BUILDING A CULTURE OF LIFE
ON JANUARY 22, 2015, POPE FRANCIS SENT A TWEET TO THE
VAST CROWD GATHERED FOR THE MARCH FOR LIFE IN
WASHINGTON, D.C. THE POPE’S TWEET SAID, “LIFE IS A GIFT.” MORE
AND MORE, PEOPLE SEEM TO BE GETTING THAT MESSAGE.
THOUGH THE NEWS MEDIA DOES NOT TELL YOU, THE PRO-
DEATH MOVEMENT IS GROWING WEAKER BY THE DAY, OFTEN
BECAUSE OF ITS OWN INTERNAL CONTRADICTIONS.
FOLLOWING DISCOVERY OF ABORTION CLINICS WITH
UNSANITARY AND HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS, UNSAFE MEDICAL
PRACTICES, UNLICENSED PERSONNEL, AND BOTCHED ABORTIONS
RESULTING IN INJURIES AND DEATH, MORE AND MORE ABORTION
CLINICS ARE BEING SHUT DOWN AND THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS
NATIONALLY CONTINUES TO DECLINE.
PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS, MAINLY DONE IN THE THIRD
TRIMESTER, ARE NOW ILLEGAL, AND STATES ARE NOW MOVING TO
BAN BRUTAL SECOND TRIMESTER DISMEMBERMENT ABORTIONS.
MORE AND MORE LEGISLATURES ARE EVEN BANNING ANY
ABORTIONS AFTER 20 WEEKS WHEN THE UNBORN CHILD CAN FEEL
PAIN. MOREOVER, IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, STATE LEGISLATURES Building a Culture of Life 4/15
HAVE PASSED MORE PRO-LIFE BILLS THAN IN THE PREVIOUS 10
YEARS COMBINED! WE EXPECT THESE LEGISLATIVE SUCCESSES TO
CONTINUE, AS POLLS SHOW THAT THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS
THE MOST PRO-LIFE GENERATION IN OUR NATION’S HISTORY!
AS THE NUMBERS OF ABORTION CLINICS AND ABORTIONS
DECLINE, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CARE
CENTERS OFFER PREGNANT WOMEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW
THEIR UNBORN CHILD ON ULTRASOUND MACHINES FUNDED BY THE
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.
SINCE 2009, THE ORDER’S ULTRASOUND INITIATIVE HAS
HELPED STATE AND LOCAL KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCILS TO
PARTNER WITH THE SUPREME COUNCIL TO CONTRIBUTE OVER $36
MILLION TO PREGNANCY CARE CENTERS FOR THE PURCHASE OF
MORE THAN 750 ULTRASOUND MACHINES IN CANADA, JAMAICA,
GUATEMALA, AND ALL 50 U.S. STATES. EACH MACHINE HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO SAVE HUNDREDS, EVEN THOUSANDS, OF LIVES!
SUPREME KNIGHT CARL ANDERSON HAS SAID OF THE
ULTRASOUND INITIATIVE: “IT IS, WITHOUT DOUBT, THE MOST
EFFECTIVE PRO-LIFE PROGRAM WE HAVE EVER UNDERTAKEN. IT
SAVES LIVES EACH AND EVERY DAY. AND WITH EACH WOMAN WHO
Building a Culture of Life 4/15 SEES AN IMAGE OF HER CHILD, WE CONTINUIE TO TURN THE TIDE
OF PUBLIC OPINION, ONE PERSON AT A TIME.”
IN ADDITON TO PROVIDING ULTRASOUND MACHINES, KNIGHTS
HAVE SUPPORTED PREGNANCY CARE CENTERS WITH DIAPER
DRIVES AND BABY SHOWERS, HAVE RAISED FUNDS THROUGH
“BABY BOTTLE BOMMERANGS,” DONATED MATERNITY AND BABY
CLOTHES, CAR SEATS AND BABY FURNITURE.
