Americans believe it can be solved is thesubject of a new book by Supreme KnightCarl A. Anderson titled Beyond A HouseDivided: The Moral Consensus Ignored byWashington, Wall Street, and the Media(Doubleday, 2010).The book presents data from polls com-

missioned by the Knights of Columbusand conducted by The Marist Institute forPublic Opinion. Bolstered by similar datafrom a number of other respected sources,it moves beyond popular theories of bitterpartisanship and hopeless divisions in theU.S. electorate and identifies a quiet con-sensus informed by a belief in traditional values.

A DIFFERENT STARTING POINTMore than 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln famously applied

the words of Jesus to the issue of slavery: “A house dividedagainst itself cannot stand” (Mt 12:25). Those words, whichLincoln spoke as his party’s candidate for Senate in Illinois, re-

main true today. Less remembered, how-ever, were Lincoln’s opening words thatnight: “If we could first know where we are,and whither we are tending, we could thenbetter judge what to do, and how to do it.” Beyond A House Divided begins to iden-

tify the answers to these questions and,while not exhaustive and inclusive of allthe issues facing our nation, examines howmany of these problems might be ap-proached.“Every book has its purpose,” Anderson

explains in the foreword. “This one waswritten to contribute to the national con-versation about what direction the countryought to take based not on a partisan po-litical approach, but on the moral sense —and consensus — of the American people.”Rather than “starting at the political

poles and moving toward the center on the basis of compro-mise,” Anderson advocates “a different starting point” —namely, seeking the common ground of the American people.This common ground starts with a belief that the moral com-

The supreme knight’s new book highlights moral agreement on a number of issues thought to be divisive

by Matthew St. John

Beyond a House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored by Washington, Wall Street, and theMedia by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson is available at bookstores everywhere (ISBN:978-0307887740). All author proceeds are being donated to charity. To order the book orfor more information, visit beyondahousedivided.com.

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pass of the nation is pointing in the wrong direction — a viewheld in common by 73 percent of Americans. As such, there is a perceived disconnect between the people,

their institutions and the impact of those institutions on themorality of the nation. When asked about the effect of insti-tutions and groups on America’s moral compass, the majorityof people agree that everyone from politicians and the newsmedia to the entertainment industry and professional athletesskew the nation’s moral compass in the wrong direction. Bycontrast, more than half of Americans believe that volunteers,charitable organizations, the military, private education, lawenforcement, families and doctors have a positive effect onAmerica’s moral compass.In fact, the polling found that Americans are three times

more likely to believe that the greatest hope for the nation’s fu-ture lies in a return to traditional values than in anything else.

DISCOVERING COMMON GROUNDThe beliefs of the American people actually have a lot in com-mon with Catholic social teaching. Polling demonstrates thatmost Americans believe in God, are happily married, are cog-nizant of the negative effects of divorce and would signifi-cantly restrict abortion. In addition, the majority ofAmericans expect ethical behavior in business and in politics,value charities and volunteers, donate money and spend timevolunteering, and indentify having a family and being closeto God as two of their top life goals.Somewhere between the moral recession that Americans

currently see and the moral change they believe in for the fu-

ture lies a whole host of issues on which the American people— surprisingly — agree. There is a consensus that is often ig-nored or overlooked on the topics of business ethics, abortion,health care, marriage, immigration and the proper balance ofchurch and state.For instance, there is an 80 percent consensus in the United

States today on abortion restriction, a two-thirds majorityagainst redefining marriage, an 84 percent consensus on beliefin God and a three-fourths majority on the interpretation ofthe Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Anderson’s analysis of these numbers in Beyond a House Di-

vided is a refreshing, non-partisan and empirical assessmentof the nation’s perceived problems and their solutions. It aimsto spark a conversation that is long overdue — one that chal-lenges Americans to reconsider the conventional wisdom thatthey have heard for so long.Perhaps most importantly, it serves as a reminder to all that

the United States is fundamentally a nation of ethics andmorality, and that its people are people of traditional values.Moreover, we will be missing a major part of the picture untilwe begin to view the problems facing United States and theworld through the lens of a foundational, moral crisis. Onlythen will we truly move beyond a house divided.♦

MATTHEW ST. JOHN is a member of the management develop-ment program at the Knights of Columbus international headquar-ters in New Haven, Conn. He is a member of Father Michael J.McGivney Council 10705.

Do you believe the moral compass of this country is pointing in the right direction or the wrong direction?

27%

73%Wrong direction

Right direction

Hope for the Future

Which one of the following do you see is our greatest hope for the future of the nation?

16%

49%

13%

12%

10%

0% 60%

Return to traditional moral values

Technological innovation

A better business environment

In the days following the Aug. 5 collapse of northern Chile’s SanJosé copper and gold mine, rescuers and the families of the 33missing miners tried not to lose hope. Yet, they knew that nohuman being, if he even survived the collapse, could survive verylong without food and water.Then, on day 17, rescuers found a rudimentary note securedby tape to the tip of an exploratory drill bit, revealing that all33 miners were indeed alive. Following the discovery, GregHall’s engineering support team packed up and returned totheir factory in northern Chile.“We thought the job was done. We thought they maybe able to find a duct to get them out,” recalled Hall, a25-year veteran of the drilling industry and owner ofthe Chilean-based manufacturing and consulting firmDrillers Supply S.A.Yet, it became apparent over the following week that

all paths out of the mine were blocked. Hall, a mem-ber of Anton J. Frank Council 8771, began workingfrom his office in Houston on a plan to continue therescue.“I knew of only two drill rigs in the entire coun-

try that were minimally large enough to do the job,”Hall explained, adding that the power and vibrationof such a large drill would present significant risksto the men trapped 2,300 feet below ground. “I was concerned about causing another landslide

like the one the miners got trapped by in the firstplace,” he said.Then, a phone call from an acquaintance put him

in touch with representatives from Center Rock, amanufacturing company in Pennsylvania. They be-lieved their specialized down-the-hole drilling ham-mers could do the job, but could not get the attention

of anyone in Chile.

The Depths offa i thGRACE, A NOVEL PLAN AND THE DETERMINATIONOF A TEXAS KNIGHT COMBINED TO UNEARTH THECHILEAN MINERS by Shari Biediger

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Collaborating with Center Rock and several other compa-nies, Hall then put together the best team he could find. Whatbecame known as “Plan B” was soon accepted and initiated,thanks to the reputation of Hall’s business and his governmentrelationships in Chile.“We realized quickly that this

would be a very high-profile, high-pressure job,” Hall said. “We werenot drilling for gold; we weredrilling for people.”Knowing the job would be tech-

nically, emotionally and politicallycomplex, Hall challenged the engi-neers on his team by asking, “Whatcould you put up with if you weredrilling to get your son out?”From the start, Hall’s assessment

of the job’s difficulty proved cor-rect. The depth, the unstableground, the hardness of the rock,and the twists and turns of theborehole all combined to make theoperation appear impossible toevery drilling expert. “If I was to sit back and think

about the entire scope of the oper-ation, I would have just said, ‘For-get it,’” added Hall. Instead, the team concentrated

on drilling one meter at a time.And as the days went on, it becamemore apparent that the operationwas guided by divine providence.Hall was moved by the deep faithof the miners and how the men re-quested religious items such asrosaries and Bibles. On two separate occasions when

the drill became “hopelessly stuck”and would not move, Hall began topray. “I prayed that God would send

the angels to free the hammer bit,”he said. “And in both cases, we gotsome wiggle room, and we wereable to continue the process. Thatwas another miracle.”Hall, who is preparing to be or-

dained a permanent deacon nextyear, was also struck by the biblicalsignificance of the number 33. The age of Jesus when he wascrucified, buried and rose again, happened to correspond to thenumber of miners, the number of days of drilling, and even thenumber of years that the miners’ spiritual adviser, who wastrapped with them, had worked in mining.The most powerful source of spiritual comfort for Hall, how-

ever, was recognizing that the same God present throughoutsalvation history was now with them in the Chilean desert. Ul-timately, Hall believes God drilled the hole that freed the min-ers and that he merely “had a good seat” for the effort.Hall and his team left the site just before the miners were

freed, because they wanted to givethe miners and their families thespace to reconnect and celebrate.Instead, they watched the final res-cue on TV from their homes andhotel rooms as the miners emergedfrom the hole one by one. Andthough they did not relax until thelast man emerged on Oct. 13, Hallsaid that seeing the first man res-cued, Florencio Avalos, was partic-ularly meaningful.“He was the one we had the

most contact with when they werein the hole,” said Hall. “He was al-ways asking us, ‘When are yougoing to get me out?’”The experience made Hall all

the more grateful for the life heshares with his wife, Angelica, andtheir three children, ages 26, 21and 18.“He is an amazing father and a

great man and kind of like a super-hero to me,” said Greg Hall Jr.“And I say that with all due respectbecause I tell him, ‘You own threecompanies, you are becoming adeacon and you just saved the livesof 33 people. You need to leavesomething for me to do!’”Earlier this year, when Greg

