The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-09-25
POPE BENEDICT TO K. OF. c.

secret of the sympathy that they have
gained on all sides and which has as
sured their magnificent success in
every field Of action. III
An old principle teacheB that good
spreads itself, and it is not surprising
| therefore that, while still doing SO
much fruitful work in their beloved
lcountry, the Knights Sof columbus
have thought of extending their ac-
tion to Italy, too, and in special man
ner to this city Of Rome, dear above
all cities to our heart.
! To Oppose Methodists.
We. welcome you,. Knights of Co
lumbus, the Holy City For indeed
here, under our very eyes, a shameful
propaganda is~trying to rob our chill
dren nearest to us of the most prec-
ious heritage left them by their fore,
4 fathers, the Catholic faith. There is
very network of endeavor to that
shameful end. They are trying to at
tract our young men who are so in
clined to the pleasures Of sport into
associations, which, while they give
Facilities for satisfying that inclina-
i tlon, tend to make insidious attack in
the hearts of the young men on the
sacred treasure OF Catholic principles
Ihey relieve material distress and at
the same moment steal patrimony of
lnestlmaDle value, the patrimony of
the faith. You, noble Knights of Co
lumbus, are not ignorant of the work
of propaganda Of which we speak. and
We glory in the hope that. in conform
ity with the aims of your Association.
you will set your good propaganda
here in Rome, too, against the wicked
propaganda which to our sorrow we
see SO widely spread in this dear city.
There is another field of competi-
tion opening before you. MAY the
struggle bring you as much merit as
it brings us hope.
: BIesses Their Work.
But, that our hope may not be
brought to naught and that your
merits may be copious, we turn to
Him who holds in His hands the
hearts of men and we pray Him to
/ give strength and comfort to the AS
I sociation OF the Knights of Columbus
, in their noble work. May the Lord
z bless the Supreme Knight of the de-
/ serving Association, and may He bless
! every Knight belonging to it.. May
{ the blessing of the1 Lord strengthen
: concord among sthem, coordinate and
; multiply the efforts of good will COM
mon to all. And pledge of these
things so much to be desired be the.
Apostolic Benediction which we i'm
part from our heart, repeating to you
: once more how great reason of sweet
comfort and occasion of glad hope is
! your presence here today.
Mr.. FIaherty's Response.
l. To the address Of His Holiness
f Chief Knight Flaherty replied as fol-
4 lows:
], Holy Father:
On behalf of the Knights of Colum-
bus | want to thank you for this gra-
2 clous privilege of an audience with
Your August Person. To every Cath
oilc 1t is supreme honor and pleas
ure to kneel at the feet of Christ's
Vicar, and to receive his. blessing, but
9 to us this occasion is even more in
J spring and suggestive. We repre-
! sent nearly a million members of an
!; organization in the United States
! whose lives are formed on Catholic
), principles and whose hopes and as
: pirations are wrapped up in the we'll
= being of our holy Mother the Church.
. For, her they have all the affection
! and reverence of devoted sons. They
: appeal with pride to her history and
! achievements, and their boast is that
J. all the blessings to which modern civ
III ilization is heir we owe to her, and
: that in every branch of human en-.
deavor she has been a help and an
- inspiration. Nor do they hesitate to
- claim that she has the secret of peace
: for the turmoil and unrest with which
= the world is now seething, and that il
7. men will only listen to her the storm
= that is beating against the bulwarks
!. of society will spend itself in harm
= less fury
"a Patriotism Of Knights.
~ aeF DuTluS tuS ldI0 war the knights o.
10 Columbus have shown that loyalty tt
=. Catholic ideals is not incompatible,
oi with the most complete devotion t,
country. BY their spirit of sacrific,
Id and generosity they won universal an
or proval and gave an example of pa
le- triotism that no one could gainsay
ed For God and country is their motto
ty and they have proved to the worl
MS that the sentiment it enshrines i
ur capable of developing the highest typ
ur of citizen.
~ Hence, Holy Father, in your pres
Y ence today, our hearts throb wit
to emotion AS the Head Of the Church
us as Christ's Viceregent on earth, yo
en- are to us the embodiment of suprem
ng spiritual power, the Guardian an
in Custodian of those ideals which ar
mt the aim and ambition Of the knight
its Iof Columbus. .He that heareth yo
ny heareth Me-" For the time being, W
Cd. go back In spirit to the days whe
Our Divine Lord wandered along tn
highways and byways of Galilee an
nus Judea and the picture that comes I