Sep 25
To read the September/October 2008 issue of Visions click here. 342 KB
You will need Adobe Reader to read the newsletter and you can get it here.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Sep 23
Knights of Columbus spot features beating heart of 10 week old unborn child
New Haven, CT - September 23, 2008 -
A 30 second radio spot encouraging people to “vote pro-life” in the November elections begins running on radio stations around the United States today. It will continue to air until the November 4 election.
The ad features the sound of an unborn baby’s heartbeat at 10 weeks, and the voice of a woman saying, “Listening to this makes me wonder - why would anyone question that her life has begun?” It concludes with the words, “Vote your heart. Vote Pro Life.”
“The fact that the child whose heartbeat we hear is alive is simply a matter of science,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said in announcing the beginning of the ad campaign. ”We believe that it is vital that America’s pro-life community make it clear that they will reserve their votes for candidates of either party who are committed to protecting life from conception to natural death.”
Anyone can listen to or download the ad from the Knights of Columbus website, www.kofc.org.
A similar ad is planned for broadcast in Canada, where general elections are set for October 14, 2008.
The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest lay Catholic organization, with more than 1.75 million members in North and Central America, Asia and Europe. Last year, Knights donated $145 million and more than 68 million hours of volunteer time to charitable causes.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Sep 23
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson sent an open letter to Senator Joseph Biden on Friday, September 19, challenging the assertion of the vice presidential candidate that Catholic teaching on abortion is not clear. The letter was published in USA Today, The Washington Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Wilmington News Journal, among others.
Writing ”as a fellow Catholic layman,” Anderson said that “statements that suggest that our Church has anything less than a consistent teaching on abortion are not merely incorrect; they may lead Catholic women facing crisis pregnancies to misunderstand the moral gravity of an abortion decision.”
Anderson noted that the founders of the United States “believed that we are ‘endowed by [our] creator with certain unalienable rights,” and that first among these is ‘life,’” and he appealed to Biden, “as a Catholic who acknowledges that life begins at conception, to resolve to protect this unalienable right.”
Popularity: 13% [?]
Aug 28
The Knights of Columbus this week launched a brand-new Internet-based news and information service for Catholics everywhere: Headline Bistro.
Headline Bistro is a website that provides a quick digest of daily news sources around the world that contain news of interest to active Catholics. Whether it relates to world affairs, national politics or news specifically about the Catholic Church, you’ll find links to the original sources here. You’ll also find video clips, detailed state-by-state information about voting and public policy, and recommended reading from the world of books. The web address is www.headlinebistro.com.
You can also sign up for a daily e-mail that’ll give you the day’s top headlines. If you’re already a subscriber to our other e-mail updates, just enter your e-mail address in the sign-up box and add Headline Bistro to your preferences.
Tell all your Catholic friends about Headline Bistro!
Popularity: 20% [?]
Aug 15
Standard & Poor’s reaffirms Knights of Columbus AAA rating
K of C’s investment portfolio has “very strong credit quality”
NEW HAVEN, CT - For the 16th consecutive year, the Knights of Columbus insurance program has earned Standard & Poor’s highest rating: AAA (Extremely Strong). With more than 140 years experience, S&P is the financial industry’s foremost independent rating bureau, providing investment, credit, and risk analyses of financial institutions around the world.
“K of C is achieving its primary objective of providing members and their families with high-quality, low-cost insurance products,” the 2008 S&P rating report said. The Knights of Columbus insurance program has “a stable outlook,” and in addition, its “capitalization is expected to remain extremely strong, and liquidity is expected to remain extremely strong also.”
The report cited the strengths of the K of C’s operational and financial management, calling its financial strategy “very conservative, as demonstrated by its capital structure, investment portfolio, and approach to business growth.” It further claimed that “K of C’s capital adequacy, as measured by Standard & Poor’s capital model, is among the strongest in the industry.”
Referring to the K of C’s management of its assets, the S&P report stated, “the investment portfolio has very strong credit quality, with the majority of assets being invested in publicly traded investment-grade bonds. Management’s strategy is to grow its business conservatively by offering profitable products and adhering to strict underwriting standards. Standard & Poor’s expects this level of conservatism to continue.”
“The company returned 87% of its earnings to its members in 2007,” S&P added. “Its consistently strong profitability is attributable to high persistency rates, favorable mortality experience, and strong investment returns over the past 10 years.”
Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson welcomed the news from S&P, and noted that “despite the difficulties suffered by so many well-known financial institutions due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, we have not only remained solvent but improved our financial stability, while continuing to provide top quality products and service to our members.”
The Knights of Columbus recently received an A.M. Best Company rating of A++ (Superior) for the 33rd consecutive year. The K of C is one of only five insurance providers in North America to receive the highest ratings from both Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best, as well as certification from the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA) for ethical business practices.
Founded 126 years ago, the Knights of Columbus is a fraternal benefit society and is the world’s largest lay Catholic organization with more than 1.75 million members. Last year members of the Knights of Columbus donated more than 68 million hours of volunteer service for charitable causes, and contributed more than $144 million to charity.
August 14, 2008
Click here for a PDF version of the News Release.
Popularity: 27% [?]
Aug 15
Knights of Columbus convention delegates adopt resolutions challenging Catholic office-holders on abortion, affirming marriage as union of one man and one woman
(Quebec City, Quebec) - Delegates to the annual international convention of the Knights of Columbus today adopted a resolution opposing “any governmental action or policy that promotes abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, euthanasia, assisted suicide and other offenses against life.”
The delegates also challenged “our fellow Catholics who are elected officials to be true to the faith they claim to profess by acting bravely and publicly in defense of life, affirming with Pope Benedict XVI that ‘there can be no room for purely private religion.’”