Hall Jr. asked his father how hecould better give himself in serviceto others, Hall’s encouragementprompted his son to join theKnights of Columbus.The senior Hall also volunteers

his time with a prison ministryand tells inmates that, no matterwhat they have done in the past,God can work miracles throughthem. Most miracles, he said, aresimply not as public as the Chileanrescue.

“Miracles happen all the time,” Hall said. “But for somereason, God chose to have this miracle televised all over theworld.”♦

SHARI BIEDIGER works as a writer and communication specialistin San Antonio.

Above: Gregory E. Hall, coordinator for the rescue of 33 min-ers trapped in a mine in Copiapo, Chile, holds a letter of ap-preciation from the miners. • Hall holds a piece of a drill bitthat broke off during the rescue process.


A SPECIAL MEDICAL TEAM REACHES OUT TO HAITIFOLLOWING JANUARY’S EARTHQUAKE

by Tom Tracy

It’s a sweltering August Saturday in Jacmel, a coastal cityfive hours from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Dr.Manuel A. Alzugaray lays out patients with back or hip painacross a makeshift exam table in the parish hall at Our Ladyof Mount Carmel Church.The line of people seeking medical consultations presses

tightly, pushing aggressively at times toward a school deskwhere volunteers check in patients and work as triage. A localpriest stands on a chair and calls for order, refusing to let the

situation get out of control. The clinic, which is a partnershipbetween Haitian and Florida church personnel and the healthvolunteers who call themselves Miami Medical Team, willlast for only two days.Alzugaray, an orthopedic surgeon and member of Coral

Gables (Fla.) Council 3274, works with his team of doctors,dentists, nurses, translators, support staff and clergy partnersfor eight hours in the heat with no breaks and no air condi-tioning. On this day, the team sees some 500 patients from

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southern Haiti, which was substantially impacted by theearthquake.The charitable efforts of Knights such as Alzugaray com-

plement K of C-organized initiatives currently underway inHaiti — including a partnership with the Global WheelchairMission and a project with Miami’s Project Medishare to sup-ply prosthetic limbs and physical therapy to any child wholost an arm or leg in the Jan. 12 earthquake.“Now the people are facing the real thing, the reality of

their situation, so we have to come over here with support,”Alzugaray said, rattling off a list of health issues that his teamhas observed during their seven trips to Haiti since January.“They see us coming here, and it gives them hope.”A native of Cuba who studied medicine in Spain and the

United States, Alzugaray is an exile who has had a privatepractice in Miami since 1975. He has held numerous fellow-ships and is trained in homeland security and traumaticstress, mass casualty, and terrorism response. He establishedthe Miami Medical Team Foundation in 1983 as a nonprofit,traveling to regions of the world affected by wars and naturaldisasters. In all, the teams have visited 25 countries on fivecontinents, including much of Central America, theCaribbean, South America, Russia and parts of Africa andthe Middle East.In Haiti, they treated a litany of maladies, including infec-

tions, intestinal and respiratory problems, malaria anddengue fever, and psychological and stress-related distur-bances. At this particular clinic, trauma, sleeplessness, andother forms of depression or post-traumatic stress are di-rected to a Miami child psychiatrist and a priest therapist.They listen to the Haitians’ stories and prescribe anti-depres-sants as needed, hoping that the clients will continue to haveaccess to other forms of therapy. Behind the parish hall, outof view of the waiting line, a Miami dentist and assistants areseeing cases as fast as they can, tossing rotten teeth into abucket.Father Reginald Jean-Mary, pastor of Notre Dame d’Haiti

Church in Miami, has been overseeing an ambitious biweeklyschedule of pastoral and medical outreach trips to Haiti inthe wake of the earthquake. He praised Miami Medical Teamfor its consistent efforts in helping create parish-based clinicsaround Haiti. “I heard a lot of offers of help from the medical commu-

nity after the earthquake, but Dr. Alzugaray has really comethrough,” Father Jean-Mary said, adding that Miami Medicaltraveled through hard-hit areas of Haiti outside the capitalarea, which has been the focus of foreign aid.Miami Medical Team members pay for their own expenses

with donated medicines and medical supplies. Some said theyhaven’t seen a situation as critical and desperate anywhere.

“This is the poorest country we have been in, and besidesthat, the earthquake created enormous problems in the in-frastructure,” said Alzugaray. “Everything has to be done fastbecause there are a million people in despair here.”Eugenio Silva, a prosthetist/orthotist from Miami, recently

made his first visit to Haiti as an assistant in the makeshiftpharmacy. After attending a Sunday Mass in Port-au-Princewith the rest of the team members, he toured a new monu-ment to the victims of the earthquake at St. Louis, King ofFrance Parish. “I hope that monument is a catalyst for the rest of the city,

an ignition point for the reconstruction of Haiti,” Silva said.“I wish they could continue that wall right down the hill andinto the slums all the way until they are done repairing thatcity.”“We are giving to people what God has given to us in terms

of health, family and a place to live,” added Alzugaray, whohopes their actions will inspire more physicians to go onmedical mission trips. “You have to be there. Our presenceis very important. When you do things like this, you believein God, and he will do the rest.”♦

TOM TRACY writes from West Palm Beach, Florida. He traveledto Haiti in August with Miami Medical Team.

Opposite page: Dr. Manuel Alzugaray stands to the left of Father Yves Pardo(center), who leads a prayer at the parish-based medical clinic.Right: A woman and child take a seat at the clinic in view of the line of peoplewaiting for medical attention in Jacmel, Haiti, in August.

Torrential rains came down upon Pakistan in late July, set-ting in motion the most devastating floods in the coun-

try’s history. And despite the dangerous conditions andobstacles created by the disaster, the Catholic Church hasbeen on the front lines of the relief efforts ever since.Beginning in the north, the flood waters slowly made their

way through all four of the country’s provinces, affecting morethan 20 million people, according to the United Nations hu-manitarian office. The flooding destroyed homes, submergedfarmlands and created mass shortages of food and clean water.Roadways and bridges were also destroyed, hampering reliefefforts, and Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Author-ity reports that the estimated number of deaths has climbedto nearly 2,000.Catholic aid organizations responded quickly to the wide-

spread humanitarian crisis, with Catholic Relief Services andCaritas Pakistan joining efforts to bring food, emergency sup-plies and medical care to those afflicted by the flooding. Mil-lions who lost their homes were placed in tents andtransitional shelters, but after more than three months, manyare still waiting for help.“There are still places that have not been reached, where

the people have not been assisted at all, and they are onlyreachable by boat,” said Jack Byrne, Catholic Relief Services’representative in Pakistan. “Water is receding every day, butthere are still some areas that are under water, and we are try-ing to reach these people.”Amid the crisis, Bishop Andrew Francis of the Diocese of

Multan emerged as a leader in the Catholic response. Fromthe start of the monsoon in July, Bishop Francis and a teamfrom his diocese, which covers the southern Punjab provincein central Pakistan, began working to help those affected. Thebishop waded through miles of flooded streets to bring manypeople to safety, praying the rosary aloud and carrying womenand children to dry land.

