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Yet another sub cult of the Catholic Church, the Knight of Columbus finance bigotry campaigns, violence against women and defend catholic pedophiles.

Source:National Catholic Reporter

Next month, the Knights of Columbus will celebrate the 130th anniversary of their incorporation as a benefit society. Founded by a young parish priest and parishioners, the Knights united to serve their community with a special focus on supporting widows, orphans and those in need.

Since then, the order has grown to 1.8 million Catholic men worldwide, rightly proud of their reputation for parish involvement, volunteer service and charitable contributions. In recent years, however, top officials at the Knights of Columbus have been funneling the organization's "charitable contributions" not only to charity, but to politics of division.

In 2008 and 2009, the Supreme Knight's charitable report shows the organization gave more to "family life" projects than they did to "community projects." On the surface this sounds benign, but "family life" is the Knights' terminology for predominantly anti-gay initiatives, whereas "community projects" represents soup kitchens and food pantries.

Among the "community projects," the Knights contributed $5,000 to disaster relief in Indiana and $3,000 to the community soup kitchen in New Haven, Conn., where the organization is headquartered, according to the 2010 Annual Report of the Supreme Knight. This deserves applause, until you learn that under the same category of "community projects," they financed a $530,000 contribution to the Becket Fund, an organization of politically controversial lawyers. Do these lawyers really need the Knights' charity? *Fucking scumbag catholic lawyers.

Additionally, in 2009 and 2010, Knights officials contributed $200,000 as noted in annual reports to Vox Clara, the bishops' committee responsible for turning back the clock on the liturgy and implementing the recent controversial language changes in the Mass. They have been a significant funder of the committee since 2006.

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Over the same time period, the Knights donated almost $1.2 million to fund the bishops' newly created committee that works against equal protection for gays and lesbians and dubbed it "charity" in their annual report.

The Knights note in their reports that they give approximately $500,000 each year out of their "charitable contributions" toward the Catholic Information Service, a program ostensibly designed to educate people about Catholic teachings. The program, however, goes beyond even normative church teaching and might even surprise some bishops.

For example, on the topic of same-gender orientation, the Knights' pamphlet ignores that the bishops acknowledge homosexual orientation and instead purports: "... The only genuinely [sic] sexual orientation is heterosexual. ... There are no homosexuals but only heterosexuals with a homosexual problem" (excerpt from Same Sex Attraction: Catholic Teaching and Pastoral Practice, pg. 6).

In the Knights' pamphlet on women, the author writes that the "the key feature of femininity [is] receptivity ... to accept and affirm everything simply as it is. This is contrasted with the masculine soul, which reflects God's creativity, and which has been fashioned to take initiative -- to 'make' and to 'do'" (excerpt from The Gift of Woman, pg. 11, italics not mine).

Where do top officials of the Knights acquire the resources to fund all this programming? Take a look at your insurance policy or your yearly charitable contributions. You may be indirectly supporting some of these programs.

As word spreads about what a small circle of high-level Knights are doing with the annual "charitable contributions," this reputable fraternity could lose the trust of supportive Catholics. The Knights' reputation could be lost not only if they continue funding programming that goes against what the majority of Catholics believe, but funding what is disproportionate to their claim of serving the most vulnerable.

After 130 years, at their core, is the Knights of Columbus organization still a benefit to society? Yes, but who they benefit is in question.

An army of catholic assholes.

Source: Yale University

The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charity organization headquartered in New Haven, is the target of a sexual abuse lawsuit.

After two Texas men who claim the organization neglected to protect them from a sexual predator in the 1970s and 1980s filed a lawsuit against the Knights last December, the Knights moved to have the case dismissed Mar. 14. The Knights deny all allegations and claim to have acted promptly when they first became aware of the problem in 2009. They have asked the United States District Court in Hartford to dismiss the case on the grounds it was filed too late.
Eli Markham

The two men, who were both members of the Knights’ youth program, Columbian Squires, claim that they were molested by Juan Rivera, the leader of the Squires in Brownsville, Tex. They claim that the Knights of Columbus refused to act or protect them despite learning about the incident 25 years ago.

