"Created in the image and likeness of God, every person is unique and special and each of us has a responsibility to God, to self and to others to nurture, protect and sustain life at all stages."

As Knights, we share in the efforts of our Church to promote respect for human life from conception to natural death. We need to work with our Church to bring about a conversion of all hearts and minds to be open to God's special gift of life. A consistent ethic of life reflects our firm conviction of the dignity of each and every person.

What can we do as Knights in 2012 to advance the Pro-Life cause?

1. An easy first step is to become more attuned to Pro-Life issues and events by joining an e-mail distribution list of the Archdiocesan Respect Life office. Please e-mail Sharon Wilson, Respect Life Coordinator, with your request to be on the list, or call the Archdiocesan Respect Life office directly at 291-4488.
2. E-mail Dan Becker, our Council's Pro-Life Chair, to express your interest in helping coordinate the Pro Life activities of our Council.
3. Keep up with our Council's Pro-Life efforts by looking for upcoming events in the Newsletter and reading submissions in our Pro-Life Corner.
4. Pray! Everyone can find a way to praise and thank God for the gift of life and to ask for protection for each sacred human life. The Masses and March for Life as well as the Knights of Columbus Day of Prayer for the Unborn Child are great opportunities to join with other Knights and their families in prayer and action. We also have Respect Life Month each October.

How does our Council pursue the cause of human life and dignity?

As usual, our Council follows the direction of the Church. We are its foot soldiers in this effort. The U.S. Bishops' 2001 Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities calls upon the Church - its people, services, and institutions - to pursue the cause of human life & dignity in four major areas:

• Education - To deepen understanding of the sanctity of human life and the humanity of unborn children, the moral evil of intentionally killing innocent human beings - whether at the beginning of life or at its end - and the mission of the Church to witness to and serve all human life.
• Outreach - For women with problems related to pregnancy; for all who have been involved in abortion; for those who are disabled, sick, and dying, and their families and caregivers; for those who have lost loved ones to violent crime; and for those in prison sentenced to death. We help support activities of ACCL at our parishes (such as the Baby Showers) and by doing so, help support local Life Care Centers.
• Public Policy - Efforts directed to restoring legal protection to the lives of unborn children, those suffering from injustices due to societal systems, those living in poverty, and those vulnerable to pressures to end their lives by assisted suicide, and to providing morally acceptable alternatives to abortion and assisted suicide. As Catholics, Knights of Columbus have the responsibility to work for the common good of society. Catholics - and especially Knights - must, in the words of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "embrace their citizenship not merely as a duty and a privilege, but as an opportunity to participate in building the culture of life. Every voice matters in the public forum. Every voice counts. Every act of responsible citizenship is an exercise of significant individual power." We need to become more effective in the public sphere.
• Prayer and Worship - Directed toward participation in the sacramental life of the Church, in programs of communal and individual prayer, and to pray for the culture of life. We encourage Knights to participate in such ministries as Eucharistic Adoration for Life, the Marian Rosary group and the Living Rosary.

What are some of the things our Council does annually at SJN, St. Thomas Becket and St. Peter's?

January - Masses and prayer opportunities in connection with the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision

March - Knights of Columbus Day of Prayer for the Unborn Child, held in connection with the Feast of the Annunciation

April - Campaign for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (Tootsie Roll Drive)

April/May - Spring Baby Shower

May - Living Rosary event

October - Respect Life Month; The Order collaborates with the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the observance of October as "Respect Life Month.", and the Fall Baby Shower.

November - Vote Pro-Life; Led by the Fourth Degree, the Order encourages its own members - and all people - to vote pro-life. The Knights of Columbus feels that the right to life is not a partisan issue, but rather the pre-eminent moral issue of our time.

And much, much more!