“We wanted to fulfill the Gospel of Jesus Christ — thatwhen I was hungry and naked and thirsty and homeless, youcared for me,” Bishop Francis said. “So we went out of ourway and reached these people through boat and through everypossible means.”Since the initial flooding, the bishop has continued his

hands-on approach in bringing supplies such as food, cleanwater, warm clothing, blankets and medicine to thousands inneed. But as supplies ran short, a donation from the Knightsof Columbus helped continue the Diocese of Multan’s reliefwork.The $25,000 donation was, according to Bishop Francis,

“a real miracle to continue working miracles for the flood-af-fected areas.” The Knights’ contribution enabled the Dioceseof Multan to purchase food kits containing wheat flour, sugar,cooking oil and tea; household items such as cookware andutensils; personal hygiene kits; and emergency shelter tentsfor families throughout the diocese’s seven districts. Addi-tional funds have been collected through Knights of Colum-bus Charities.

Opposite Page: Young flood victims reach out to aid workers at their camp inMuzaffargarh, Pakistan, Sept. 9.Above: Bishop Andrew Francis gives a box of relief goods to a Pakistani boy.


PROVIDING FLOOD RELIEF AND SEEKINGINTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE, CATHOLICSIN PAKISTAN RESPOND IN FAITH

by Scott Alessi

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PROCLAIMING CHRISTBishop Francis, who serves as chairman of the NationalCommission for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism inPakistan, said that the disaster was also an opportunity topromote a greater understanding of Christianity in the re-gion. The Multan Diocese covers an area of 13 million peo-ple, of whom only 200,000 are Christian. The religiousdivide in Multan mirrors Pakistan as a whole; more than 95percent of the country’s 180 million residents are Muslim,and less than one percent are Catholic.The Church’s relief efforts, therefore, have primarily as-

sisted non-Christians. But as Bishop Francis and his teamcame upon people in need, he said that many flood victimsasked him to pray or to offer them a blessing, even thoughthey did not share the same faith.“For me it was a great opportunity,” Bishop Francis said.

“It has brought a lot of good will and broken many walls ofprejudice and misunderstanding between Islam and Chris-tianity.”As a native of Pakistan raised in a very faithful Catholic

family, Bishop Francis has lived the experience of the Chris-tian minority his entire life. Since being ordained to thepriesthood in 1972, he has devoted himself to teaching thefaith, to missionary work and to pastoral care without prej-udice. But Bishop Francis also knows from personal experi-ence that proclaiming the Gospel in a Muslim nation doesnot come without its share of danger. While serving as a priest in the city of Lahore in 1996, he

established a powerful prayer ministry that began drawingthe interest of Muslims. One day, two men came to his officepretending to be gravely ill and asked him to pray for them,but they soon revealed their true intentions. “As I put my stole on and closed my eyes, one of them

came on my side and from very close range shot me in myright temple,” he recalled. Thankfully, the bullet grazed himand hit the wall. A second shot aimed at his forehead alsomissed. Father Francis took a gun in each hand, pointedthem at his attackers and pleaded with them to leave. Themen pushed him down and hit him with the handle of agun, opening a nine-inch wound in his head. Then they fledthe scene.Father Francis recovered from the attack, and the experi-

ence did not stop him from proudly professing his faith inJesus. In 2000, he was named bishop of Multan and has con-tinued his ministry of bringing God’s love to all in need, es-pecially the sick, the imprisoned, the poor and those whohave not heard the message of Christ.“I have got a new life, and I want to live it fully for the

sake of the Gospel,” Bishop Francis said. “I am just an ordi-nary pastor, a priest and a missionary. I love to go to the un-known frontiers where there are no Christians and share theGospel of Christ.”

FURTHERING DIALOGUEChristians and Muslims have tried to live side by side in Pak-istan for decades, with attempts at dialogue dating back more

than 25 years. Dominican Father James Channan, coordina-tor of the United Religions Initiative in Pakistan and a for-mer member of the Vatican’s Commission for ReligiousRelations with Muslims and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, said that there have been great strides inpromoting harmony between religions, yet many challengespersist.“We have some people who are fanatics and fundamental-

ists. They are the minority, but they have created problemsfor Catholics by falsely accusing them of blasphemy and at-tacking our churches, our schools, our houses and ourshops,” Father Channan said. Catholics and Muslims, though, found ways to work to-

gether on initiatives such as promoting literacy, fightingpoverty and disaster relief. “But we still need to work muchmore,” Father Channan said. “We need to work so that mis-understandings between us and Muslims could be lessened,and we could work more on the things that unite us ratherthan the things that divide us.”In spite of attempts to bridge those divides, the threat of

violence against Christian minorities by terrorist groups re-mains a serious concern throughout the Middle East. InIraq, the realities of anti-Christian sentiment became appar-ent in late October, when armed militants stormed the Syr-iac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad during Mass and heldmore than 100 Catholics hostage. The ensuing violence re-sulted in more than 50 deaths and many injuries, causingCatholic leaders to call for greater efforts to promote reli-gious harmony in the region.The attack came just days after the conclusion of the

Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, during whichCatholic bishops gathered at the Vatican to discuss the im-portance of interfaith dialogue and the need for Catholicsand their Muslim neighbors to work together for the com-mon good. Although Bishop Francis was unable to attendthe synod due to his involvement in the ongoing flood relief,he noted that there are efforts in Pakistan to promote dia-logue at every level, from government leaders to scholars anduniversity communities to average citizens. Currently, thereis an initiative to create conversations among young peopleof different faiths in Pakistan and the neighboring countriesof Afghanistan and India.Meanwhile, the Catholic minority in Multan has contin-

ued to maintain a strong, vibrant faith. Yet, there are stillobstacles, such as Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law that hasbeen used against non-Muslims, but the faithful remain un-deterred in their devotion to Christ.“People are professing their faith boldly and proclaiming

Jesus Christ with great courage and joy,” Bishop Francis said.“Yes, we have many difficulties, but we are not afraid. Wecarry on sharing the name of Jesus.”For more information on how to donate via check or credit

card to the Pakistan Flood Fund, visit kofc.org or call (800)694-5713.♦

SCOTT ALESSI writes from New Jersey.

FATHERS FOR GOOD

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


ON JAN. 31, my wife and I learned that we were goingto have a child. It was a significant date for us since itwas the feast of St. John Bosco, the priest and teacher ofyouth and founder of the Salesians, for whom we have aparticularly strong devotion. Thus began the period ofwaiting. In English, the expression “expectant mother” conveys

the experience well: a mother in waiting. That is not to saythat we were sitting around doing nothing. I say “we” be-cause it is easier to experience this period of waiting to-gether, father and mother. At times, we discovered the waitto be long, difficultand even painful. Nau-sea, anxiety aboutknowing whether thebaby was healthy andwell-positioned, andquestions about thefuture — all of theseaspects of the preg-nancy were part of ourwaiting.On Oct. 1, the feast

of St. Thérèse ofLisieux, the object ofour waiting, ourdaughter Giulia, madeher appearance. Al-though we preparedourselves very care-fully for her arrival,nothing happened as we imagined it would. First, every-thing happened so quickly. I was at work when, in themiddle of the day, my wife called to tell me that she wasin labor. The sudden intensity of the contractions was dif-ferent from what we had expected. When the midwife ar-rived at our house at around 3 p.m., she told us that wehad to go to the hospital right away. It was very close.Once we got to the hospital, it was time to push; it wastoo late for an epidural. Scarcely two hours later, we wereholding our first child in our arms.Having experienced these months of waiting, the season

of Advent suddenly seems more meaningful to us. The

Awaiting New LifeWelcoming a new child helped us to see the meaning of Advent

by Sébastien Lacroix

Church offers four Sundays of Advent to prepare ourselvesfor the great feast day of Christmas: the birth of Emmanuel,God with us. Liturgical time mirrors both the time we ex-perience on earth and the time of God. As expectant par-ents, we had to prepare ourselves to welcome a new life, alittle person who we knew would upset out schedules, ourhabits, our whole lives. It is the same with God’s gift. Heasks that we prepare our hearts and that we change ourhabits and our lives to welcome his gift of eternal life.Nine months before she gave birth to her holy son, it is

unlikely that Mary was worried about traveling by donkeyand looking for aplace to give birth.Neither she norJoseph thought theywould find them-selves in a stable inBethlehem, and theshepherds did not ex-pect to be greeted bya multitude of angelscoming to hail theChrist Child. Like-wise, Joseph did notanticipate that hewould have to flee toEgypt with his wifeand child. What is certain is

that Mary and Josephwere forced to face the

unexpected. The experience of the months leading up tothe birth of our first child has allowed me to better under-stand what that means. Welcoming a child means that wemust accept the fact that our lives will be unsettled. Thearrival of Jesus did just that: It disrupted the establishedorder, and it continues to disrupt wherever there is injus-tice and hatred. Each Christmas invites us to be disruptedby a God who wants to be close to us, a God for whomthe gift of life is one of the greatest proofs of his love.♦

SÉBASTIEN LACROIX is a producer for Salt + Light CatholicTelevision in Toronto.

