JUL 17 E COVERS 6_15 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 6/15/17 9:51 PM Page 1 JULY 2017 KNIGHTSOFCOLUMBUS Columbia July 2017.qxp_Layout 1 6/15/17 11:07 PM Page 1 P ROT E C T W H AT M AT T E R S M OST YOUR L IFE . YOUR FA M I LY. YOUR F UTURE . Find an agent at kofc.org or call 1-800-345-5632 LIFE INSURANCE DISABILITY INSURANCE LONG-TERM CARE ANNUITIES JUL 17 E 6_15 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 6/15/17 9:58 PM Page 1 KNIGHTSOFCOLUMBUS j u l y 2 0 1 7 ♦ V o l u m e 9 7 ♦ N u m b e r 7 COLUMBIA FEATURES 8 Caseys at the Bat Major league Knights delivered the national pastime to American doughboys “over there” during World War I. BY JIM LEEKE 12 ‘Grant Us Peace’ Order and U.S. Military Archdiocese co-sponsor annual pilgrimage of wounded warriors to Lourdes. BY COLUMBIA STAFF 14 A Revolution of Conscience The Knights of Columbus in Poland promote Emmy- winning documentary about John Paul II’s role in the fall of communism. BY TOMASZ ADAMSKI 18 Christian Truth in a Democratic World An interview with Prof. Ryszard Legutko about reconciling faith and politics in the secular West. BY ALTON J. PELOWSKI 22 Brothers in the Faith State officers of Utah share why they joined the Catholic Marine Sgt. Buster Miscusi, a member of Msgr. David M. Stoten- Church and the Knights of Columbus. bur Council 7237 in DeWitt, Mich., is pushed in a wheelchair by BY MARIE MISCHEL his wife, Monique, during the 2017 Warriors to Lourdes pilgrimage co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus (see story on page 12). DEPARTMENTS 36Building a better world Knights of Columbus News 21 Christians at Risk In a spirit of solidarity, leaders express Order Mourns Passing of Bishop As the Order continues to aid gratitude to God and work to protect Daily, Former Supreme Chaplain genocide victims, U.S. House offers the religious liberty of all. • Knights in Canada, Mexico support with bipartisan legislation. BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON March for Life 26 Knights in Action 4 Learning the faith, 7 Fathers for Good living the faith Starting a family in my early 20s It is sometimes easy to overlook the has filled my life with joy and scope of our Order’s charitable sup- blessings. port throughout the world. BY TIMOTHY KENNEY BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI PLUS: Catholic Man of the Month Photo by Tamino Petelinsek J U L Y 2 0 1 7 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 1 JUL 17 E 6_15 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 6/15/17 9:58 PM Page 2 EDITORIAL COLUMBIA PUBLISHER Knights of Columbus On the Side of Freedom ________ WHEN NAZI GERMANY invaded politics can become “a ‘secular religion,’ SUPREME OFFICERS Carl A. Anderson Poland in September 1939, 19-year-old which operates under the illusion of cre- SUPREME KNIGHT Karol Wojtyła, a college student in ating paradise in this world” (25). Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. Kraków, was forced into manual labor. The foundation of any free society, SUPREME CHAPLAIN Patrick E. Kelly His beloved father — his last living fam- John Paul II argued, is recognition of “the DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT ily member — died less than two years rights of the human conscience” (29). He Michael J. O’Connor later. Wojtyła then entered Kraków’s explained that “in constantly reaffirming SUPREME SECRETARY Ronald F. Schwarz clandestine seminary in 1942, in the face the transcendent dignity of the person, SUPREME TREASURER of atrocities committed by the Nazi the Church’s method is always that of re- John A. Marrella SUPREME ADVOCATE regime. By the time he was ordained spect for freedom.” In contrast, the mod- ________ four years later, World War II had ended ern claim that “there is no ultimate truth EDITORIAL and the Soviet Army “liberated” Poland, to guide and direct political activity” eas- Alton J. Pelowski replacing one totalitarian government ily leads to tyranny (46). Far from com- EDITOR Andrew J. Matt with another. For the next three decades, promising the legitimate autonomy of MANAGING EDITOR Wojtyła fostered a vibrant Christian the state or the freedom of others, the Anna M. Bninski identity among the people he served as Christian view of the human person af- ASSOCIATE EDITOR a priest, bishop and cardinal, despite the firms that fundamental rights must al- state’s atheistic ideology. ways be respected. In 1979, he returned to his homeland Where does all of this leave us, partic- as Pope John Paul II, sparking a spiritual ularly in our mission as faithful citizens revolution that led to the eventual col- and