Patrick Korten, senior vice president for the Knights of Columbus, said the Knights created a set of policies for the Squires to avoid potential instances of sexual abuse in 2003, though this was not in response to any reported incidents.

Jeffrey Herman, a lawyer representing both plaintiffs, disagreed that the Supreme Council was ignorant of sexual abuses in the Squires in general.

“They concealed their knowledge to protect the entity, the organization,” Herman said, adding that there was a culture of sexual abuse in the Knights during the 1980s.

He said an example of this was shown in John Doe’s complaint, which alleged that he was “shared” by Rivera with another Columbian Squires leader in another city.

“From what my clients have shared I’m very concerned that this was not isolated,” said Jeffrey Herman, a lawyer representing both plaintiffs. “The victims would tell me that they would go to the statewide conferences and they would be paraded around like they were the boyfriends of the leaders.”

In December 2010, two men, one self-identified as James Dennany and the other under the name John Doe, filed suit against the Knights of Columbus. Each suit asked for damage compensation of $5 million.

This is the first time that the Knights have been implicated in such a scandal, Herman said. His Miami-based law firm, Herman, Mermelstein & Horowitz, focuses solely on sexual abuse cases, especially ones involving clergy.

The lawsuit may be complicated by the fact that ­the Texas statute of limitations has expired. Korten explained that the case should have been filed in Texas, not Connecticut, because the alleged abuses all took place in Texas. If a minor is a victim of sexual abuse in Texas, under the state’s statute of limitations the plaintiff must file a lawsuit before turning 20 ; both men are in their 40s.

“They filed it here [in Connecticut] probably because we have a more generous statute of limitations,” Korten said.

Korten said he is confident that the case will be dismissed because of Texas’ law. The Knights’ key claim is that no one on the Knights’ Supreme Council, their governing body, knew about the abuses until 2009.

But to the plaintiffs, it is appropriate that the cases were filed in Connecticut because the alleged concealment and negligence took place at the New Haven headquarters, Herman said. By focusing on the alleged wrongdoing of the Knights’ Supreme Council, the plaintiffs may be able to keep the case from being dismissed.

Cherie Benjoseph of the KidSafe Foundation, a non-profit that educates parents and children to watch out for the “red flags” of sexual abuse, said that it is not unusual for victims of molestation to wait a long time before speaking out.

“There are so many layers of shame and guilt. [The victims] feel responsible for it as well. They do what we refer to as self-sacrifice,” she said. “It’s very psychologically complicated.”

Sexual abuse is not uncommon among youth groups, Benjoseph said. She explained that youth groups are very attractive to predators because they provide easy access to children in situations with little adult supervision. This is compounded, she said, by the volunteer aspect.

“That’s what pedophiles do: they volunteer,” Benjoseph said. “If it looks too good to be true, it’s probably too good to be true.”

There are approximately 25,000 members of the Knights of Columbus in Connecticut.

Do you ever shut up?

Go Knights of Columbus! I'm going to give them a big donation tomorrow, especially so they can give more to the wonderful Becket and defend themselves against frivolous, time-barred lawsuits.

Go Dodger Joe!

Look at these fucking asshats.

Nothing but a cult.

WASHINGTON, D. C., October 18--The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, has used its extensive financial resources to become one of the most aggressive opponents of marriage equality in the United States, according to a report released today by Equally Blessed. The group is a coalition of four Catholic groups that support equal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the church and the wider society.

While local branches of the Knights continue the charitable activities for which the organization has long been known, the organization’s national leadership under Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, a former Reagan administration staff member, has become increasingly politicized, the report says.