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The author and his wife are pictured with their newborn daughter, born Oct. 1.

reeting


In many ways, the celebration of Christmas has become aparadox: It is, of course, a time to celebrate the birth ofChrist, to give generously to charity and to spend time withfamily. At the same time, Christmas is often a time of height-ened frustration as people overspend on lavish gifts and sufferbouts of consumerist rage in the malls, in the supermarketsand on the roadways. Communicating the fundamentalmeaning of Christmas is hard enough without having tosearch in vain for greeting cards thatdon’t compromise the holiday’sChristian meaning.This motivation led Robert E.

Canfield of Roanoke (Va.) Council562 and a group of like-minded Vir-ginia Knights to launch a “KeepChrist in Christmas” greeting cardprogram in 1989. Frustrated with thelack of religious Christmas cards thathe remembered so fondly from hisyouth, Canfield set out to rectify theproblem and provide a service toChristians that he felt was missing.The Knights of Columbus Christmascard program that he started morethan 20 years ago has since expandedfrom an award-winning state pro-gram to an international initiative.

SERVING A NEEDThe Christmas card program, Canfield argues, involves morethan just a holiday greeting signed and folded inside of an en-velope. On the contrary, Canfield sees the initiative as both away to evangelize and to promote unity among Christians.“The biggest thing that I became aware of was that there

were many other Catholics and Christians across the wholeUnited States who felt the same way,” Canfield explained. “So,in essence, the Knights of Columbus served a need that wasn’treadily available from the secular world.”The idea of selling religious Christmas cards came about

when Canfield realized that faith-filled greeting cards werebecoming more and more scarce. Over time, traditional scenesof the nativity and the Holy Family were being replaced withSanta Claus, Christmas trees and other images that minimizedor displaced the real meaning of the season.“I realized it wasn’t so easy to go into a department store

… and get a Christmas card that might have a meaningfulimage or message in it,” Canfield said.

After thinking on the problem forsome time, Canfield partnered withthen-State Deputy William L.Howard (1989-90), who is also amember of Council 562, and then-State Chaplain Father EdwardRichardson to start their ownChristmas card program. But find-ing a card manufacturer proved tobe a major obstacle.After being turned down by Hall-

mark and American Greetings —both companies felt the initiative wastoo small to warrant mass produc-tion — the Knights secured a cardmanufacturer with help from the Sa-cred Heart League in Mississippi.Response to the program was

tremendous. Just eight months afterlaunching, the initiative won secondplace in the “Church” category for

the International Service Awards at the 1990 Supreme Con-vention in San Antonio. Within two years, the program hadraised more than $56,000 for charitable causes in Virginia.Expansion was inevitable. With help from Canfield’s daugh-

ter, Mary, and his late wife, Virginia, the program launchedan Internet presence with the website christischristmas.com.And Christmas cards aren’t the only offering any more: Visi-tors can now order “Keep Christ in Christmas” pins, mailseals, bumper stickers, ornaments, banners and even billboardtemplates.

Knights ofColumbus Christmas card program helps to keep Christ in Christmas

by Patrick Scalisi

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“We’ve actually seen quite a demand for the cards,” saidKarl D. Kleinhenz, a member of Council 562 who co-chairsthe program in Virginia with Canfield. “People ask for them.Whereas if it was a dying, passé thing, I think we would seedemand waning. But it hasn’t waned; it has actually grown.”

THE MISSION CONTINUESToday, at least one council in every U.S. state participates inthe Christmas card program, along with several councils inCanada. The cards are also popular among Knights of Colum-bus Insurance agents and are available in seven languages —including French, Spanish, Tagalog and Polish — to reach thebroadest audience possible.One state that has seen remarkable success with the program

is Delaware, where Knights began selling the cards in 1994. “To me, it’s personal,” said Past State Deputy Edward J.

Lichman (2008-09), who currently serves as the state’s “KeepChrist in Christmas” chairman. “We’re Catholics. We shouldbe proud of our faith, proud of who we are, and not be afraidto say things like ‘Merry Christmas.’”

Lichman has overseen the program since 2004. Over thepast 16 years, he said, Christmas card sales have raised morethan $254,000 for charity in Delaware — an impressive sumsince the state has only about 4,000 K of C members.“Remembering all the cards we used to get as a kid growing

up, especially the religious cards — the different scenes ofBethlehem and angels and seeing cards with ‘Silent Night’ —that just inspired me. And once I got involved with theKnights, this program came along, and it was just natural forme,” Lichman said.Each state runs the program separately — there is no na-

tional chairman — but anyone can order materials throughthe Christ is Christmas website. Proceeds from the sales aretypically donated to charity. In Virginia, for instance, thefunds are split between the local and state councils. The statecouncil, in turn, uses the money to promote vocations, whilelocal councils can use the profits for charitable causes at theirdiscretion.More than the program’s charitable component, though,

Canfield still sees the cards in terms of a mission.“It’s evolved into a great brotherhood,” he said, “and a sat-

isfying effort to evangelize through the simplest form that Ican think of, which is just a message once a year from onefamily to another: the religious Christmas card.”♦

PATRICK SCALISI is the associate editor of Columbia magazine.

Above: A display table of Knights of Columbus Christmas cards is shown atOur Lady of Nazareth Church in Roanoke, Va., Nov. 7. Opposite page: Jeff McInnis of Roanoke (Va.) Council 562 assists aparishioner with her Christmas card selection.


exploring

by Alton J. Pelowski

O xford University professor Clive Staples (C.S.)Lewis (1898-1963) was the author of numerous

scholarly works, spiritual classics such as Mere Christianity(1952), and acclaimed works of fiction such as The ScrewtapeLetters (1942). Yet, he is best known for his children’s litera-ture. His seven-part Chronicles of Narnia, written between1950 and 1956, have sold more than 100 million copiesworldwide in 47 languages.In 2005, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was made

into a major motion picture. In anticipation of the third filmin the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which will bereleased in theaters Dec. 10, Columbia interviewed DouglasGresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis, to shed light on the storybehind Narnia.

COLUMBIA: The Chronicles of Narnia were written morethan 50 years ago as books for children, but they continueto be enormously popular with adults and children alike. GRESHAM: One of the things that Jack (that was C.S. Lewis’s

nickname) always said was that if a fairy story or a children’sstory is any good to read when you’re five, it should be equallygood to read when you’re 50. Jack himself was an immenselywidely read man. He had read all the great mythologies andliterature of mankind. This gave him an amazing ability andfacility with words.

COLUMBIA: Do you have a favorite book in the series?GRESHAM: Certainly. It’s whichever one I’m reading at the

time that someone asks me.