Knights of Columbus, today? For lapse of communism in Central and East- one thing, it means that we are called to ern Europe (see page 14). In 1991, 18 continue our defense of religious freedom Venerable Michael McGivney (1852-90) Apostle to the Young, months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, — described in Centesimus Annus as “the Protector of Christian Family Life and he published an encyclical titled Centes- source and synthesis” of other human Founder of the Knights of Columbus, Intercede for Us. imus Annus. The document marked the rights (47) — whether it is threatened by ________ 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s secularism, totalitarianism or Islamist fun- HOW TO REACH US groundbreaking social encyclical, Rerum damentalism. In addition, we must re- MAIL Novarum, by developing its key insights member that political challenges are COLUMBIA 1 Columbus Plaza and outlining principles regarding human rooted in cultural challenges. “In order to New Haven, CT 06510-3326 rights and the role of the state. overcome today’s widespread individual- ADDRESS CHANGES 203-752-4210, option #3 For example, the pope recognized the istic mentality,” John Paul II observed, [email protected] value of free markets but warned against “what is required is a concrete commitment PRAYER CARDS & SUPPLIES a “consumer society.” The latter, he to solidarity and charity, beginning in the 203-752-4214 COLUMBIA INQUIRIES wrote, actually “agrees with Marxism, in family” (49). That is to say, the fight for 203-752-4398 the sense that it totally reduces man to freedom begins in our own homes and FAX the sphere of economics and the satisfac- communities, and it begins with charity.♦ 203-752-4109 K OF C CUSTOMER SERVICE tion of material needs” (Centesimus 1-800-380-9995 Annus, 19). In a similar way, he advocated ALTON J. PELOWSKI E-MAIL for political engagement but warned that EDITOR [email protected] INTERNET kofc.org/columbia ________ Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) The film Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the of Communism (see article on page 14) is currently available Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to on DVD, Netflix and digital platforms including iTunes live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church. and Amazon. After airing throughout the United States and ________ Canada, the 90-minute film, produced by Supreme Knight Copyright © 2017 All rights reserved Carl A. Anderson and narrated by Jim Caviezel, received ________ two Chicago/ Midwest Regional Emmy Awards in Decem- ON THE COVER ber 2016. For more information, visit jp2film.com.♦ Johnny Evers, a Hall of Fame second baseman who served as a K of C secretary in France COVER: Photo courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y. during World War I, is pictured in 1909. ♦ COLUMBIA ♦ J U L Y 2 0 1 7 2 JUL 17 E 6_15 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 6/15/17 9:58 PM Page 3 BUILDINGABETTERWORLD The Prayer of a Nation In a spirit of solidarity, leaders express gratitude to God and work to protect the religious liberty of all by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson ON MAY 4, I had the honor of join- equality and justice be established in ing Cardinal Donald Wuerl, arch- human society.” bishop of Washington; Cardinal Years ago, Father Patrick Peyton re- Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galve- peatedly reminded us that “the family ston-Houston and president of the that prays together, stays together.” Per- U.S. bishops’ conference; members of haps the same might be said of nations. “process of alleviating the serious bur- the Little Sisters of the Poor; and lead- Approximately six decades ago, the den of the HHS mandate” had in- ers of Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish Knights of Columbus led the effort to deed begun. and other faith communities at a add the words “under God” to the Just days after the president’s signing White House Rose Garden ceremony U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The phrase of the executive order, I had the privi- during the National Day of Prayer. is taken from Abraham Lincoln’s Get- lege of a one-on-one meeting with The event, at which President tysburg Address. Vice President Pence to discuss these Trump signed an executive order on And it was Lincoln who first pro- issues in more detail. religious liberty, began with the claimed a National Day of Prayer in It is said that a journey of a thou- singing of the Lord’s Prayer. 1863, stating that “it is the duty of na- sand miles begins with a single step.