“Carl Anderson is using the good name that the Knights have developed over generations as cover while pursuing policies and making alliances that many Catholics find deeply troubling when they learn about them,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a member of the Equally Blessed coalition.
According to the report, which is based primarily on the Knights’ filings with the Internal Revenue Service, the organization donated $6.25 million to anti-marriage equality efforts between 2005-2012, with most of the money directed toward ballot measures aimed at banning marriage equality in 12 states.

The sum includes:

$1.9 million in donations to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), $1.4 million of which was devoted to a successful and highly controversial campaign to overturn marriage equality legislation in Maine.
a $1.1 million dollar donation to ProjectMarriage.com which supported the passage of Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that banned marriage equality in California.
more than $630,000 in donations to groups working against marriage equality through ballot initiatives that will be voted on next month in Maryland, Minnesota and Washington.
According to NOM’s internal memos, unsealed during legal proceedings in Maine, the organization adopted a strategy of turning the Black and Hispanic communities against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people during the campaign to overturn marriage equality legislation in that state. The same memos advocated finding children who had been raised by same-sex couples and persuading them to speak out against their parents.

“The Knights portray themselves as representatives of a broad Catholic tradition, but they have become culture warriors,” said David Saavedra, co-president of the board of Call To Action, an Equally Blessed coalition member. “Most U. S. Catholics support marriage equality, and even those who have doubts are put off by these hardline tactics.”
The report, which was made possible by contributions from Equally Blessed organizations, the Human Rights Campaign and several individual donors, also examines the Knights’ support for legal and educational initiatives to thwart marriage equality.

The Knights has contributed $1.5 million to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has mounted legal challenges to marriage equality on the grounds that it infringes upon the religious liberties of those who oppose it, and more than $1.1 million to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage.

Since 2009, the Knights has assessed each of its 1.8 million members a $2 annual fee to support its Culture of Life initiative, which includes its campaign against marriage equality, the report notes. Many Catholics who support the Knights’ charitable initiatives in their parish or diocese are largely unaware of the organization’s involvement in “culture war” issues both inside and outside the church.

“So many of us have memories of our fathers and grandfathers putting on their Knights’ regalia to march in parades and participate in special Masses,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which is a member of the coalition. “We remember them raising scholarship money so Catholic kids could go to college. It is deeply disheartening to know that this same organization is requiring its members to contribute to campaigns aimed at making sure that some of those kids are treated as second-class citizens.”
According to the report, the Knights has accrued significant influence within the Roman Catholic Church thanks to large contributions to the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It uses that influence, the report states, to advance a conservative political and theological agenda, sometimes at the expense of other U. S. Catholics.

According to media reports, the Knights partially funded an investigation into the work of U. S. nuns by the Vatican’s Congregation for Religious. This investigation preceded the investigation by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which has culminated in an attempt to delegitimize the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). The LCWR, many of whose members are strong advocates for economic justice, represents 80 percent of women religious in the United States. The Vatican criticized the group for seeming to challenge positions taken by bishops “who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals.”

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the Knights’ chaplain, reportedly called for the investigation into the LCWR. The Knights contributed $265,000 to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, a smaller, more politically and theologically conservative group of nuns.

“It is a shame to see the Knights using their influence against women who have served the church so well for so long," said Mary Ellen Lopata, co-founder of Fortunate Families, a coalition member.
Equally Blessed is a coalition of faithful Catholics who support full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people both in the church and in civil society. Equally Blessed includes four organizations that have spent a combined 115 years working on behalf of LGBT people and their families: Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, and New Ways Ministry.

I'm not surprised. One need only peruse a copy of their magazine, "Columbia," to assess what a far-right agenda the Knights have adopted. My husband is a member, but declined to ascend to the fourth degree that has some sort of hush-hush rules or rituals, making it sound junior-highish. What's to hide? The Knights seem to have joined secretive societies like Opus Dei and the Legionairres. All seem to yearn for some idealized past and suffer fear of the present and future. More evidence of the medieval nature of so much of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Montini was right. We are at least 200 years behind.

