Thomas MacMillan Photo
Two weeks ago after voters in three states sent out a clear message of support for gay marriage, more than 5,000 Catholics sent a message to the Knights of Columbus: Stop hurting the church by trying to stop same-sex unions.
That message was delivered in the form of a petition organized by Catholics United Education Fund, a not-for-profit Catholic group working for social justice. Traugott Lawler (at right in photo), one of the more than 5,000 people who signed the petition, hand delivered it to a Knights of Columbus staffer at 3:20 p.m. outside of Knights of Columbus world headquarters in downtown New Haven at the corner of Church Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“As Catholics, we ask that you stop using charitable donations to oppose civil same-sex marriage,” the petition reads. “This money would be better spent serving the needs of the poor.
“More and more Americans, especially younger generations of Catholics, are turning away from religion because of its mistreatment of the LGBT community. We believe your actions are outside the tradition of the Knights of Columbus and are hurting the Church.”
The petition is addressed to Supreme Knight Carl Anderson.
Knights of Columbus spent more than $600,000 during the recent campaign season on ballot initiatives regarding same-sex marriage, according to Catholics United. Knights of Columbus supported efforts to defeat a ballot approval of gay marriage in Maine, Washington and Maryland, and to pass a constitutional amendment in Minnesota to ban gay marriage. All those efforts failed.
Knights of Columbus staffer Matt St. John declined to comment on the petition. He released a statement saying that the organization “supports Catholic Social Teaching, including on moral issues. Our first concern has always been charity, and over the past 10 years we have donated more than $1.4 billion and 664 million hours to charitable causes.”
Shortly before 3 p.m., Lawler, a retired Yale English professor, pulled up on his bike at Knights of Columbus headquarters. He said he’s not an official member of Catholics United, but he gets the organization’s emails and had signed the petition.
“I’m a Catholic, and I think that Catholics should be kind and care for others,” Lawler said. Knights of Columbus spends lots of money fighting gay marriage, when the organization should support it, he said. “If they have money, they should spend it on the poor.”
Lawler acknowledged that his position on gay marriage is at odds with the official doctrine from the Vatican. “I honor the pope, but I don’t think he’s always right.”
He said he was disappointed by how partisan the Catholic bishops in the United States were during the election: “I think the Knights of Columbus should be above that.”
Lawler said he was expecting more people to show up to hand over the petition. He said he’d gotten a call from James Salt, the head of Catholics United, saying he was stuck in traffic.
Reached later by phone, Catholics United head Salt said the money Knights of Columbus spent fighting gay marriage during the recent election cycle is on top of $6.25 million the organization has spent since 2005 working against gay marriage. The only times that Knights of Columbus has invested in political campaigns it has been on “divisive social issues” that are “driving people away from the church,” Salt said.
At 3:10 p.m., Patrick Carolan of Stratford showed up with a fresh print out of the petition and all of its signatures.
Carolan said he thinks the Catholic church has a right to keep gay marriage out of the church, but it doesn’t have a right to try to stop gay marriages outside of the church. That amounts to an attempt to limit freedom of religion, he said.
Carolan said the Knights of Columbus should get out of politics and get back to the organization’s original mission caring for the sick and the poor, as laid out by founder Father McGivney.
“McGivney would be rolling in his grave,” Carolan said.