The resolution stated that the organization reaffirms its “commitment to building a culture of life by promoting policies that favor the family,” and reaffirmed the organization’s “long standing policy of not inviting to any Knights of Columbus event persons, especially public officials or candidates for public office, who do not support the legal protection of unborn children.”
The resolution on life issues follows by several days the opening convention address by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, in which he called on Catholic voters to “stop accommodating pro-abortion politicians,” and encouraged them to “say ‘no’ to every candidate of every political party who supports abortion.”
Delegates also adopted a resolution calling for “legal and constitutional protection . . . for the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.”
The resolution declares that “marriage is a natural institution based on ancient human values that have evolved over time into a unique and deeply rooted social, legal and religious institution,” and that it “reflects the natural biological complementarity between man and woman which predates the state and which is woven into the social and religious fabric of every major culture and society.”
Marriage between man and woman “provides the most favorable environment in which to protect the rights and the best interests of children,” the resolution stated.
Convention delegates adopted resolutions dealing with other public policy issues as well, including building a culture of life, religious liberty, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, decency on the Internet and in the media, Catholic education, and the Pledge of Allegiance. The texts of all the resolutions can be found at:
http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/convention_2008/resolutions/index.html
For complete coverage of convention events, go to the “Convention Central” web page at:
http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/convention_2008/index.html
Popularity: 27% [?]
Jul 26
The essay contest is open to all Catholic students graduating from elementary schools (8th Grade) and high schools (12th Grade) in 2009.
The theme of the essay is “The responsibility of the Catholic citizen in a free society.” Contest participants are asked to write a 500-700 word essay based on the writings from Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI.
You can order the essay kit from the Order’s Web site. This kit contains everything you’ll need including the Resource Booklet (#4205) – a pdf version is here, the Promotional Poster/Contest Guidelines (#4209), entry forms, and certificates.
Popularity: 37% [?]
May 06
Florida will also vote on marriage amendment this year
Sponsors of the proposed state constitutional amendment protecting marriage in California have submitted 1.1 million signatures to state authorities - more than enough to put the measure on the ballot in November. The Knights of Columbus, working closely with the National Organization for Marriage - California, were instrumental in the signature-gathering effort.Maggie Gallagher, the President of the National Organization for Marriage recently said, “The Knights made the difference between success and failure in this first step in California.”
California voters will now have a chance to vote to protect marriage by defining it as an institution between one man and one woman. If passed by California voters, the amendment will place this definition into the state constitution, where the courts and the legislature cannot overturn it. The sponsors of the amendment wanted the measure to go before the voters this November because the California Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer on a series of lawsuits seeking to establish same-sex marriage in the state.
The Knights of Columbus will always pursue laws that protect the dignity and integrity of marriage and family life. As Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said at the 2007 Supreme Convention in Nashville, “We must pray for, and support, those of every party who stand firm on the side of life and family.”
In recent months Pope Benedict XVI has spoken publicly of the centrality of marriage and family. When receiving the new U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See in February, the Holy Father praised the efforts of American citizens and government leaders who seek to “safeguard the institution of marriage, acknowledged as a stable union between one man and woman.”
And in “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a document issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2007, the bishops add their voices: “The family - based on marriage between a man and a woman - is the first and fundamental unit of society and is a sanctuary for the creation and nurturing of children. It should be defended and strengthened, not redefined or undermined by permitting same-sex unions or other distortions of marriage.”
Twenty-seven states have passed constitutional amendments protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In Florida earlier this year, a proposed state constitutional amendment protecting marriage was certified by the State Divisions of Elections, and the measure will go before Florida voters in November.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Popularity: 100% [?]
Apr 21
Homily at St. Patrick’s Cathedral cites his “vision and zeal”
(NEW YORK, NY) - During his homily at this morning’s Mass for Clergy and Religious at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Pope Benedict XVI made special mention of “the remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus.” McGivney’s cause for sainthood is being considered at the Vatican, and the Pope declared him a venerable servant of God in mid-March.
Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson made the following statement regarding the Pope’s remarks:
“This morning, Pope Benedict reminded America’s clergy that the ’secret of the impressive growth of the Church’ in the U.S. was a ‘unity of vision and purpose - rooted in faith and a spirit of constant conversion and self-sacrifice,’ and held up as a prime example our founder, Fr. McGivney.
“The Pope’s selection of Fr. McGivney as a role model for today’s priests and religious is very important for us. Thousands of priests are among the 1.7 million members of the Knights of Columbus, including Cardinal Egan and hundreds of others in the Archdiocese of New York. Each and every day, all of us in the Knights of Columbus look to Fr. McGivney’s vision and example as a guide to our work of charity and evangelization. At a time when our priests are in need of our support more than ever, the Pope’s promotion of Fr. McGivney as a role model for clergy everywhere is both timely and enormously appreciated. We pledge our fervent support for his call to revitalize and renew the Catholic Church here and around the world.”
Popularity: 100% [?]
Apr 19
Elected this afternoon as the new officers for the 2008-2009 fraternal year were the following Brother Knights:
State Deputy – Bill Burke (Stevensville)
State Secretary – Rod McElwee (Polson)
State Treasurer – Art Malisani (Great Falls)
State Advocate – Dave McLean (Ananconda)
State Warden – Bob Howard (Hamilton)
Delegates to the Supreme Convention
The Insurance Delegate will be Bernie Adams (Helena) and Associate Delegates are John Beck (Billings) and Terry Cody (Wolf Point). Their alternates are James O’Leary (Havre) for insurance and the Associate delegate alternates are Kevin Holland and Andy Mikes (both of Billings).
Congratulations to all of our Brother Knights who have answered the call to serve and we wish them well.
Popularity: 92% [?]
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