The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization that calls itself the “right arm of the church.” The organization boast 1.7 million members worldwide and nearly a quarter-million members in Canada. About 57,000 of these members belong to one of 500 local Ontario councils.

The Knights are pro-life and pro-family. Each year, they donate thousands of volunteer hours and millions of dollars to these causes. Yet, in Canada, the Catholic fraternal organization has often shied away from direct political action. This may soon change.

Come Victoria Day weekend, the Knights will host their 102nd Ontario State Convention. The convention, open to delegates from each local council in Ontario, will elect a provincial executive and vote on resolutions affecting the membership in Ontario.

If the Father Michael Cundari Council (12030) has its say, this year’s convention may prove a watershed for the Knights in the political sphere. The North Bay council has put forward Resolution #4 to the Ontario State Convention. This resolution calls upon Ontario Knights to take a more proactive approach in supporting pro-family political candidates and confronting politicians who consistently oppose Catholic values.

The resolution laments that, “Catholic politicians have taken it upon themselves to ignore Catholic values and to take specific positions advocating against Catholic values.”

It also notes that “the Knights of Columbus was able to collect 1.5 million signatures against same-sex ‘marriage,’ but which obviously did not result in convincing politicians to oppose same-sex ‘marriage.'” The resolution states: “Be it resolved that: 1) the Knights of Columbus as an organization is to be directly involved in supporting specific candidates that advocate Catholic values in their platforms and thus directly oppose specific candidates that advocate policies that are contrary to Catholic values …”

Bill Murphy is the deputy grand knight of Superior Council (932), the third-oldest council in Ontario. He is also one of eight regional representatives to the Ontario State Councils. “I welcome the discussion around a resolution such as this one,” Murphy told The Interim. “This is another sign that we’re following the leadership of Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. He has stood foursquare in the corner of the international pro-life and pro-family effort. Anderson’s energy is seeping through the ranks and energizing every council in this country.”

Jack Clancey is the Ontario state deputy, head of the Knights of Columbus in Ontario. “It goes without saying that we are a pro-life organization,” Clancey said. He explained that the Knights have provincial chairs for different issues. “But we have two for pro-life: Yvon Robert is our pro-life chairman … We have another man, Dan Heffernan, who is like a watchdog of the government. He was very active fighting bill C-38,” the Martin government’s same-sex ‘marriage’ legislation.

The substance of proposal 4 is nothing new, Clancey explained. “It simply restates what the Knights have been doing all along.” Yet, he also feels the need for a more pro-active approach.   “We have been sitting back quite awhile – not complacent, but not as vocal up to this point. This is going to change.”

Robert Cayea is the immediate past state deputy for Ontario. He notes that the Knights sent out 200,000 letters during the last federal election. “One to every knight in Canada,” Cayea explained.   “We asked our members to inform themselves about where each candidate stood concerning issues of same-sex ‘marriage,’ pro-life, euthanasia.

“I believe Catholics have a duty to inform their conscience according to the teachings of the church,” Cayea added. “Whether or not this resolution passes, I cannot speak for the delegates.   There might also be some amendments on the floor – this is always a possibility. My own personal opinion is that the Knights should take a strong stand in favour of pro-life and pro-family candidates.”