From the comments on the previous post. The Catholic Church is full of these subcults. Their abhorrent beliefs and rituals are an embarrassment to humanity.

JoltinJoe wrote:Do you ever shut up?

.

You stirred the pot. You fail to realize the Catholic Church is a cornucopia of horrendous deeds and utter nonsense.

When you shut up, I will.

More comments:

I HAVE BEEN ANTI-KNIGHTS SINCE THE 40'S WHEN THEY PICKETED OUR LOCAL PARISH CHURCH TO DENY ADMITTANCE OF MY DAD BECAUSE, GOD HELP US, HE WAS "ITALIAN". SO, NO, ANYTHING THEY DO DOES NOT SURPRISE ME !!!
SOME OF THE VERY BEST FRIENDS I HAVE JUST HAPPEN TO BE GAY, AS WELL AS A GRANDAUGHTER AND GRANDNEPHEW. THIS IS THE KIND OF THINKING THAT HAS THE CHURCH ON THE ROCKS TODAY !!

More comments from decent Catholics:

Ilch
Submitted by Marie on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:12am
I'm appalled that the Knights of Columbus have become so politicized. The investigation of the LCWR by the Vatican is the most egregious example of a distraction from the sex abuse scandal. The Sisters have been living Vatican II values in their ministries faithfully. The gospel of Jesus Christ with inclusion of all has been the hallmark of their ministry. The Knights should spend their money on the poor and marginalized and stay out of politics.

Reply
knights rifle and crucifix cover
Submitted by pat marie on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:16pm
Months ago, I wrote to the Knights, locally and the national organization, about the cover of Columbia that showed a man on horseback carrying a rifle and a crucifix. This came from the movie on Catholic persecutions in Mexico. I and others felt that the cover promoted the idea of violent terrorism in the name of the cross and our faith, something we as Catholic Christians should oppose, not promote. This film showed violent acts in another country nearly 100 years ago, but the Church was pushing it ad nauseum as fearmongering (along with the ridiculous "fortnight" business), to lead Catholics to believe that Obamacare was leading to persecution of our faith, something we needed to rise up and fight against even using violence. Total nonsense and just plain wrong on so many levels. Here you show even more wrongs from the top levels of the Knights. It is sad, given their proud history and good works locally.

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Knights of Columbus financial contributions
Submitted by Dorothy Andries on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 1:05pm
This is very troubling. Thank you, Fortunate Families/Equally Blessed, for calling this to our attention.
And to learn they helped fund the Vatican investigation of LCWR is also deeply disturbing, as many thoughtful Catholics were and still are shocked that the devotion to the faith and service to the needy by religious women has been challenged..
Despite their religious trappings, the Knights are an obviously prosperous insurance organization. Do they enjoy tax-exempt status? If so, do not these donations and activities endanger that privilege?

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self vs other
Submitted by jeffreyd on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 2:18pm
After a 2 year stint as GK I had enough. I found that most councils are all about themselves. I initiated a charity fund that was funded by a pancake breakfast. The council had NO and I mean NO inclination to be involved with 'giving away' money. After my stint the council changed the charity fund to a seminarians fund which finances our priests to be. I also saw the political writing on the wall, with the ultra conservatives taking control at the local and national levels. I quit paying dues soon after my tenure as GK, knowing I could not support such a narrow minded group. A great problem with the organization IS the Supreme GK, a Reagan holdover who enjoys the accolades from Rome for the work he does to fund them and their proxies.

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KofC
Submitted by Sue Ablao on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 2:35pm
And we are surprised because???

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Knights/Marriage Act
Submitted by Pauline Ston on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 2:50pm
My father was a Knight and so proud to be one. They performed good works and they prayed, and they took good care of their families. He would be saddened to learn that his beloved grandson was being treated this way our Church.

