Author: Jim Venglarik
Babies are Our Future!
U.S. population growth (346.5 million as of 1/2025 by Worldometer) is projected to decline, and the population will become much older over time. Preventing these outcomes will require faster immigration by several multiples of its current rate. “The US Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the next few decades is projected to average about 1.7 per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman. The projected trend in TFR declines from above 1.7 in the near term and approaches 1.6 by the 2060s. Women who attain college degrees are projected to sustain lower fertility rates compared to those who do not. Immigrant women currently have a slightly higher TFR of 2.02 versus the TFR of native-born women. Although U.S. birth rates have declined and are projected to remain below the population replacement rate of 2.1 per woman, net immigration and improvements in longevity will continue to generate positive population growth through 2100,” although the growth will slow over time. (Penn Wharton, U of Penn Model, 2024.)
What does this mean for us? Offering help and alternatives for women to bring their babies into this world is not just important for God’s law but also important to sustain the US workforce and the life that our United States enjoys, and to be able to provide the resources and financial capabilities to assist other countries.
Which takes me to two areas for us to consider as part of the Life Program agenda. The first is our effort to amend the NC Safe Surrender Legislation to allow for anonymous infant surrender, as over 20 other states allow, thereby offering an alternative for women and saving their babies lives. We, in NC, are hampered by language in our law that requires face-to-face infant surrender if a mother decides not to keep her new born child. Brother John Krumpos has been working with our Knights and has coordinated with Safe Haven Baby Boxes of Indiana and the NC Values Coalition to lobby for language change in an amendment. The NC Knights are trying to drive this change and we need your help. Information has gone out to all the Grand Knights with sample emails and post cards, as well as identification of NC State Senators and Congressmen to contact. Please reach out to your Grand Knights for this information. If the information is still unavailable for you, contact Brother John at John.krumpos@gmail.com.
Our Room at the Inn Promise Center Campaign is stalled! We have a few councils that have responded and worked with the campaign Chairman, Brother John Killela, to raise funds for this important maternity home expansion. We are targeting $35,000 by the end of calendar year 2025. This expansion will benefit mothers and babies across North Carolina with services, particularly non-residential services with such provisions as job training, referrals, and counseling, as well as other more local services such as child care. This is a multi-year project in Kernersville, NC to assist one of our two NC Catholic Maternity Homes, and the only one managed by a brother Knight, Albert Hodges. We will be sending out information to all Grand Knights in the next few weeks with hope that it will put life back into this Knights’ campaign. If interested, either now or later, contact John Killela at john.killela@gmail.
God bless you and thanks to all Knights who participated in the USCCB Novena for Life from January 16th through the 24th, either the private prayer offered by the USCCB, or especially, the Zoom call we held each of the 9 nights.
Vivat Jesus,
Jim Venglarik
NC KofC Life Director
Life@kofcnc.org