The political activity of the Knights of Columbus deals with the involvement of the fraternal order in efforts to influence public policy.
The Knights of Columbus has played an active role in politics ever since its formation. In the years following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the earlier focus on protesting discrimination against Catholics shifted to more activity to promote social issues.
During much of the 20th century and particularly during the era of the Cold War, the Order was politically active in opposing anarchism, communism and socialism, especially within the United States. It was also supportive of trade unionism, the protection of civil rights, and efforts to address racism.
More recently, it has taken an active stance on social issues and causes, supporting religious freedom and opposing efforts to introduce or promote same-sex marriage, abortion, and mandates that require employers to pay for artificial birth control, even if they violate their religious beliefs. The Order has also taken an interest in the rights of immigrants and refugees, especially those immigrants and refugees who come from Catholic-majority countries.
Background The Knights of Columbus were politically active from an early date. In the years following the Second Vatican Council, however, according to Christopher Kauffman, the Catholic anti-defamation character of the order began to diminish as Catholics became more accepted, and the leadership of the order attempted to stimulate the order's membership to become more aware of the religious and moral issues which the Church was confronting. That led to the creation of a "variety of new programs which reflected the proliferation of the new social ministries of the church."
The Knights of Columbus is classified as a 501(c)(8) fraternal benefit society by the IRS. Unlike the more common 501(c)(3) nonprofits, 501(c)(8)s are allowed to engage in limited direct political activities without jeopardizing their tax exempt status. However, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson has said "One of our most important traditions throughout our 125-year history is that we do not, as an organization, become involved in partisan politics."
Political philosophy As a non-profit charitable organization, the order is legally prohibited from endorsing political candidates in the United States, but it is permitted to engage in issue-specific political campaigns. Its political activities are therefore limited to such campaigns, the campaigns typically deal with issues that touch upon Catholic social teaching or insurance issues. Kauffman has described the Knights as "progressive on social issues but conservative on cultural issues," positions that are "a reflection of those expressed by the papacy and the majority of the American hierarchy."
At the 1968 Supreme Convention, Supreme Knight John W. McDevitt posed the question of whether the Knights were conservative or liberal. He answered by saying that the order was "both progressive and conservative and we are neither." The Knights' progressive credentials were rooted in their "efforts to shake the country free from any prejudice ... to create conditions which will give every American a chance to obtain decent money ... to eliminate poverty ... [and to foster] interreligious dialogue and interracial understanding." Their conservative efforts consisted of their promotion of a Judeo-Christian morality, anti-secularism, patriotism, and their loyalty to the pope and the bishops.
Leadership At times, the leadership of the order has been both liberal and conservative. Martin H. Carmody and Luke E. Hart were both political conservatives, but John J. Phelan was a Democratic politician prior to becoming Supreme Knight, John Swift's "strong support for economic democracy and social-welfare legislation marks him as a fairly representative New Deal anti-communist," and Francis P. Matthews was a civil rights official and a member of Harry Truman's cabinet. Anderson previously served in the Office of Public Liaison under Ronald Reagan.
Military and war Spanish–American War and American imperialism The Order supported the entrance of the United States into the Spanish–American War. They were critical of the era of American imperialism that followed.
First World War
On 14 April 1917, soon after the United States entered World War I, the board of directors of the Knights passed a resolution which called "for the active cooperation and patriotic zeal" of its members as part of the US war effort. The Order subsequently instituted a per capita tax on the membership to raise $1 million to provide for the welfare of troops fighting in Europe. Local councils also undertook their own fundraising drives which resulted in an additional $14 million. Canadian knights took up the cause even earlier, reflecting their closer links to Britain.
In 1918, just before the war ended, the Knights joined other organizations which were raising funds to support the welfare of the troops, both in the US and overseas, which along with the contribution by the National Catholic War Council, totaled $30 million. Staff and Catholic chaplains were sent to all Army camps and cantonments.
A total of 260 buildings were erected and 1,134 secretaries (of which 1,075 were overseas), staffed them. In Europe, the headquarters of the Order were established in London and Paris under the motto "Everyone welcome, everything free." This continued until November 1919, at which point the federal government took over. The remaining $19 million were used to establish educational programs for returning servicemen.