KNIGHTS HAVE SUPPORTED THE MARCH FOR LIFE IN
WASHINGTON, D.C., THE WALK FOR LIFE – WEST COAST IN SAN
FRANCISCO, THE NATIONAL MARCH FOR LIFE IN OTTAWA, AND
OTHER MARCHES AND WALKS FOR LIFE IN MAJOR CITIES
THROUGHOUT THE PHILIPPINES, AND IN OTHER TOWNS AND CITIES
THROUGHOUT THE ORDER.
KNIGHTS HAVE SPONSORED PRO-LIFE CONFERENCES AND
BILLBOARDS, PUT UP CROSSES TO FORM “CEMETERIES OF THE
INNOCENTS,” AND SPIRITUALLY ADOPTED UNBORN CHILDREN.
EACH YEAR ON MARCH 25, THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION,
KNIGHTS CELEBRATE THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS INTERNATIONAL
DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE UNBORN CHILD WITH ROSARIES AND
SPECIAL MASSES FOR UNBORN CHILDREN AND THEIR MOTHERS.
Building a Culture of Life 4/15 TO EACH WOMAN FACING A DIFFICULT PREGNANCY, WE SAY:
“PLEASE KNOW THERE IS A BETTER CHOICE - CHOOSE LIFE!” THEN
WE GIVE HER THE HELP SHE NEEDS TO GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE TO
HER CHILD!
SHE NEEDS TO BE GIVEN REAL CHOICES. SHE NEEDS TO
KNOW THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION, SUCH AS
ADOPTION. THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
LOVING COUPLES EAGER TO ADOPT A CHILD INTO THEIR HOME.
THERE ARE ALSO THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES AND
VOLUNTEER GROUPS READY TO OFFER HER COMPASSIONATE
CARE DURING PREGNANCY AND TO HELP HER GET BACK ON HER
FEET AFTER HER CHILD IS BORN.
WE NEED TO TELL HER, “MAKE THE CHOICE YOU WILL NEVER
REGRET, THE ONE THAT WILL GIVE YOU PEACE OF MIND FOR THE
REST OF YOUR DAYS. CHOOSE LIFE. THE NATURAL CHOICE IS LIFE.”
STILL, SOME CLAIM THE CULTURE OF LIFE MOVEMENT IS A
SINGLE-ISSUE CONSTITUENCY. THEY SAY WE CARE LITTLE ABOUT
HUMAN LIFE AFTER BIRTH.
THE FACTS PROVE OTHERWISE. SURVEY FIGURES SHOW THAT
EACH YEAR THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS DONATES MILLIONS OF
Building a Culture of Life 4/15 DOLLARS AND MANY VOLUNTEER HOURS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO
ARE DISABLED, HOMELESS, HUNGRY, SICK, ELDERLY, AND POOR. IN
JUST ONE RECENT YEAR, ORDERWIDE CHARITABLE GIVING
FIGURES TOTALED 70 MILLION HOURS OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE
AND OVER $170 MILLION.
KNIGHTS SPONSOR PROGRAMS SUCH AS “COATS FOR KIDS”
AND “FOOD FOR FAMILIES,” CONDUCT BLOOD DRIVES, SUPPORT
SPECIAL OLYMPICS, BUILD HOMES THROUGH HABITAT FOR
HUMANITY, DISTRIBUTE WHEELCHAIRS THROUGH THE GLOBAL
WHEELCHAIR MISSION, AND HAS PARTNERED WITH PROJECT
MEDSHARE TO PROVIDE ARTIFICIAL LIMBS TO CHILDREN WHO
WERE VICTIMS OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI.
WE CARE. WE CARE VERY MUCH ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF ALL OF
OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
AND, YES, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO
PROTECT HUMAN LIFE AS A SACRED GIFT OF GOD.