COLUMBIA: The Chronicles of Narnia did not escape crit-icism, even by Lewis’s friends, such as J.R.R. Tolkien.GRESHAM: I think Tolkien was the chief critic. His reasons

for that were quite simple: He liked all of his mythologies keptin their own boxes and in their own genres. So, when Jackproduced this sort of mythological soup and chucked themall into one book with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,Tolkien was a bit dismayed to say the least. But it’s only fair to say that the whole attitude of the

Inklings, which was sort of a loosely affiliated group of schol-ars who would get together and read aloud to each other theworks they were writing at the time — which, by the way, wasa very brave thing to do — was to tear the works to piecesand pull out every mistake they could find, with great humorat the same time, mind you. The result of this is that we havesome of the finest literature ever written in the English lan-guage, such as The Lord of the Rings. The whole of that situation was indicative of something

that has all but vanished in the academic world today. Backin the 1940s and ’50s and ’60s, men believed that the bestfriends that you could have were the ones who would openly

NarNiaAn interview about C.S. Lewis and his Christian imagination

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criticize your work and lay bare to you the mistakes and errorsthat you made, so that you might learn from them and correctthem. In today’s world, if someone criticizes your workopenly, it has become fashionable to hate them for it. That isextremely foolish. You cannot learn from someone who alwaysagrees with you; you can only learn in the fire of disputationand dialectic.

COLUMBIA: The last of the Narnia books was published in1956, the same year C.S. Lewis married your mother andadopted you at about age 10. How did these stories, orLewis’s imagination in general, color your life as a child? GRESHAM: Jack was really a man who loved the great myths

of mankind and understoodwhat myth really is: man’sblind gropings for God be-fore God revealed himself tous. And therefore, the greatmythologies are valuable tous. As a result, I was alwaysreading mythology: The Leg-end of King Arthur and soforth. Jack and I would talkas if all these things were real,as if when walking throughthe woods behind the Kilnsone might expect to see afaun pop out from behind astone. Narnia, of course, wetreated as if it was our ownpersonal playground in asense. We used Narnian fig-ures and characters in con-versation frequently. I grewup in Narnia, and I’ve neverleft it.

COLUMBIA: When discussing the values of Eustace’s parentsand their sending him to a school called the “ExperimentHouse,” The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is pretty critical ofmistaken ideas of progress, particularly in education. Howwas Lewis’s philosophy in this regard reflected in his studiesor in your own education?GRESHAM: Jack certainly was critical of educational trends

and would be even more so today, I think. Jack firmly believedthat children were not to be the subjects of experimentation,and I have to agree with him. I think that much of what isdone in modern education is sheer folly. In fact, I believe quitestrongly that homeschooling is the finest form of educationchildren can get. I think I have used more of what I learnedat the dinner table of the Kilns than I have used from any ofthe schools that I went to.

COLUMBIA: Is there anything you’d like to share aboutLewis’ personality?GRESHAM: One of the things that always seems to get lost

in the works about him is the man’s immense sense of fun andhumor. He wasn’t this dour, closed-in scholar who lockedhimself away and kept a severe expression on his face. In fact,his great sense of humor was probably the hallmark of his per-sonality. You couldn’t be in a conversation with him for fiveor 10 minutes without roaring with laughter. He was one ofthe least snobbish people I think I’ve ever met. And he enter-tained people in conversation no matter where they camefrom or who they were.

COLUMBIA: Why do you think Lewis chose to communi-cate the spiritual truths of Christianity not only through es-says of theological reflection, but also through the medium

of fiction?GRESHAM: If you are a writer

and you are a committedChristian, everything you be-lieve and everything you valueis part of Christianity. So,when you start to write fiction,it’s completely inescapable thatyour Christianity would creepthrough onto the pages youwrite. I think that is true ofmen like George MacDonald,for example, and C.S. Lewisand many other writers. Ithink that’s the way to look atit. Christianity was there first.So, when you start writing fic-tion as a Christian, yourChristian beliefs are bound tocreep onto the page throughyour pen.

COLUMBIA: As a child, did the Chronicles play a role in in-troducing you to the Gospel?GRESHAM: That is a difficult question to answer. It’s like the

chicken and the egg — which came first? I think probably Iunderstood the Narnian Chronicles far better because I un-derstood the Gospels of Jesus Christ. And I understand theGospels of Jesus Christ far better because I understand theNarnian Chronicles.

COLUMBIA: What’s the most underappreciated work ofLewis?GRESHAM:Till We Have Faces, which is Jack’s careful and very

delightful retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. It is thebook that Jack himself thought was his very best work of fic-tion — and scholars of his work today are beginning to agreewith him. It is a wonderful, multi-layered book. I think it isprobably overlooked by a lot of people. Standing alone, it’sunlike anything else he ever wrote, but then most of his workis a bit like that.♦

ALTON PELOWSKI is the managing editor of Columbia magazine.

Above: Caspian, Edmund and Lucy are portrayed in a scene from thefilm adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. • Oppositepage: The helm of the Dawn Treader is emblazoned with the image ofAslan, the “Great Lion” of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia stories.

26 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

ipated in a rosary and pro-cession to the Sanctuary ofGuadalupe, where an artsand musical festival washeld. The procession was fol-lowed by testimonials from anumber of speakers and aMass celebrated by Arch-bishop Héctor G. Martínezof Durango. About 1,200 at-tended the event.

OUR MONTHLY BREADThe Maryland State Council,in cooperation with Bakeryde France, has instituted amonthly bread pickup anddelivery program to feed theneedy in Baltimore andWashington. Each month,Knights retrieve cases of breadfrom the bakery’s storagewarehouse in Manheim, Pa.,and deliver them to the OurDaily Bread soup kitchen inBaltimore City, the Beans &Bread soup kitchen in Balti-more City, and the HowardCounty Food Bank.

waiters for approximately300 people, and the eventraised more than $5,000.

WHEELCHAIR DRIVESt. Nicholas Council 10590in Laguna Woods, Calif., held

a drive to benefit the Ameri-can Wheelchair Mission. Thecouncil collected $2,700,which will purchase 18 wheel-chairs for needy recipients.

CHRISTIAN HELPERSEach month, members ofVallejo (Calif.) Council 874assemble at the ChristianHelp Center in Sacramentoto cook breakfast for needymembers of the community.Knights transport ingredientsto the center before prepar-ing, cooking and servingbreakfast.

COLORING FUNOur Lady of Peace Council9199 in Fords, N.J., donatedmore than 75 coloring books,crayons and books to the Chil-dren’s Hospital at St. Peter’sUniversity Hospital in NewBrunswick.

CHAPEL FURNISHEDFather Joseph F. Bumann As-sembly in Hope Mills, N.C.,donated a wall crucifix andholy water font to the chapelat the Fayetteville VA Med-ical Center. Previously, GoodShepherd Council 8857 do-nated the chapel’s kneelersand altar.

FOR THEIR ENTERTAINMENT

Prince of Peace Council11537 in Birmingham, Ala.,donated a new television andseveral clothing items to theFather Walter MemorialChild Care Center, a 24-hourpediatric nursing care facilityfor children with disabilities.

JOURNEY OF LIFEFray Diego de la CadenaCouncil 2367 in Durango,Mexico Northwest, partici-pated in Jornada por la vida(“Journey of Life”), whichconsisted of three pro-lifeevents. First, Knights partic-

HIGHWAY CLEAN-UPSt. John N. Neumann Coun-cil 8510 in Dunnello, Fla.,adopted two one-mile sec-tions of U.S. Highway 41through the Florida Adopt-A-Highway Program. Knightsmeet four to five times eachyear to remove trash and de-bris from the side of the road.

EAGLE OF LOVESt. Patrick of HeatherdownsCouncil 14155 in Toledo,Ohio, has delivered food andcare items to the HelpingHands of St. Louis SoupKitchen each week since 2008.The items, which are partiallydonated by Giant Eagle gro-cery stores, are valued at ap-proximately $67,000 to date.

DINNER FOR SEMINARIANS

New Braunfels (Texas)Council 4183 sponsored itsannual dinner for seminari-ans and asked members ofMsgr. Edward F. Bily Circle5111 to provide volunteer as-sistance. Squires served as

KNIGHTS ACTION REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLESIN

Members of St. Mary Council6993 in Mokena, Ill., dish outpizza during a party to benefitthe Frankfort Township FoodPantry. Fourteen area pizzaparlors donated food for theevent, while other vendorsprovided garlic bread andsoda. The event raised morethan $1,000 to support thepantry’s outreach.

