Knights of Columbus of Tuscaloosa, AL » Press Release

Joint Letter from the Bishops of the Catholic Dioceses in Alabama about the HHS Mandate

KofC Tuscaloosa, AL — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:48:08 +0000

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

As the Catholic bishops in the state of Alabama, we feel compelled to write to you, the Catholics of Alabama and all men and women of good will, because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently announced a new regulation which strikes at a fundamental right of religious liberty.

This federal agency has mandated that by 2013 almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes medical procedures and drugs which Catholics consider to be immoral – sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be compelled by the federal government to include those “services” in the health policies that they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as part of their policies.

Thus, Catholic hospitals, Catholic colleges and universities, Catholic Social Services, and Catholic schools, among other Church ministries, as well as individual Catholics, will be forced to provide morally objectionable and even abortion causing drugs and procedures.

With this regulation, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. It was not at random that the writers of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution placed religious liberty as the First Freedom of our country. No country which seeks to coerce its citizens to violate their religious consciences will long maintain its liberties.

This action of the federal government will coerce Catholics to act contrary to deeply held moral principles and to provide contraception and sterilization even though we consider this to be morally wrong. This is not about health care but about the federal government’s attempt to weaken religious liberty in our country. We, as people of faith, and as Americans, must call upon our government to fully respect religious freedom.

We cannot, and we will not, comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are encouraged that members of all faiths and many other people of good will have joined us in this vital effort to protect religious liberty in our country. Throughout our history as a nation, the Church has always been able to count on its faithful members to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I pray and trust that she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

As you may be aware, the bishops of our area of the country have recently returned from a visit to Rome. Each bishop makes this visit to Rome every five years in order to pray at the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul, to meet with the members of the various Vatican offices which coordinate the mission of the Church throughout the world, and to meet with the Holy Father in order to discuss with him the Church in our dioceses. While in Rome, we heard about the challenges Catholics in some parts of the world must confront in order to live their faith.

It was painful to return to our own country and to see that religious liberty in our nation is under attack. Although the Administration has given assurances that the freedom of conscience would be respected in our country, these new federal regulations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are a clear assault on the freedoms cherished by Americans.

Therefore, we ask of you to do two things: First, as a community of faith, we must pray that wisdom and justice will prevail and that religious liberty will be restored. We ask for prayer and for fasting. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, we recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this assault on religious liberty and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

May God bless each of you, and may God bless our country!

Sincerely in the Lord,

Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, D.D, Archbishop of Mobile
Most Reverend Robert J. Baker, S.T.D, Bishop of Birmingham in Alabama

Supreme Court rejects latest challenge to “under God” in Pledge of Allegiance

KofC Tuscaloosa, AL — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:26:01 +0000

Knights of Columbus waged successful defense on East and West Coast cases

The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, thus ending a seven year battle involving two separate cases, one originating in California and the other in New Hampshire. The Knights of Columbus, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, played a key role in defending the Pledge as a “defendant intervenor” in both cases.

“The Knights of Columbus is proud to have played a major role in successfully defending the constitutionality of the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said. “We were instrumental in persuading Congress to add those words to the Pledge in 1954, and they express a fundamental belief that we have held as a nation since our founding, that we ‘are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.’ The notion that this somehow violates the First Amendment has now been soundly rejected by both the First and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court has now allowed both decisions to stand. It is a victory for common sense.”

The Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in March 2010 and the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the California case in March 2011. The First Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in November 2011 and the Supreme Court denied certiorari in that case yesterday, June 13, 2011.

Source: KofC.org

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Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best renew top ratings for Knights of Columbus

KofC Tuscaloosa, AL — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:52:12 +0000

(NEW HAVEN, CT) – Two of the world’s largest rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best, have affirmed their top financial strength ratings for the Knights of Columbus.

Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed its top rating of AAA (Extremely Strong) for the 18th consecutive year, and A.M. Best reaffirmed its top rating of A++ (Superior) for the 35th consecutive year.

Standard & Poor’s said that its rating of the financial strength of the Knights of Columbus is “based on its extremely strong capital, very strong competitive position because of its unique strategic advantage in the Catholic market, historically strong profitability, and extremely strong liquidity.” S&P called Knights of Columbus operating performance “very strong,” reflecting “an asset portfolio that consists primarily of high-quality, investment-grade bonds.” S&P also said that the Knights of Columbus “is achieving its primary objective of providing members and their families with high-quality, low-cost insurance products.”

A.M. Best said that “The ratings of the Order reflect its strong fraternal and insurance presence within the Catholic communities in the United States and Canada, its superior risk-adjusted capitalization as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio and the Order’s consistently positive operating results.” A.M. Best also declared that the Knights of Columbus “has a strong affinity with its large membership base through its charitable programs and competitive portfolio of life insurance and annuity products.”

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson welcomed the announcements, saying that they represent “a clear vote of confidence in our combination of a very strong sales and marketing team with exceptionally skillful management of our investments. The fact that we’ve earned these ratings for 18 consecutive years and 35 consecutive years, respectively, through good times and bad, demonstrates a clear recognition of our success in managing our assets for the benefit of all the Knights and their families who rely on Knights of Columbus life insurance to help secure their financial futures.”

Knights of Columbus products include term and whole life insurance, annuities and long-term care insurance.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest lay Catholic organization, with more than 1.8 million members on three continents. Its insurance products are available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, while a separate program serves members in the Philippines. Last year, Knights of Columbus donated more than $151 million and 69 million hours of volunteer time to charity.

Click here for PDF version of news release.

The City of Rome celebrates the Knights of Columbus

KofC Tuscaloosa, AL — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:23:44 +0000

ROME, ITALY – June 9, 2010 – The Mayor of Rome, the Vatican Secretary of State, and the Supreme Knight all gathered at Rome’s Capitoline Museum today for the opening of a special exhibit that tells the story of nearly a century of friendship between the Eternal City and the Knights of Columbus.

Learn more about the exhibit using these links:

Knights of Columbus website section on Rome Exhibit

Catholic News Service story about Rome Exhibit

Catholic News Service TV report about Rome Exhibit (via media player on the Madison Catholic Herald website)

Zenit news agency story about Rome Exhibit