Pope sends greetings to Knights of Columbus
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| Leaders of the Knights of Columbus at their Supreme Convention.- RV |
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent
greetings to the Knights
of Columbus on the occasion of their 135th Supreme
Convention, which concludes on Thursday in St Louis.
The Pope’s message, conveyed in letter from
the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, says the
theme of the Convention – “Convinced of God’s Love and Power” – points
“to the secret source of all Christian life and mission: our conviction that
God’s saving love, revealed in the death and resurrection of his Son and poured
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, impels us to share the Good News of
salvation with every man and woman.” This conviction, it continues, “underlies
all our enthusiasm for evangelization.”
It is this experience of God’s love and power, Cardinal
Parolin says, that led to the founding of the Knights of Columbus, and to their
continued growth.
Cardinal Parolin calls on the Knights, in the spirit of
their founder, the Servant of God Father Michael McGivney,
to respond generously to the call of Pope Francis to reject the mentality of
the contemporary “culture of indifference,” and to commit themselves “to their
properly lay vocation of striving for the sanctification of the world from
within, by carrying out their daily responsibilities in the spirit of the
Gospel and revealing Christ to others through the witness of their lives.”
In particular, Cardinal Parolin says that Pope Francis “is
especially appreciative of the unremitting efforts of the Knights of Columbus
to defend and promote the sanctity of marriage and the dignity and beauty of
family life,” noting that the Pope, following the lead of the 2015 Synod of
Bishops, has linked the health of the family to the health of society as a
whole. “The strengthening of sound family values and a renewed vision of our
responsibility for the moral health of the greater community will contribute to
overcoming the polarization and general coarsening of the social fabric that is
an increasing source of concern even in the most prosperous of our societies.”
Finally, Cardinal Parolin’s letter expresses the Holy
Father’s gratitude for the Knights’ support of Christians in the Middle East
who are suffering from violence and persecution.
Below, please find the full text of Cardinal Parolin’s
letter, addressed to the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Mr Carl
A Anderson:
Dear Mr. Anderson,
His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to learn that from 1
to 3 August 2017, the 135th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus will
assemble in St. Louis, Missouri. He has asked me to convey his warm good wishes
to all present, together with the assurance of his closeness in prayer.
The theme of this year’s Convention – Convinced of God’s
Love and Power – points to the secret source of all Christian life and mission:
our conviction that God’s saving love, revealed in the death and resurrection
of his Son and poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, impels us to share
the Good News of salvation with every man and woman. It is precisely this
“conviction” that underlies all our enthusiasm for evangelization, for “we have
a treasure of life and love which cannot deceive, and a message which cannot
mislead or disappoint” (Evangelii gaudium, 265).
This same experience of God’s love and power, lived in the
heart of the Church, led to the founding of the Knights of Columbus as a
fraternal and charitable union of Catholic laymen, workers, husbands and
fathers. The subsequent history of your Order demonstrates how a spirit of
solidarity and mutual concern inspired by God’s love can grow, like the mustard
seed in the parable (cf. Lk 13:19), into something immensely greater,
contributing to the glory of God, the spread of his Kingdom, and the universal
mission of the Church.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). Saint
Paul’s question to the Romans expressed his own firm conviction that the
infinite power of God’s love, revealed in the cross of Christ, prevails over
every form of worldly evil. The Holy Father has often observed that in our own
day a new world war is being fought piecemeal, as an ungodly thirst for power
and domination, whether economic, political or military, is leading to untold
violence, injustice and suffering in our human family. He has asked Christians
everywhere, truly convinced of the infinite power of God’s love, to reject this
mentality and to combat the growth of a global culture of indifference that
discards the least of our brothers and sisters. In fidelity to the vision of
the Servant of God Father Michael McGivney, may the Knights, in their families,
their parishes and their local Councils, respond generously to this challenge,
first and foremost by recommitting themselves to their properly lay vocation of
striving for the sanctification of the world from within, by carrying out their
daily responsibilities in the spirit of the Gospel and revealing Christ to
others through the witness of their lives (cf. Lumen gentium, 31).
In this way, they will help to lay solid foundations for the renewal of society
as a whole, by working to change hearts and build peace, one person and one
community at a time.
His Holiness is especially appreciative of the unremitting
efforts of the Knights of Columbus to defend and promote the sanctity of
marriage and the dignity and beauty of family life. In his Apostolic
Exhortation Amoris laetitia, echoing the concerns expressed by the
2015 Synod of Bishops, he linked healthy family life to the health of society
as a whole, and emphasized the special task of education that, in God’s plan,
is entrusted to Christian parents (cf. Nos. 274-279). It is in the family that
we come to see that the larger world is also our home, in which we are called
to live together, to learn closeness, care and respect for others, and to value
the God-given gifts that each of us has to offer for the good of all. The
strengthening of sound family values and a renewed vision of our responsibility
for the moral health of the greater community will contribute to overcoming the
polarization and general coarsening of the social fabric that is an increasing
source of concern even in the most prosperous of our societies.
Finally, and in a very particular way, Pope Francis has
asked me to express his gratitude for the commitment of the Knights to
supporting our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East in their
witness of fidelity to the Lord, often borne at great personal cost. None of us
can be blind to the sufferings of those whom fratricidal violence and religious
fanaticism have left homeless or forced to flee their ancient homelands. The
Knights of Columbus Refugee Relief Fund is an eloquent sign of your Order’s
firm commitment to solidarity and communion with our fellow Christians. The
Holy Father once more asks the Knights and their families to pray for those in
need, for the conversion of hearts, and for an end to the spiral of violence,
hatred and injustice in that region.
With these sentiments, His Holiness commends the
deliberations of the 135th Supreme Convention to the intercession of Mary,
Mother of the Church, and assures the Knights and their families of a special
remembrance in his prayers. With great affection he imparts his Apostolic
Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.
Yours sincerely,
[Signature]
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
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