The Principles of the Knights of Columbus: Keys to Rebuilding Our Political Culture
State Deputies Mid-Year Meeting Address
Most Reverend William E. Lori, Supreme Chaplain
Denver, Colorado
November 17, 2025
Introduction
Thank you, Worthy Supreme Knight, and thanks to you, brother Knights, for all you do, day in and day out, to advance the mission of the Church through your leadership in the Knights of Columbus. You come to this meeting in the middle of a fraternal year, with all of its graces, achievements, opportunities, and challenges. You are here to reflect on the opportunities and obstacles before you.
You realize, perhaps more clearly than ever, that our mission as Knights isn’t accomplished in a vacuum. Like the Church herself, we operate in a cultural atmosphere that is something like the air we breathe. Rarely is it entirely fresh and bracing. Often it is polluted, even toxic. Such is the political atmosphere in which we find ourselves. In the United States, and perhaps in other countries represented here, politics has become more vitriolic than usual. Politicians are engaging in name calling, using words in public that they should be ashamed to say in private. Worse still, political violence and threats of such violence have erupted. There is deep polarization, leading to governmental paralysis – witness the 44 day government shut down from which we’re just emerging. Extreme ideologies of the left and the right are being asserted – ideologies that reveal not only political division, but also cultural and even spiritual polarization. All this contributes to an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.
In your efforts to advance the mission of the Knights of Columbus and, above all, in your role as fathers and grandfathers who love your and protect your families from harm – in both roles – you find yourselves dealing with a toxic culture. Like it or not, this is the cultural atmosphere we live must live and work in. How should we react to it? One option is to rail against the culture, to become grumpy contrarians who withdraw, shout, label, or despair. A better option is “to read the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel” (cf. Mt 16:4, GS 4), to find in the present moment God-given opportunities to advance the faith. Let me mention two such opportunities.
The Return of Gen Z
First, there is newfound interest in the faith among some members of Gen Z. Many dioceses report an increase of young people, especially young men, coming back to the Church or entering the Church for the first time. I’m seeing it in my Archdiocese, and I hope you’re also seeing it in your dioceses and parishes. As you have heard (or will hear), this year Knights of Columbus are bringing in 100,000 new members. Many of them belong to that younger demographic we’re seeking to influence…young men who are husbands and fathers. The emptiness our culture’s sound and fury has led many to ask if there isn’t something else – or better – Someone else to whom they can turn. That Someone else is Christ and his Bride the Church.
Dear brothers, this is a moment when many are searching, when many realize that the culture they grew up in is empty. There is afoot a new openness to God and to the things of God. As the spiritual sons of Blessed Michael McGiviney, this is our moment to shine, to attract to our ranks the young men and their families who are seeking a relationship with God and healthy friendships. In God’s grace, may success breed success!
The 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
There is a second opportunity for us to help mend the political culture of the United States and beyond. Next year, on July 4th, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence. No doubt there will celebrations throughout the country – fireworks, parades, picnics, longwinded speeches, you name it. Anniversaries are not simply moments for nostalgia. They are moments of renewal, moments of hope for a better day.
A nation best celebrates its significant anniversaries when its citizens intentionally contribute to the renewal of its culture, and specifically to the development of what Pope Francis called, “a new kind of politics”, characterized by respectful dialog, and geared to the protection of human dignity & the common good (Fratelli Tutti 154). We Knights have much to contribute. We are believers and citizens, and members of the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization. Furthermore, either directly or indirectly, Blessed Michael McGivney has placed in our hands the keys to the renewal of our wounded political culture. These keys are charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism.
Charity
In his inaugural address on March 4th, 1865, Abraham Lincoln spoke to a wounded nation reeling from civil war. He included these words: “With malice toward none, with charity for all.” Lincoln saw the need to move beyond animosity and to foster a spirit of compassion and understanding. He saw that healing and reconciliation between North and South began with treating others with kindness and compassion, even former adversaries.