Matt Triano (right) of Holy SpiritAssembly in Dublin, Calif.,presents Highway Patrol Offi-cer Nate Coker with a Knightsof Columbus Service Award.The assembly hosted its an-nual Red, Blue and Gold Ban-quet to honor 11 fire, policeand highway first respondersfor their service to the com-munity. More than 300 peopleattended the event.

Master Sgt. Patrick Narango, Lt. Jerrod Smith and Master Sgt.Randy Revell of the Kandahar Airfield Round Table inAfghanistan bow their heads while Father Marion Rosarioblesses a prayer garden at the base’s Friase Chapel. Knightsbuilt the rock garden in honor of Sgt. Maj. John K. Laborde, amember of the round table who died in Afghanistan April 22.The round table is sponsored by St. Vincent de Paul Council12191 in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

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services and assistance andmentoring for families inneed.

PRIESTLY JACKETSBishop Peterson Council4442 in Salem, N.H., hostedan appreciation dinner forthe priests serving at two areaparishes. Knights presentedeach priest with a K of Cjacket.

SCHOOL LUNCHESSt. Vincent de Paul Council13171 in Olongapo City,Luzon, hosted a six-monthfeeding program for studentsat a local grade school. EachFriday, Knights served lunchto approximately 80 youngpeople.

SEMINARIAN BENEFIT

Rantoul (Ill.) Council 4450hosted a fried chicken dinnerthat raised more than $5,000for Jacob Tolliver, a youngman who is entering the sem-inary. The funds will helpTolliver during his studies forthe priesthood.

PALISADE PEACHESOur Lady of Fatima Council9597 in Lakewood, Colo.,

sold 575 boxes of ColoradoPalisade Peaches to parish-ioners as part of the council’svocations support program.Sales of the peaches exceeded$6,000, which will help 12seminarians studying for thepriesthood.

BOOT CAMP BREAKFAST

St. John Neumann Council14457 in Sunbury, Ohio,sponsored a Boot CampBreakfast for all DelawareCounty veterans and theirfamilies. Guests were invitedto share their experiences andcamaraderie in support oftroops serving in Iraq andAfghanistan. Jerry Jodry ofthe VFW delivered theevent’s keynote address, andall branches of the ArmedForces were represented.

KEEPING MOBILESt. Martin of Tours Council680 in Millinocket, Maine,held a turkey supper and silentauction to benefit a local manwho has spinal bifida. Theevent, along with a number ofindividual donations, raisedmore than $4,500 to help theman purchase a wheelchair-accessible van and a motorizedwheelchair.

John Overbey of FatherMichael J. McGivney Council5967 in Austin, Texas, helpsAlex Pojman, a WebelosScout, learn the Boy Scoutrequirements at a council-sponsored pancake break-fast. Boy Scout Troop 59,which was chartered byCouncil 5967, celebrated its50th anniversary this year.

Members of St. Peter theApostle Council 14648 inTacloban, Visayas, dig a holefor a time capsule on thegrounds outside of theirchurch. Knights prepared tobury the time capsule in an-ticipation of a massive churchrenovation.

HIGH-DEF VOCATIONS

Brother Anthony Council10014 in St. Albert, Alberta,hosted a special dinner inhonor of the 21 seminariansattending St. Joseph Seminaryand Newman TheologicalCollege. Through donationsfrom its members, the councilwas also able to purchase ahigh-definition television forthe seminary’s new facility.

BENEFIT BREAKFASTMore than 160 people at-tended a charity breakfasthosted by Father F. M.Lanteigne Council 7089 inAtholville, New Brunswick.The event raised approxi-mately $800, and the fundswere split between NotreDame de Lourdes Parish andthe Chapitre du Restigouche dela Société de la Sclérose (theRestigouche Chapter forMultiple Sclerosis).

PAINTING PROJECTMembers of Mother Mari-anne Cope Council 14260 atSyracuse (N.Y.) Universitypainted a number of rooms atthe Ronald McDonald House

of Central New York. The fa-cility provides housing to thefamilies of sick children whocome to area hospitals fortreatment.

DOUGHNUT SALESMother Seton Circle 5271 inLas Vegas sold doughnuts atits parish following SundayMass. Sales exceeded $300,all of which was donated to agirl’s academy in Uganda.

LIGHTING THE WAYFather McCormick Council3880 in Crystal Lake, Ill.,funded a website for 1st WayPregnancy Support Servicesin McHenry County. Thewebsite helps the organiza-tion connect with morewomen in need than tradi-tional advertising alone.

ANNIVERSARY DONATION

Jubilee Council 3294 inFlemington, N.J., donated$1,872 to Life Choices inhonor of the organization’s10th anniversary. LifeChoices promotes the build-ing of healthy families byproviding prenatal medical

Tom Tylka (center), his brother Knights from Lions Gate Council7095 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and Tylka’s daugh-ter, Talia, place tennis balls on the feet of chairs and desks atHoly Trinity Elementary School. The project was part of an ini-tiative to curb classroom noise and promote a more conducivelearning environment. Also pictured are (from left): FrankNewlove, Otto Rohrwasser and Bob Resch.

KNIGHTS IN ACTION


Bishop Rutilio Juan del RiegoJáñez (right), auxiliary bishop ofSan Bernardino, Calif., greetsSir Knight Leo M. Galica andhis wife, Dorothy, during a cor-porate Communion Mass andpatriotic banquet hosted byMsgr. Edward J. Flanagan As-sembly in Riverside. The eventhonored military, law enforce-ment and firefighter veterans,along with Galica, a survivor ofthe 1941 attack on Pearl Har-bor. Additionally, the banquetraised $1,950 to purchase13 wheelchairs and walkers forlocal veterans. Bishop delRiego Jáñez is a member of St.Thomas the Apostle Council12213 in Riverside.

placed windows and doors.The council funded all thematerials needed for the proj-ect in addition to performingthe work themselves.

VICTORY FOR VETERANS

Members of Msgr. RichardC. Madden Assembly inSummerville, S.C., and theirwives visited the Veterans’Victory House in Walterboroto serve lunch to patients andto distribute donations. Vol-unteers served sandwichesand dessert to about 100nursing home residents andstaff before handing out U.S.flag pins, hats, t-shirts, books,DVDs and televisions.

ROSARIES & LIP BALM

Archbishop Fulton J. SheenCouncil 7444 in Milford,Mich., and Father John W.Howard Council 8500 inHighland collected 477rosaries and 1,333 sticks oflip balm for U.S. soldiersserving overseas.

APPRECIATION DINNER

Ontario District #43 hostedan appreciation dinner forclergy and deacons from 11local parishes and presentedeach priest in attendancewith a handmade stole and acertificate of appreciation.Knights also presented a$600 donation to SerraHouse, a facility run by theArchdiocese of Toronto thatserves as a place of discern-ment for men considering avocation to the priesthood.

CONSTRUCTION DONATION

Holy Family Council 4636 inColorado Springs, Colo., do-nated $200,000 to St. Do-minic Parish to help offsetthe construction of a newparish church, specifically thebuilding’s sanctuary, belltower and choir room. Funds

FISH DINNERFather Frank J. Adrian Coun-cil 1706 in Poplar Bluff, Mo.,held a fish dinner to benefitLuke Wagner, a local manwho has mouth cancer. Theevent raised more than$4,300 to help offset Wag-ner’s treatment expenses.

A PLACE CALLED HOME

Members of St. BonaventureCouncil 12240 in Davie,Fla., repaired the trailer homeof a needy family. After thedwelling was cited for severalcode violations, Knights up-graded the home’s electricalsystem, installed insulatedwalls and siding, added an airconditioning system, and re-

Vincent de Paul RegionalSeminary.

A SPECIAL EVENTWith help from the girls’track team at Shepherd HillRegional High School, Web-ster (Mass.) Council 228hosted a special dance forpeople with intellectual dis-abilities. Council membersprovided music for the eventas well as refreshments.