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I have been a member of the K
Submitted by Allan on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 5:45pm
I have been a member of the K of C for over 15 years. Our local chapter has won numerous awards for its amazing charitable work. I am also the proud father of a wonderful daughter who happens to be gay. I find the news in this article to be infuriating and incredibly sad. How can we as a Church say we are followers of Jesus when we treat our LGBT children this way?

Reply
I'm a fourth degree and no
Submitted by Tony on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 10:30pm
I'm a fourth degree and no longer pay dues. I've seen for a number of years where they were headed and it is scary. Most of the men in local councils choose not to apply the gospel in the world around them but keep their eyes closed.

Joe, you should apply to be their Grand Wizard. You were born to do that.

As an Irish former altar boy and teenage organist in our local St. Patricks Church, I can definitely understand why these old duffers in KofC are terrified of gays in their midst... all those secret rituals and fancy jewelry and feathery hats and colorful uniforms -- who wants the competition??? My grand Irish father sent me a birthday card once: "What's the difference between a gay bar and an Irish bar? In a gay bar, the homosexuals get drunk; in an Irish bar, the drunks get homosexual!"

But financing the witch hunt against the nuns of NETWORK and LCWR, the saintly people who actually get their hands dirty and do the tough, on-the-ground good works that make the Church leaders look charitable -- that's going way too far.

Fortunately, the actuarial tables of life are running out on these guys. Meanwhile, they're like Japanese soldiers hiding in island caves doing quixotic battle, unaware that the war is over and the world has moved on. It would all be sadly amusing if it weren't for the damage that they still do to the self-images of young people. Ugh.

CLASSIC. LMAO.

As an Irish former altar boy and teenage organist in our local St. Patricks Church, I can definitely understand why these old duffers in KofC are terrified of gays in their midst... all those secret rituals and fancy jewelry and feathery hats and colorful uniforms -- who wants the competition??? My grand Irish father sent me a birthday card once: "What's the difference between a gay bar and an Irish bar? In a gay bar, the homosexuals get drunk; in an Irish bar, the drunks get homosexual!"

But financing the witch hunt against the nuns of NETWORK and LCWR, the saintly people who actually get their hands dirty and do the tough, on-the-ground good works that make the Church leaders look charitable -- that's going way too far.

Fortunately, the actuarial tables of life are running out on these guys. Meanwhile, they're like Japanese soldiers hiding in island caves doing quixotic battle, unaware that the war is over and the world has moved on. It would all be sadly amusing if it weren't for the damage that they still do to the self-images of young people. Ugh.

CLASSIC. LMAO.

JoltinJoe wrote:

Nice surrender.

The only genuinely [sic] sexual orientation is heterosexual.

You know that's an interesting statement. In a narrow biological sense sex is male/female copulation. Culturally we define "sex" far more broadly. But biologically that's what the act of sex is. So in one sense that Statement is correct. The only genuine sexual orientation is heterosexual.

Same sex attraction is something else. Same sex "sex" isn't really sex.

JohnStOnge wrote:

The only genuinely [sic] sexual orientation is heterosexual.

You know that's an interesting statement. In a narrow biological sense sex is male/female copulation. Culturally we define "sex" far more broadly. But biologically that's what the act of sex is. So in one sense that Statement is correct. The only genuine sexual orientation is heterosexual.

Same sex attraction is something else. Same sex "sex" isn't really sex.

Eat shit,Nutbag.

Eat ****,Nutbag.

You know I have to admit I did that back in high school and college. I"d pull psilocybin mushrooms right out of cow paddies and eat them. Kind of pulled off the bottom part, brushed them off and all but the sad truth is I WAS eating fecal material when I did that. Sometimes I'd do something like jam them inside a fruit pie so as to obliterate the taste. But I was still eating what I was eating even if I was making an effort to pull off the part that was...you know...in it.

Kind of disturbing to think about later. BUT I did have some really good times. And I'm so old that back when I first started doing that it wasn't even illegal. How cool is THAT?

