VATICAN CITY, AUG. 16, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming his personal gratitude to the members of the Knights of Columbus, and assuring them that fidelity to God is the best response to «often unfair and unfounded» attacks on the Church and its leaders.
The Pope made this affirmation through his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a message sent to Carl Anderson, the leader of the men’s charitable organization. The Knights were gathered earlier this month in their 128th convention.
The papal message offered a particular congratulations to Anderson, who marked the 10th anniversary of his election as supreme knight.
Referring to the Knights’ commitment to the «Gospel imperative of love of neighbor,» the letter affirmed the Holy Father’s «gratitude for this great outpouring of solidarity and love, which represents an outstanding witness to the charity of Christ and the saving truth of the Gospel.»
«His Holiness is personally grateful for the generous support which the Knights have given him in recent months, especially through their constant prayers and particularly in the Novena conducted on the eve of the fifth anniversary of his election,» the message continued. «He remains deeply consoled by this testimony of fidelity to Christ’s vicar amid the turbulence of the times, and he asks that prayers continue to be offered up for the unity of the Church, the spread of the Gospel and the conversion of hearts.»
Priest supporters
The Pontiff also thanked the Knights for their «spiritual solidarity with the clergy» during the Year for Priests, which concluded in June.
«Here too, your traditional spirit of faith and fraternity found ready expression in the desire to stand, as your ‘brother’s keeper,’ alongside your priests and to confirm them in their vocation to holiness and the generous service of God’s People,» the message noted. «In the face of often unfair and unfounded attacks on the Church and her leaders, His Holiness is convinced that the most effective response is a great fidelity to God’s word, a more resolute pursuit of holiness, and an increased commitment to charity in truth on the part of all the faithful.
«He asks the Knights to persevere in their witness of faith and charity, in the serene trust that, as the Church embraces this period of purification, her light will come to shine all the more brightly before men and women of fair mind and good will.»
The papal message further lauded the Knights for efforts to «uphold the reasonableness of the Church’s moral teaching and its importance for a sound, just and enduring social order.»
As well, he praised their «witness to the sanctity of human life and the authentic nature of marriage,» and lauded the Knights’ efforts to «promote in the Catholic laity a greater consciousness of the need to overcome every separation between the faith we profess and the daily decisions which shape our lives as individuals and the life of society as a whole.»
At the convention, the Knights made eight resolutions, including efforts to build a culture of life, to be in solidarity with Benedict XVI, to support the institution of marriage, and to honor Mother Teresa of Calcutta on the 100th anniversary of her birth.
The 2011 convention will be held next August in Denver, Colorado.
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On the Net: www.zenit.org/article-30059?l=english
Information about the annual convention: www.kofc.org/eb/en//index.html