DRIVING AROUNDHennepin Council 1652 andSt. Antoine Council 9253,both in Niagara Falls, On-tario, launched a fund driveto help a local woman whohas multiple sclerosis. Withcontributions from St.Alexander Council 13903 inFonthill and other local agen-cies, Knights were able toprovide the woman with ahandicapped-accessible van.

for the donation came from amix of council investmentsand money held in trust.

FUNDS FOR SEMINARIANS

St. John Neumann Council5971 in Plantation, Fla., andArchbishop Edward A. Mc-Carthy Assembly in WestBroward County presented19 seminarians with dona-tions of $500 each. Thefunds will help the seminari-ans defray any costs they willincur while studying at St.

Members of St. Louis de Montfort Council 14553 in Oak Lawn,Ill., stand with the wheelchair ramp they built at the home of alocal woman. Knights volunteered to install the ramp for themother of Father Dan Tomich.

Members of Father John G.Seyfried Council 821 in KingsPark, N.Y., paint the 1,000-foot wrought-iron fence atSt. Joseph Church. By pro-viding materials and perform-ing the task themselves,Knights saved the parish ap-proximately $10,000.

kofc.orgexclusive

See more “Knights in Action” reports and

photos atwww.kofc.org/knightsinaction


State Deputy Filadelfo Medellín Ayala (far right) of MexicoNortheast coordinates the distribution of food to people evac-uated from Anahuac due to severe flooding. Knights from fourcouncils in and around Nueva Laredo provided food, water andclothing to more than 300 families that were displaced.

churches in Aden, Yemen.After meeting Salesian FatherMatthew Uzhunnlil eightyears ago, Dan Paukovec ofCouncil 10094 challengedhis council to raise funds forFather Uzhunnlil’s renovationprojects in Yemen to matchPaukovec’s personal dona-tions. The council has doneso, and the donations haveprovided funds to renovatethree churches so far.

SUPPORT FORUGANDA

Valley of the Angels Council9710 in San Diego hosts anongoing recycling drive eachmonth to benefit the St.Francis Mission School inMississippi and Holy Inno-cents Children’s Hospital inMbarara, Uganda. Knightscollect aluminum cans andglass and plastic bottles, whichare then compacted and recy-cled. To date, the council hasraised more than $10,000 forboth organizations. Mean-

while, AssumptaCouncil 3987 inLuzerne, Pa., andSt. Vincent dePaul Council

11901 in Plymouth removedschool supplies from the for-mer St. Hedwig School inKingston and packaged themin a 42-foot trailer that wasshipped to Uganda. The ship-ment — which includedbooks, desks, chairs, comput-ers and kitchenware from theschool cafeteria — will helpstudents at struggling schools.

ROSARY MAKERThaddeus Wozniak of SaintJoseph the Provider Council13942 in St. Joseph, Mich.,has been making handmaderosaries for more than 15years. At the request of hisson, Thomas, who is a mem-ber of Barney Gonyea Coun-cil 7109 in Safety Harbor,Fla., Wozniak donated 320rosaries for a parish missiontrip to Honduras.

RETURNING HOMEOssining (N.Y.) Council 311hosted a going-away party forFather Stephen Mosha, a priestfrom Tanzania who served atSt. Augustine Church foreight years. The dinner raised$650 for the Njia HealthCenter, a medical dispensaryfoundered by Father Moshato provide primary health careand education to people inone of the world’s poorest na-tions. During Father Mosha’stime at St. Augustine Church,parishioners raised approxi-mately $100,000 for thehealth center.

CATHOLICS IN YEMENSince 2002, St. Gregory theGreat Council 10094 in SanDiego has raised at least $500each quarter to help renovate

• Uganda

• Luzon, PhilippinesAden, Yemen •

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico •

Honduras •

• Tanzania

IN SERVICE TO ONE, IN SERVICE TO ALL

Nestor Calansingin and Flo-rentino Castro of Our Lady ofthe Light Council 7844 inCainta, Luzon, affix a pro-lifesign to a Jeep in preparationfor a “Motorcade for Life.”Knights participated in theevent by driving through thecommunity with various pro-life messages.

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

KNIGHTS IN ACTION


NOT MANY PEOPLE can say they’ve hauled a 40-tontank with their bare hands, yet 400 individuals had thatunique honor during a patriotic fundraiser sponsored byMsgr. Anthony J. Stein Assembly in Clifton, N.J., to benefitthe Wounded Warrior Project. And if the idea of pulling atank by hand sounds somewhat insane, then consider your-self in good company— Faithful NavigatorKenneth L. Molnar ofMsgr. Stein Assemblyhad the same reactionwhen the idea waspitched to him.“The initial thought

was that it was a bigproject, and it wassomething that wasmaybe bigger thanwhat we could do,” saidMolnar. “But when itsunk in after a few min-utes, I just said, ‘Yes.’”The results from that

single “yes” have beennothing short of ex-traordinary. The tankpull, which took placeSept. 12 in Clifton,raised approximately$81,000, not to men-tion the $20,000 ingoods and services thatwere donated for the event.Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of people turned out

for the contest, and competitors formed 20 teams. Eachteam was tasked with raising at least $1,500 before takingtheir shot at hauling an 80,000-pound tank, which wasbrought in on a massive flatbed truck.“It was quite extraordinary what people were willing to

donate for the Wounded Warrior cause,” said John V.Hughes, a member of St. Philip the Apostle Council 11671in Clifton and the event’s chief organizer.Hughes ran a similar event outside the Knights of

Columbus many years ago to benefit people with disabil-ities. When he brought the idea for the project to Council11671 and Msgr. Stein Assembly, Knights decided to

Pulling Out All the StopsK of C Tank Pull Raises Funds for Wounded Warrior Project

by Patrick Scalisi

promote the tank pull as a Fourth Degree patriotic event.Support from the communities of Clifton and Garfieldfollowed, which resulted in the tank pull’s resoundingsuccess.“Once [people] saw that this was real, their outpouring

was fantastic,” said Molnar. “They had no issues, and theyopened up their heartsand … they were therefor us.”For Hughes, Molnarand the dozens ofother Knights whoparticipated in theevent, the motivationbehind the tank pullwas not out of theordinary, given thatthe Order’s fourthprinciple is patriotism.Eighty-five percent ofthe total proceeds willbe donated to theWounded Warrior Pro-ject, whose mission isto raise awareness andenlist the public’s aidfor the needs of in-jured service members,and to provide uniqueprograms and servicesfor wounded soldiersand veterans.

“We owe it to the men and women of our country to dosomething for them since they put their lives on the line forus,” said Molnar. “We owe them a lot more than what thattank pull did, and I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repaythem.”Added Hughes: “I think it’s incumbent upon the

Knights of Columbus to host things like these because wehave a 94-year history of involvement with the active U.S.military and also with veterans all over the United States.Our connection to the military started before WorldWar I, and we’re just simply following what our predeces-sors have done.”♦

PATRICK SCALISI is the associate editor of Columbia magazine.

Participants in the Knights of Columbus Army Tank Pull Challenge heave a80,000-pound tank on a flatbed truck during the competition. The event was spon-sored by Msgr. Anthony J. Stein Assembly in Clifton, N.J., and raised more than$81,000 — most of which will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

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JOIN THE FATHERMCGIVNEY GUILDPlease enroll me in the Father McGivney Guild:

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE/PROVINCE

ZIP/POSTAL CODEComplete 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 DEC. 1, 2010: To owners of Knights of Columbus insurance policies and per-

sons responsible for payment of premiums on such policies: Noticeis hereby given that in accordance with the provisions of Section84 of the Laws of the Order, payment of insurance premiums dueon a monthly basis to the Knights of Columbus by check madepayable to Knights of Columbus and mailed to same at PO Box1492, NEW HAVEN, CT 06506-1492, before the expiration of thegrace period set forth in the policy. In Canada: Knights of Colum-bus, CASE POSTALE 935, Station d’Armes, Montréal, PQ H2Y 3J4

ALL MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, EDITORIALMATTER, AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES SHOULD BE MAILEDTO: COLUMBIA, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901.REJECTED MATERIAL WILL BE RETURNED IF ACCOMPANIEDBY A SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND RETURN POSTAGE.PURCHASED MATERIAL WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

COLUMBIA (ISSN 0010-1869) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BYTHE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEWHAVEN, CT 06510-3326. PHONE: 203-752-4000, www.kofc.org.PRODUCED IN USA. COPYRIGHT © 2010 BY KNIGHTS OFCOLUMBUS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLEOR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.

