Author: Joe McCarthy - State Advocate
My Brother Knights!
Primary elections have begun; therefore, it is a good time to review what we, as Knights, can and cannot do. Additional details can be in the Officer’s Desk Reference under Guidelines for Political Activity (Supreme site).
The first item to remember is all Knights are Catholic citizens that petitions our elected officials as a concerned voter. It is usually not necessary to identify yourself as a member of the Knights of Columbus, but it is important for you to become informed of the issues in your community.
Here are some important dos and don’ts:
Dos
• Do become active in the political life of your local community.
• Do register to vote and encourage other to register to vote.
• Do initiate and participate in robust “get out the vote” efforts to bring voters to the polls in all primary, general, and special elections.
• Do become informed on public policy issues of fundamental interest to the Catholic Church at the local, state, federal and international levels.
• Do become acquainted with public policy initiatives of the national conferences of Catholic Bishops as well as state and provincial Catholic conferences (USCCB).
• DO study and reflect upon the teachings of the Catholic Church to develop a well-formed Catholic conscience – a good place to start would be to review relevant sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.
• Do order booklets on specific issues of fundamental importance to Catholics published by the Catholic Information Service, http://www.kofc.org/un/en/cis/index.html.
• Do share with others the Catholic Church’s teachings on moral issues of fundamental importance to society.
• Do know your elected representatives and their positions on issues of fundamental interest to the Catholic Church.
• DO VOTE!
Don’ts
• Do not engage in any partisan political activity in the name of the Knights of Columbus. Partisan political activity is defined as including activity that seeks to endorse or oppose a candidate or party in a campaign for public office.
• Do not make partisan political statements in the name of the Knights of Columbus. A partisan political statement is defined as including statements that seek to endorse or oppose a candidate or party in a campaign for public office.
• Do not, on behalf of your local council, congratulate or admonish public officials in the name of the Knights of Columbus.
• Do not distribute any Knights of Columbus member lists or contact information to political campaigns or to individuals running for office.
• Do not use an official fraternal title in connection with your personal political activity, except to convey biographical information.
• Do not use Knights of Columbus facilities, including, but not limited to, email accounts, social media, fax machines, letterhead, and the like, in connection with partisan political activity.
Please be sure to follow these rules and keep partisan politics out of our Order!
Vivat Jesus,
Joe McCarthy NC State Advocate stateadvocate@kofcnc.org