The Knights of Columbus has been a beacon of light in the pro-life movement since the very beginning. They are an organization of Catholic men that are both nationally and locally passionately devoted to the cause of the unborn. I am proud of the Knights of Columbus. My father is the Grand Knight of his council; my husband is a third degree knight and my oldest son a squire. My younger sons will join when their time comes. It is a family tradition and one that I am happy to foster among my sons.
From the Knights of Columbus website:
“As Catholics, Knights of Columbus have the responsibility to work for the common good of society. Catholics–and especially Knights–must, in the words of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “embrace their citizenship not merely as a duty and a privilege, but as an opportunity to participate in building the culture of life. Every voice matters in the public forum. Every voice counts. Every act of responsible citizenship is an exercise of significant individual power.”
That makes the decision of a small group of men to depart from one of the most sacred missions of the Knights to endorse the pro-abortion candidate for President all the more heartbreaking. KnightsforObama.org is a website decrying Knights of Columbus’ Supreme Knight Carl Anderson’s unequivocal denunciation of Joseph Biden’s supposed Catholic take on abortion. I might add the Mr. Anderson’s position is one shared by every Catholic bishop in the country and full one fourth of them are speaking out strongly in favor of voting against the pro-abortion ticket.
Carl Anderson, a former Reagan advisor, openly criticized Senator Biden’s use of the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas to justify his pro-abortion policies and voting record. Since Senator Obama made a point of claiming his running mate as a Catholic in good standing Mr. Anderson had a perfect right, and some might say obligation, to call him on his mistaken belief that St. Thomas Aquinas would have found abortion acceptable. In denouncing Senator Biden and Senator Pelosi’s position that abortion can be a permissible policy for any Catholic, Supreme Knight Anderson is merely stating a position that reflects steadfast Catholic teaching.
The Knights for Obama, led by Rick Gebhard, a member of Knights of Columbus Council 853 at Guardian Angels Parish in Manistee, Michigan, depart from this position by declaring the foreign policy platform of the Republican ticket makes them the less pro-life candidates. This is patently absurd. While you may ardently disagree with the war, our policies in Iraq or any decision that has been made pertaining to our policy on terrorists, the fact is that these decisions and policies may be wrong or they may be right but abortion in any form is never right. To vote for a ticket that promises to undo all the work that the pro-life movement has done in the last 35 years is to be complicit in the abortions that follow. Senator Obama has made a promise to make his first act as president to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act in the insane belief that it will decrease abortions. What it will do is open the floodgates to even more pro-death legislation.
Kudos to Carl Anderson for speaking out strongly against the culture of death and doing so on behalf of the 1.7 million men who work tirelessly for the causes of life. Shame on those who publically and cowardly departed from the path of life and used the good name of the Knights of Columbus to make their invalid point. I, along with many of the faithful respectfully ask Mr. Anderson to dismiss those who set up the website and are publically being praised in such dissenting publications as The National Catholic Reporter and Commonweal. The Knights of Columbus deserve better than those who seek to undermine their good and holy work.