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12/10

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION(Act of August 1, 1970: Section 3685, title 39, U.S. code)1. Publication title: Columbia2. Publication No.: 12-37403. Date of filing: Sept. 25, 20104. Frequency of issue: Monthly5. No. of issues published annually: 126. Annual subscription price: $67. Location of office of publication: 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-33268. Location of publisher’s headquarters: 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-33269. Names and address of publisher, editorand managing editor. Publisher: Carl A. Anderson, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326 Managing Editor: Alton J. Pelowski, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-332610. Owner: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326.11. Known bond holders: none.12. For completion by nonprofit organiza-tions authorized to mail at special rates.The purpose, function, and nonprofit sta-tus of this organization and the exempt

status for federal income tax purposes: (Check one)

(If changed, publisher must submit expla-nation of change with this statement.)13. Publication name: Columbia.14. Issue date for circulation data below: October 201015. Extent and nature of circulation

A. Total no. copies (net press run) 1,616,242 1,599,000B. Paid and/or requested circulation1. Outside-county mail subscriptionsstated on Form 3541: 216,029 245,4332. Paid in-county subscriptions stated onForm 3541: 0 03. Sales through dealers and carriers,street vendors, counter sales and othernon-USPS distribution: 1,000 1,0004. Other classes mailed through theUSPS. 1,305,310 1,308,563C. Total paid and/or requested circula-tion:

1,522,339 1,554,996D. Free distribution by mail (samples,complimentary and other):1. Outside-county as stated on Form3541: 0 02. In-county as stated on Form 3541: 0 03. Other classes mailed through theUSPS: 4,000 4,000 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution out-side the mail (carriers or other): 0 0 E. Total Free or Nominal Rate distribution(Sum of (15d, (1), (2), (3) and (4): 4,000 4,00 0F. Total distribution (sum of 15c and 15e): 1,526,339 1,558,996G. Copies not distributed: 400 400H. Total (sum of 15f and 15g): 1,526,739 1,559,396I. Percent paid and/or requested circu-lation (15c / 15f x 100): 99.8% 99.8%

I certify that the statements made by meabove are correct and complete. CARL A. ANDERSON Publisher

(x) Has notchanged duringthe preceding12 months.

( ) Has changedduring the preceding12 months.

Av. # copieseach issue dur-ing preceding12 months

# copies of sin-gle issue pub-lished nearestto filing date

KEEPING CHRIST IN CHRISTMASThrough a variety of ways, Knights work to celebrate the true meaning of the season.

[Counterclockwise from top] Knights from Msgr. Stanley B. Witkowiak Council697 in Racine, Wis., join other Christian men in prayer before the K of C-spon-sored crèche at Racine’s Monument Square. • Tom Wakeley and Henry Gloverof Cherry Hill (N.J.) Council 6173 erect a “Keep Christ in Christmas” banner atan area church. • Volunteers prepare to distribute Christmas wreaths at Quan-tico National Cemetery at an event co-sponsored by Potomac Council 9259 inTriangle, Va., and the Sgt. Mac Foundation.


COLUMBIANISM BY DEGREES


MEMBERS OF Bishop Nold Council6557 in Spring, Texas, salute the U.S.flag at the start of a flag retirement cer-emony hosted by the council’sColumbian Squires circle, Holy GhostCircle 2722. Squires collected morethan 30 U.S. flags that were no longersuitable for display and retired themduring a solemn ceremony.• Msgr. Corr Council 3571 inPasadena, Calif., sponsored a drive atAssumption of the Blessed VirginChurch to assemble care packages forU.S. troops serving overseas. Knightsand parishioners collected care itemsand $1,000 in cash donations as part ofOperation Gratitude.

Patriotism

Charity

JAMES ARBLASTER of Our Ladyof Perpetual Help Council 14613 inChateauguay, Quebec, works to re-move graffiti from a brick wall. Mem-bers of Montreal Council 284 andD’Arcy McGee Assembly volunteeredto remove the disfiguring paint froma neighborhood in their community,scrubbing the graffiti with special sol-vents before power washing the af-fected surfaces.• John Paul II Council 14000 inKrakow, Poland, collected 2,000 złoty(approximately $700) toward the con-struction of an orphanage in Bethle-hem that will be operated by theSisters of St. Elizabeth.

Fraternity

MEMBERS OF Our Lady of theRosary Council 9039 in South Bruns-wick, N.C., and St. Brendan Circle5361 in Shallotte work to construct awheelchair ramp at the home of Ed Pe-ters, a council member who uses awalker, and his wife, Ruth, who uses awheelchair. With a donation fromCouncil 9039 and the St. Brendan So-cial Ministries Office, Knights andSquires were able to construct the rampin five days with no cost to Ed or Ruth.• Prince of Peace Council 9144 inToronto purchased a new bicycle forcouncil member Jake Apacible afterhis bike was stolen at a council event.Apacible was helping his council sellpro-life lapel roses after Mass when hisbike was stolen.

Unity

AN HONOR GUARD from St.Francis of Assisi Assembly in Farming-ton Hills, Mich., looks on while FatherMark Brauer blesses a new Ten Com-mandments monument at Our Ladyof Sorrows Church. St. Francis Coun-cil 4401 donated $3,000 to purchasethe monument, which was placed inthe church’s flower garden.• St. Patrick Council 10963 in AnnArbor, Mich., held a pancake break-fast that raised more than $800 topurchase an ultrasound machine forthe Family Life Services and Preg-nancy Counseling Center in Ypsilanti.

UN

ITY:

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TO BE FEATURED HERE, SEND YOUR COUNCIL’S “KNIGHTS IN ACTION” PHOTO AS WELL AS ITS DESCRIPTION TO: COLUMBIA, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326 OR E-MAIL: [email protected].

Chris Meyer (far right) of Father Louis De-jaco Council 5220 in Alexandria, Ky., lookson while council member Talon Deinlein (farleft) helps Chris Scharold onto a horse duringthe council’s annual “Opportunity Day.”Knights hosted more than 150 people withintellectual disabilities for a day of games andactivities, included horseback rides. Morethan 700 people from six counties in north-ern Kentucky attended the event.

Building a better world one council

at a timeEvery day, Knights all over the world aregiven opportunities to make a difference— whether through community service,raising money or prayer. We celebrateeach and every Knight for his strength,his compassion and his dedication tobuilding a better world.


KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

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

KEEP THE FAITH ALIVE

‘MY CONSTANTPRAYER IS TO

COME TO KNOWGOD AS HE IS’

One morning, after staying up readingSt. Thérèse of Lisieux’s spiritual autobiog-raphy, Story of a Soul, I marched into myparents’ room to ask if I could quit schoolto become a Carmelite. They did not an-swer immediately, but they did take me tovisit a nearby monastery where the supe-rior advised me to finish high school. My father, a Knight, played a quiet but

strong role in my faith formation. Grow-ing up, I saw him live the principles heprofessed, always giving a firm witness ofjustice and generosity. Likewise, mymother’s example taught me to place allmy confidence in God.As it happened, I went on to college and

spent a semester in Austria living in a14th-century Carthusian monastery. Ibegan attending daily Mass in the cen-turies-old chapel, and these graces soon ledto the reawakening of my desire to pursuemy vocation.My constant prayer is to come to know

God as he is and to witness to his goodnessas a loving Father who, in every circum-stance, gives us what is good.

SISTER M. ELIZABETH OF THE CORONATIONSociety of Our Lady of the Most Holy TrinityBosque, N.M.

columbia december 2010

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