Knights of Colubus Funneling Big Dollars to NOM at Expense of Real Charitable Projects

In a former phase of my life - when I was still a Catholic - I was a member of the Knights of Columbus. In fact, I was a member of the 4th Degree, the highest level of the K of C. Why would someone want to be a member of the Knights? Because in theory, the K of C does all kinds of charitable work for the down and out and those in need, especially families. The website of the K of C describes its activities in this manner:
*
From the moment of our founding in 1882, charity has been the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. We are men of faith and men of action. . . . Our charitable activities encompass an almost infinite variety of local, national and international projects. From international charitable partnerships with Special Olympics, the Global Wheelchair Mission and Habitat for Humanity to our own Food for Families and Coats for Kids projects and other purely local charities, . . .
*
Or at least that's what the K of C used to do. Not so much any more. Now, funding un-Democratic, parasitic anti-gay organizations has taken a leading position in the Knights' endeavors. Yep, one of the primary beneficiaries of the the Knights largess is the National Organization of Marriage and similar anti-gay organizations. Widows and children can just go to Hell apparently under the new strategic plan of the leadership of the K of C. As if this diversion of funds donated for charitable purposes wasn't bad enough, the leadership of the K of C have their noses so far up the asses of the Church hierarchy that it's a wonder they haven't suffocated. And as for demanding accountability from the Church hierarchy, the K of C is missing in action. Even after damning evidence of former Supreme Chaplin Bishop Daly's involvement in the intimidation of victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Boston Archdiocese, the K of C did NOTHING. Daly remained in office and the ass kissing and obsequious behavior to those like him continued unabated. The Iowa Independent has an article on the disgusting behavior of the K of C and its bankrolling of anti-gay measures. Here are some highlights:
*
Add to that list a donation of a whopping $1.4 million in 2009 to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting same-sex marriage through the ballot initiative system in California, Maine and other states. In Iowa, the group has already spent $235,000 on an ad campaign aimed at convincing voters to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices over their ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, and before that spent nearly $100,000 on a special legislative election in southeastern Iowa.
*
The NOM donation eclipses what the Knights of Columbus’ Supreme Council spent on some of its own charitable programs — such as its new effort supporting food banks or its total spending on education initiatives — in the same year, much to the outrage of some observers, including Catholic groups.
*
“It was a fairly simple, straightforward decision,” says Patrick Korten, vice president for communications for the Knights. “We are pro-family, and believe strongly in the defense of marriage. NOM is the single most important group engaged in defending marriage.”
*
Less straightforward is the fact that NOM has adopted a policy of refusing to disclose its donors to state election boards, and has sued in the courts rather than complying with existing law — thereby prompting much speculation as to the organization’s sources of funding. (NOM did not respond to repeated requests for comment.) The Knights of Columbus, however, freely disclosed its donation in its August 3 report. The amount was enough to have funded most of NOM’s successful $1.9 million effort to repeal Maine’s same sex marriage law in 2009.
*
Gay-rights activists have long speculated that the Mormon Church was the primary benefactor behind NOM. But the Knights of Columbus disclosure shows the Catholic group played a pivotal role in funding NOM’s efforts to deny marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.
*
[T]he Knights of Columbus’s role in funding NOM — as well as more overt forms of support for Maine’s Amendment 1 initiative from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine – are prompting Catholics opposed to the Church’s involvement in marriage equality issues to organize and speak out.
*
“You’ve got this really interesting funnel of tax-free money coming from the Dioceses and the Council of Bishops and the Knights of Columbus directly to these campaigns,” notes Phil Attey, executive director of the newly launched organization, Catholics for Equality. “Why are groups like NOM hiding where they’re getting their money? If it turns out to be a front group for the conservative side of the church, Catholics have the right to know because the majority of American Catholics, and we can show you heaps of polls, don’t support that [kind of spending].”
*
[S]ome Catholic activists have also taken offense to the fact that, in an economic downturn, the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council’s funding for anti-gay marriage causes has outstripped the amount of funds it supplied for several deserving charitable programs it highlights in its 2010 report.
*
Catholic activists predict that such spending on conservative causes will provoke a backlash among the faithful. “Do you think someone in New Mexico thought their donation was going to this effort in Maine, as opposed to aiding the sick and feeding the hungry?” asks George Burns, an attorney in Maine who fought NOM’s campaign to pass Amendment 1.
*
“If Catholics find out that while their parishes are closing, and charity work is being underfunded, that our church hierarchy is playing political games with their money, we believe that they’ll be as concerned as we are,” argues Attey.
*
“Their heritage was as an insurance company because Catholics were discriminated against and couldn’t get insurance,” observes Rev. Dr. Joseph Palacios, founding board member of Catholics for Equality. These days, however, they’re better known for fighting against the marriage rights of gays and lesbian citizens.
*
What should concerned Catholics do? First, resign for the K of C if you're a member and tell them why you are resigning. Better yet, leave the Catholic Church. Both the K of C and the Catholic Church hierarchy are obsessed with membership numbers. Only a sharp decline in membership and corresponding declines in financial contributions are the only things that these folks respond to. The Episcopal Church and ELCA both offer viable alternatives for Catholics but without the foul stench of the Vatican and it's minions like the K of C.