Marella’s argument confuses the Knights of Columbus with the Church. Being expelled from the Knights of Columbus, after all, is simply not the same as being excommunicated from the Church or being barred from receiving Communion by the local bishop. The Knights are a private, lay organization which operates by its own rules. In fact, membership in the Knights, in some ways, is more demanding than membership in the Church (when viewed in secular terms – Knights owe dues, for instance), so it is reasonable to claim that one can lose membership in the Knights without endangering the prerogative of the bishops [more].
20 May 2010
More on Knightly discipline, or the lack thereof
Thomas Peters comments rightly on the Knights of Columbus' refusal to remove it's members who publicly advocate abortion and gay marriage, saying:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have to say, I've seen more people change their lives by contact WITH knights, than change just because an organization gives them the boot.
ReplyDeleteAnd it makes sense. We're Catholic aren't we? We believe in the power of witness, as well as the hope of transformation.
Poking around your website, I came across your 5th sunday lenten homily, on throwing the first stone.
ReplyDeleteIt got me thinking ... Christ wrote in the sand, but the sinners walked away themselves. Christ didn't give them the boot, but gave them a chance to listen and change. It seems to me that the Knights are just taking the same model.