I do not have to apologize for being a member of the Knights of Columbus

      Making the news are questions that Senator Kamala Harris is asking of nominee Brian Buescher for the federal district court in Nebraska.  Senator Harris asked: “Since 1993, you have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men. In 2016, Carl Anderson, leader of the Knights of Columbus, described abortion as “a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.” Mr. Anderson went on to say that “abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale.” Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?…Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when you joined the organization?….Have you ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against women’s reproductive rights?”

      I don’t know how to respond to this.  I am a proud member of the Knights of Columbus.  I have never met such a wonderful group of men.  They stand up for the dignity of the human being.  They defend the vulnerable and the unborn.  They help out here at the parish, doing with joyful hearts whatever I ask them to do.  We have been helping out the Carmelite sisters here in Jackson in such an amazing way - doing considerable renovations and repairs at their monastery and raising money to do so themselves.  I am proud to be a knight and I humbly serve as their spiritual advisor.  I give thanks for the Knights of Columbus, for the joy in which they live out the Catholic faith.  It should not be something for which we feel shame.  

      I think about what we do as a parish and how I live out my faith as a priest - ministering to the prisoners, serving the patients at the state mental hospital, reaching out to local college students, starting a ministry in Spanish in our parish, and reaching out to the Carmelite nuns.  All of this I do out of my spirituality as a Catholic priest and my spiritual identity as a Knight of Columbus.  I do these things with humility and generosity of spirit.  I do not have to apologize to anyone for doing so.