{"id":706,"date":"2012-08-02T23:06:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T23:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-benedict-supports-knights-religious-freedom-efforts\/"},"modified":"2012-08-02T23:06:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-02T23:06:00","slug":"pope-benedict-supports-knights-religious-freedom-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/08\/pope-benedict-supports-knights-religious-freedom-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Benedict supports Knights’ religious freedom efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Aug 2, 2012 \/ 05:06 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict XVI has praised the work of the Knights of Columbus to defend and promote religious liberty within the United States.<\/p>\n

\tIn a letter signed by Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy Father commended the Knights\u2019 work to support religious liberty at a time \u201cwhen concerted efforts are being made to redefine and restrict the exercise of the right to religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Knights of Columbus \u201chave worked tirelessly to help the Catholic community recognize and respond to the unprecedented gravity of these new threats to the Church\u2019s liberty and public moral witness,\u201d the July 19 letter said.<\/p>\n

\tIn doing so, the organization \u201chas proudly lived up to the high religious and patriotic principles which inspired its founding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe letter applauded the Knights\u2019 work to defend \u201cthe right of all religious believers, as individual citizens and in their institutions, to work responsibly in shaping a democratic society inspired by their deepest beliefs, values and aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tWith more than 1.8 million members, the Knights of Columbus is the world\u2019s largest fraternal group and among the nation\u2019s most active charitable organizations. Last year, the Knights donated more than $158 million and 70 million hours to various charitable causes.<\/p>\n

\tIn recent months, the organization has been an outspoken opponent of measures that threaten religious freedom, most notably a federal mandate that requires employers to offer health insurance that includes contraception, sterilization and early abortion-inducing drugs even if doing so violates their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

\tEach of the Knights\u2019 state councils passed a resolution supporting religious freedom, and Supreme Knight Carl Anderson has written and spoken out about the mandate as well as other threats to religious liberty.<\/p>\n

\tThe July 19 letter said that the Holy Father was \u201cpleased\u201d to learn that the Knights will be holding their 130th Supreme Convention in Anaheim, Calif. from Aug. 7-9.<\/p>\n

\tIt added that the theme of the gathering, \u201cProclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land,\u201d calls to mind both \u201cthe great biblical ideas of freedom and justice\u201d that shaped the nation\u2019s founding and \u201cthe responsibility of each new generation to preserve, defend and advance those great ideals in its own day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tStressing the \u201curgent need\u201d for a well-formed laity that is both engaged and articulate, the pope voiced confidence that the Knights will continue their legacy of \u201cproviding sound inspiration, guidance and direction to a new generation of faithful and dedicated Catholic laymen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict urged the Supreme Council and each of the local councils to build up their \u201cpraiseworthy programs of continuing catechetical and spiritual formation which have long been a hallmark of your Order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe offered prayers that the upcoming Year of Faith will reinforce the Knights\u2019 resolve to make their entire lives a witness to their baptismal faith.<\/p>\n

\tThe Holy Father also expressed gratitude for the spiritual bouquet of prayers and sacrifices offered by the Knights and their families for his thirty-fifth anniversary of episcopal ordination.<\/p>\n

\tThis \u201cact of spiritual solidarity\u201d was viewed by the pontiff as both an \u201coutstanding testimony of love\u201d and a sign of \u201cfidelity, loyalty and support during these difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe are honored by the pope\u2019s encouragement and confidence in our work,\u201d said Supreme Knight Anderson, adding that the pope\u2019s message \u201cis clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe must continue to stand up for our religious liberty and to point the way for our fellow Catholics to do the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cDefense of religious liberty has long been a part of the Knights of Columbus history,\u201d Anderson noted, recalling the group\u2019s work to defend Catholic education from the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

\tHe vowed that the Knights \u201cwill continue to do all we can\u201d to oppose regulations that threaten to encroach on \u201cthe first freedom guaranteed in our bill of rights \u2013 the freedom to practice our religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Aug 2, 2012 \/ 05:06 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has praised the work of the Knights of Columbus to defend and promote religious liberty within the United States.<\/p>\n

\tIn a letter signed by Vatican secretary of state Cardinal T…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nPope Benedict supports Knights' religious freedom efforts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Aug 2, 2012 \/ 05:06 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has praised the work of the Knights of Columbus to defend and promote religious liberty within the United States. 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