Sotelo: Knights of Columbus leadership seeks to redefine charity

[UrbScotty]

I have always been impressed by the Knights of Columbus' dedication to charity. But over a period of four years, the Knights have donated more than $1.4 million of their "charitable contributions" not to the poor, but to sponsor Catholic bishops to attend medical ethics workshops that increasingly carry a political agenda.

The Knights' sponsorship of these political workshops is listed in their annual reports as charity alongside their Coats for Kids and Food for Families programs. Charity and bishops are both seven-letter words, but I have never confused the two. Unfortunately, it seems the Knights of Columbus have.

…

I am grateful the Knights are interested in educating bishops about medical ethics, but these classes appear less about education and more about politics. Plus, the fact that the Knights' leadership is using its charitable contributions for politically oriented workshops instead of charity, as their supporters are led to believe, seems anything but ethical.

The Knights of Columbus leadership themselves could benefit from an ethics workshop, one that focuses on the difference between politics and charity.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/young-voices/knights-columbus-redefine-charity-giving-bishops

[demosincebirth]

1. they are a very conservative group.

[CountAllVotes]

2. I have little respect for them with good reason

I am related to an old Monsignor that once rode horseback to and from various parishes in California. He was well thought of and highly respected in his day. He lived to be almost 100 years old, dying in the 1940s.

I went to Mass a few months ago and there were a couple of young men at the exit with tags on their shirts that said "Knights of Columbus" and had my Monsignor's name under it.

I asked them what was it that they did? They told me that they had meetings and they talked about how important the right to life is. I queried them further and they had NO IDEA WHO my Monsignor was yet they wore his name on their lapels.

I was angered by this lack of knowledge and told them that they need to read a book he edited in his day and gave them the name of said book. They acted as if they were interested but I could sort of tell they really were not.

I felt the reason they were there was to push their right to life agenda and shove it down the throat with no knowledge of the Monsignor nor his life and work. Sad as hell in retrospect.

They pose to be ultra-conservative but I happen to have many male members in my family that were in the Knights of Columbus and believe me, they were anything BUT ultra-conservative IMO. It is like a fraternity IMO.

[demosincebirth]

3. They do good works, but they sticklers for opposing a womens right to choose