OUR SUPREME CHAPLAIN, ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM LORI OF
BALTIMORE, HAS ELOQUENTLY EXPRESSED EXACTLY WHAT IS AT
STAKE IN OUR BATTLE AGAINST THE CULTURE OF DEATH. HE SAID:
Building a Culture of Life 4/15 “THE TAKING OF DEFENSELESS, INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE IN THE
WOMB, IN MANY CASES RIGHT UP THE VERY MOMENT OF BIRTH, IS
NOT THE MERE VIOLATION OF A SECTARIAN TENET, BUT RATHER A
FUNDAMENTAL DENIAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS. TO BE SURE, NOT EVERY
MORAL PROHIBITION IS TO BE ENSHRINED IN CIVIL LAW. YET, AS
SAINT JOHN PAUL II REMINDS US, ‘THE REAL PURPOSE OF CIVIL LAW
IS TO GUARANTEE AN ORDERED SOCIAL COEXISTENCE IN TRUE
JUSTICE.’ AND FOR THAT REASON, ‘CIVIL LAW MUST ENSURE THAT
ALL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY ENJOY RESPECT FOR CERTAIN
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS WHICH INNATELY BELONG TO THE
PERSON…’ (EVANGELIUM VITAE, 71). THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHT IS THE RIGHT TO LIFE FROM CONCEPTION TO NATURAL
DEATH.”
AS THE BATTLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS MOVES CLOSER TO
THE BEGINNING OF LIFE AT CONCEPTION, A NEW BATTLE FRONT IS
OPENING AT THE END OF LIFE.
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE BILLS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED
IN MORE THAN A DOZEN STATE LEGISLATURES. HOWEVER, PRO-
LIFE FORCES, WITH STRONG SUPPORT FROM THE MEDICAL,
HOSPICE, AND DISABILITY RIGHTS COMMUNITIES, HAVE BEEN
Building a Culture of Life 4/15 MEETING THOSE BILLS WITH STRONG AND DETERMINED
OPPOSITION.
THUS, WE ARE DEFENDING LIFE AT ITS BEGINNING, MIDDLE,
AND END.
IN AGREEMENT WITH WHAT POPE FRANCIS SAID IN HIS TWEET,
WE BELIEVE THAT LIFE IS A SACRED GIFT OF GOD.
YET, IT IS IRONIC THAT, WHILE THE DEATH PENALTY HAS BEEN
ALMOST ELIMINATED FOR THE GUILTY, SOME IN SOCIETY
INCREASINGLY CONDONE THE KILLING OF THE INNOCENT.
WE MUST CORRECT THOSE WHO THINK ABORTION, PHYSICIAN
ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA ARE SOME FORMS OF
MEDICAL CARE, WHEN, IN REALITY, THEY ARE SIMPLY DIFFERENT,
AND BARBARIC, WAYS TO KILL.
WHO SPEAKS FOR THE VICTIMS OF WHAT SAINT POPE JOHN
PAUL II CALLED THE “CULTURE OF DEATH”?
WE DO!
AND, INCREASINGLY, PUBLIC OPINION IS BECOMING MORE
PRO-LIFE.
Building a Culture of Life 4/15 WE BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WILL EMBRACE REASON AND
COMPASSION AND HEED POPE FRANCIS’ MESSAGE THAT LIFE IS A
GIFT.
BECAUSE WE ARE PEOPLE OF LIFE AND FOR LIFE, WE BELIEVE
THAT, BY HELPING PEOPLE TO SEE LIFE AS A GIFT, OUR CULTURE
IS ALREADY TURNING AWAY FROM THE EVILS OF ABORTION, AND
STRONGLY RESISTING ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA.
THUS, UPON THAT FOUNDATION, WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN
TO BUILD A CULTURE OF LIFE. WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN BUILDING
A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE. IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S PLAN, LET
US CONTINUE TO WORK AND TO PRAY THAT THE CULTURE OF LIFE
AND THE CIVILIZATION OF LOVE WILL GROW BIGGER AND
STRONGER, AND MORE LOVING, EVERY DAY!
THANK YOU.
Building a Culture of Life 4/15