Seattle Archdiocese

BY JOHN WOLCOTT

Jim Toth of Pasco, the Knights of Columbus state pro-life chairman, addresses the Lynnwood council about current pro-life issues in the state. PhotoByMike.com
From discouraged pregnant mothers to the terminally ill targeted by promoters of assisted suicide, the Knights of Columbus support a full spectrum of pro-life activities that offer Christ’s hope to the vulnerable, said the group’s state pro-life chairman during a recent presentation at St. Thomas More parish in Lynnwood.

Jim Toth of Pasco presented an overview of pro-life issues supported by the organization at a March 6 meeting sponsored by Knights of Columbus Fr. Chirouse Council 5816.

The meeting, called by District 21 Deputy Romy Ablao, included knights from Snohomish and King counties, along with representatives of Catholic Daughters of America, Angelorum, Birthright of Seattle and Pregnancy Aid of Snohomish County.

“One of the most visible symbols of pro-life efforts right now is the Forty Days for Life national campaign,” Toth said. “Knights have joined other pro-life supporters to give prayer witness at abortion mills and provide literature and support to pregnant women going there.

Baby showers, television spots
“Many of them have changed their minds as a result and left without getting their abortions. We’re helping to save lives there,” he said in an interview after his presentation.

“The Knights also give women hope through our support for Project Rachel, a counseling program for women who have had abortions,” he added. “Surveys have found that 80 percent of women who have had an abortion said they would not have if they had known about alternatives,” Toth said.

He said the Knights of Columbus were again among the 4,000 people on the steps of the Capitol in Olympia in January for the annual March for Life event. Also, the Knights hold an annual statewide respect life program in Kennewick with speakers from Priests For Life and other pro-life, anti-abortion groups.

Across Washington state, Toth said, the 127-year-old global Catholic men’s fraternity has 140 parish-based councils and 16,000 members that keep pro-life issues in the public eye through billboards, baby showers, television spots, prayer vigils outside abortion clinics and donations for pro-life groups.

Knights sponsor pro-life activities from rosaries and masses to monuments to the unborn, education programs and support for various pregnancy support groups, as well as working with priests, churches, communities and youth groups, Toth said.

Oppose assisted suicide
Knights across the state also are raising funds to oppose the so called “death with dignity” measure, Initiative 1000. Signature gatherers are currently working to place the initiative on the November ballot. Supporters of need 221,000 signatures by July 1 to place the measure, a physician-assisted suicide law similar to the one in Oregon, before voters, Toth said.

“Thirty-five states have criminalized assisted suicide. Our objective is to keep it a criminal offense,” he said.

“Oregon is the only state that has made it legal. Ballot initiatives have failed in 21 other states. If Washington approves it,” said Toth, “that movement will be encouraged to expand in the United States.

He urged people to not sign the initiative, which “contains confusing language” to entice people to support it.

“Elderly or terminally-ill people often feel they’re not worthwhile. To pass a law legalizing assisted suicide to ‘put them out of their misery’ only validates that feeling that they’re worthless,” he said.

Other statewide Knights of Columbus programs include an annual “protect human life” poster and essay contest, with local councils contacting teachers in 80 Catholic grade schools and 150 Catholic faith formation programs to get students involved.

The knights also promote competition for the Herbert M. Liebert Right to Life Memorial Award, honoring respect life events carried out by various councils, and participate at their parishes in support of the bishops’ annual Respect Life Sunday events on the first Sunday of October, he said.

More information is available from Jim Toth at via email or from the website.

Promoting Patriotism

BY JOHN WOLCOTT

When the words “one nation under God” were added to the nation’s Pledge of Allegiance to the flag in 1954, it was because the Knights of Columbus originated it, campaigned for it in Congress and were present when President Dwight Eisenhower signed the legislation.

This is just one example of the impact Fourth Degree knighthood has had on our nation.

The number of Fourth Degree members of the Knights of Columbus continues to grow in Western Washington with 41 new members knighted last March at an exemplification ceremony and banquet at Naval Station Everett.

Knight Matt Jarolimek of St. Cecelia parish in Stanwood was recognized as the exemplification’s honoree at the banquet. A retired 33-year Boeing employee who worked on the 747 program in Everett, including the President’s Air Force One aircraft, Jarolimek helped to found the parish’s first Knights of Columbus council in 1983. He became a Fourth Degree Knight in 1985 and was honored as the Washington State Knight of the Year in 2003-2004.

In Washington state, there were 141 councils with 16,000 members, plus 38 Fourth Degree assemblies with nearly 3,000 Fourth Degree Knights. Two more assemblies were added this year, the Msgr. Joseph Camerman Assembly 1540 in Bremerton and the Joseph R. Miller Assembly 3095 in Granite Falls.

“I was really humbled when the members decided to name our new assembly after my son, Joe, who was a Fourth Degree member when he was killed in Seattle in 2006,” said Knight Ed Miller, who heads the new assembly as Faithful Navigator. “We formed our assembly with 16 members and added 11 more at the March program, plus we’re adding four or five from the Arlington area.”

At the Naval Station Everett banquet, attended by 175 knights and spouses, the state’s Fourth Degree Master, Wayne Hogan, presided over the exemplification ceremony.

Patriotism, the theme of the Fourth Degree of knighthood, adds to the first three degrees’ commitments to virtues of charity, unity and fraternity. Since the first Fourth-Degree ceremony was held in New York City in 1900, the primary purpose has been to promote the spirit of patriotism in members and their communities, as well as supporting active Catholic citizenship and laws recognizing the sanctity of life and religious liberty.

Today, there are more than 300,000 Fourth Degree Knights among the order’s 1.6 million members worldwide. Meeting in local assemblies, they attract their membership from Knights’ councils in area parishes.

For more information about the Knights of Columbus, contact a parish Knights council or visit www.kofc.org or www.kofc-wa.org.