After reading every post in this thread, it's being DOMINATED by Joltin Joe.

Whoever the catholic was that raped D1B in grade school, they did an epic job.

D1B wrote:

Look at these **** asshats.

Nothing but a cult.

FIFY.

JohnStOnge wrote:

Eat ****,Nutbag.

You know I have to admit I did that back in high school and college. I"d pull psilocybin mushrooms right out of cow paddies and eat them. Kind of pulled off the bottom part, brushed them off and all but the sad truth is I WAS eating fecal material when I did that. Sometimes I'd do something like jam them inside a fruit pie so as to obliterate the taste. But I was still eating what I was eating even if I was making an effort to pull off the part that was...you know...in it.

Kind of disturbing to think about later. BUT I did have some really good times. And I'm so old that back when I first started doing that it wasn't even illegal. How cool is THAT?

I smoked Labrador.

Whoever the catholic was that raped D1B in grade school, they did an epic job.

As long as he realizes that if there was EVER an example of a "bigot" he is it. He's got an extreme and powerful bigotry with respect to Catholicism.

Which is fine. It's one of those words people are afraid of but you can be a "bigot" and be absolutely correct.

JohnStOnge wrote:

The only genuinely [sic] sexual orientation is heterosexual.

You know that's an interesting statement. In a narrow biological sense sex is male/female copulation. Culturally we define "sex" far more broadly. But biologically that's what the act of sex is. So in one sense that Statement is correct. The only genuine sexual orientation is heterosexual.

Same sex attraction is something else. Same sex "sex" isn't really sex.

Actually, no.... clearly not the case when we examine the broader biological world. Dual sex species, those species which are also known as hermaphrodites. Clonal species that require sperm of a related species for the ova to divide; yet, no genetic material from the male is actually used; the so-called sexual parasites. Hybridiogenesis, kleptogenesis (DNA theives), selfing (sex with yourself) and on and on and on and on. God must be a sexual freak... guy seems to revel in sexual variety across all of his creations.

Actually, no.... clearly not the case when we examine the broader biological world. Dual sex species, those species which are also known as hermaphrodites. Clonal species that require sperm of a related species for the ova to divide; yet, no genetic material from the male is actually used; the so-called sexual parasites. Hybridiogenesis, kleptogenesis (DNA theives), selfing (sex with yourself) and on and on and on and on. God must be a sexual freak... guy seems to revel in sexual variety across all of his creations.

Ok. I will modify the statement to refer to dioecious animal species with two separate and distinct sexes such as our own. In our species what we call "homosexual sex" isn't really sex in the narrowest sense.

JohnStOnge wrote:

The only genuinely [sic] sexual orientation is heterosexual.

You know that's an interesting statement. In a narrow biological sense sex is male/female copulation. Culturally we define "sex" far more broadly. But biologically that's what the act of sex is. So in one sense that Statement is correct. The only genuine sexual orientation is heterosexual.

Same sex attraction is something else. Same sex "sex" isn't really sex.

So anal sex with a woman isn't actually sex? I'm sure there's a lot of rape convicts out there who wish that were true.

o anal sex with a woman isn't actually sex? I'm sure there's a lot of rape convicts out there who wish that were true.

By the definition we use it's sex because that definition involves all sexually motivated behavior. I'm just talking about in the narrowest since. The way we define sex now is, to me, kind of like if we were to define all behavior motivated by the need to take in nourishment as "digestion."

I think that in a very narrow sense sex is the process directly involved in what in at least some circumstances leads to sexual reproduction. That's the actual act of sex in that sense.

But it really doesn't matter. It's our language and words mean what the culture wants them to mean. Kind of like the way "gay," which used to primarily mean "happy," now has the primary meaning "homosexual." In fact I'd guess there are people that don't even know that it also means "happy" and that less than 100 years ago that's what people commonly construed it to mean.