President Lincoln’s words are sometimes heard as a merely pious wish, but it cannot be that way with us. For we worship the God who is love, and belong to an Order founded on the principle of charity. “Reading the signs of the time in the light of the Gospel,” we see an urgent need for healing and reconciliation in our culture. While troops are not engaged in Gettysburg or Bull Run, a civil war is brewing just beneath the surface of our culture. How important that we be prophets and agents of charity in an angry culture, that we demand better from politicians and pundits who foment hatred, that we insist on civilized, reasoned discourse, instead of venom. We need to insist on this with family members, friends, and colleagues. Charity, as we know, is not a “soft” virtue. It demands steely resolve to be a charitable island in a sea of hatred. Now is the time to practice a charity that evangelizes our culture from within.
Unity
Among the first words of Pope Leo’s Pontificate was a call for unity – unity in the Church, to be sure, and unity among the peoples of the earth. In his inaugural homily he said to fellow Catholics throughout the world, “We are one in Christ,” “Noi siamo uno in Cristo”. On the Vigil of Pentecost, he said, “In a divided and troubled world, the Holy Spirit teaches us to walk together in unity.” In remarks on Corpus Christi, he said, “Today, more than ever, human cries out and calls for peace. This is a cry that requires responsibility and reason….”
Our principle of unity insists that we be united in faith and service, that we contribute to the unity of the Church, and also that we contribute to the unity of societies in which we live. We know from experience that unity requires responsibility and reason. We know from experience that, together, we accomplish much more than when we are separate or isolated. We know that unity is not achieved by going along to get along – unity is attained only when it is based on truth, the truth about the human person, the truth about human dignity, the truth about what constitutes a just and peaceful society. Our collective support for the Church’s social teaching in the public square can contributes mightily to the upbuilding of a unity which, sadly, we have lost.
Fraternity
Recently, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of fraternity. He said: “Fraternity is a profound challenge for contemporary humanity.” Our fraternity is based, not only on common interests and friendships, but on the truth that Christ, the Son of God became our brother who died on the Cross to overcome sin and death, especially “selfishness, division, and arrogance.” It is expressed in our readiness to help one another, especially in difficult times, to be a godly mutual benefit society, to be there for one another.
We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. And the Church is to be a sacrament of unity and fraternity in the world. We are to be a visible and active sign of that fraternity, which, as Pope Leo said, “cannot be taken for granted and is not an impossible dream.” Our unity and fraternity put us in a relationship of solidarity with every human person without exception, at every stage of life, from the moment of conception until natural death. It is this sense of solidarity, this sense of cohesiveness as a society that essential for a nation to long endure.
Patriotism
All this leads us to the principle of patriotism itself. Members of the Knights of Columbus, from all the countries we represent, are patriots. We are devoted to God and to country. We are not blind to the flaws of our respective homelands but we are also determined to be those citizens who build up the countries we live in, contribute to them, and help them to be the best versions of themselves.
If we want to see how the principle of patriotism helps us in the task of rebuilding our wounded political culture, we have only to watch and reflect on the excellent 4th Degree exemplification that was largely the work of our past Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson. It says what I want to say far better than I can say it. Our love of country is not “my country right or wrong”, nor is it “jingoistic”, nor still less is it a mere boast or rallying cry. We love our country best when we insist that it uphold authentic human values based on truth and charity. It is true patriotism that the Order seeks to instill and confirm in us.
Prayer
Finally, if we want to heal and transform our wounded political culture, we need to be men of prayer, men to pray for our country. When we become Knights, a blessed Rosary is put in our hands. What if, once a week, more than 2 million of us prayed the Rosary for our nation and for our world . . . for true peace and justice? Would our blessed Lady be deaf to our prayers?
Let us also note, as our Supreme Knight mentioned, that in June the Bishops of the United States will consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, even as our pilgrim icons of the Sacred Heart make their way throughout the world. Fr. McGivney has given us the keys. God is giving us the grace. Let us build and rebuild societies worthy of the Kingdom of God! Vivat Jesus!