According to Supreme Knight Flaherty, the war provided an opportunity to present the Order "in a most favorable light," and to show that Catholics could also be good patriots - avoiding the suspicion that their loyalty lay with the Holy See in Rome.
Cristero War
Following the Mexican Revolution, the new government started to persecute the Catholic Church. Statutes were inserted into the national Constitution, triggering a 10-year-long struggle with Catholic leaders. During this period, thousands of people died, including several priests who were later canonized. The leaders of the Order began to speak out against the Mexican government. Columbia, the official magazine of the Knights, published articles critical of the regime. After the November 1926 cover showed some knights carrying a banner of liberty and warning of "The Red Peril of Mexico," the Mexican legislature banned both the Order and the magazine.
In 1926, both the Supreme Council and the Massachusetts State Council passed resolutions opposing the Mexican government and in defense of human rights. Ten days later, State Deputy Edmund J. Brandon sent a telegram to President Calvin Coolidge and Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg opposing the deportation of a Mexican archbishop. That same year, a delegation of Supreme Council officers met with President Coolidge to share with him their concerns about the persecution of Catholics in Mexico. The delegation did not ask for a military involvement in Mexico, but did express their concerns that the present situation was a result of actions taken by previous American administrations, including the provision of arms to Mexican president Plutarco Elías Calles. As a result, the delegation said, the United States government had a responsibility to aid oppressed Mexicans.
The order subsequently smuggled into Mexico pamphlets in English and Spanish denouncing the anti-clerical Mexican government and its policies, provoking efforts at the border to stop the flow. So much printed material was smuggled into Mexico that the government directed border guards be aware of women bringing Catholic propaganda into the country hidden in their clothes. Twenty-five martyrs from the conflict would eventually be canonized, including six knights. Supreme Treasurer Daniel J. Callahan persuaded Senator William E. Borah to launch an investigation in 1935 into Mexican human rights violations. Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Iniquis afflictisque praised the efforts of the Knights in their resistance. The Knights opposed the Good Neighbor Policy of President Franklin Roosevelt due to the continued suppression of the Catholic Church in Mexico.
Spanish Civil War During the Spanish Civil War, the Catholic Church in the United States supported General Francisco Franco and the other rebels. The Knights, and other Catholic groups, took the same stance. When a group of American intellectuals formed the Board of Guardians for Basque Refugee Children and proposed shipping children from Spain to the United States, the Knights with others opposed the plan. They appealed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to keep the children with their families in France, though they were ready to assist those coming to the United States.
The Knights supported the embargo on all arms into Spain, and appealed to Will H. Hays, chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, to ban or label as propaganda (pro-Marxist and anti-Catholic) loyalist films.
World War II Shortly after entering the Second World War, the Order established a War Activities Committee to keep track of all activities undertaken during the war. They also, in January 1943, established a Peace Program Committee to develop a "program for shaping and educating public opinion to the end that Catholic principles and Catholic philosophy will be properly represented at the peace table at the conclusion of the present war." The committee conferred with scholars, theologians, philosophers, and sociologists and proposed a program adopted at the 1943 Supreme Convention.
Middle East
During the Syrian and Iraqi Civil Wars, the Knights lobbied Congress to provide humanitarian relief to persecuted Christians and victims of genocide under the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and to declare the atrocities a genocide.
Testimony provided by Supreme Knight Anderson before Congress in 2016 formed the "blueprint" for the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018.
Between 2014 and 2017, the Knights' Refugee Relief Fund gave over $20 million for humanitarian relief work in the area. That includes $2 million to rebuild the primarily Christian town of Karamles in Iraq. Such efforts of the Knights have been recognized by church and civil leaders.
Exhibits and media Shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Knights' museum showcased Vatican artifacts highlighting the efforts of Pope John Paul II for world peace. The Order also produced the 2018 film, John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea for Peace.
Social justice issues Trade unionism
In 1914, the order paid the salaries of David Goldstein, who was born Jewish but converted to Catholicism after reading the pro-labor papal encyclical Rerum novarum, and Peter W. Collins, the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, to lecture around North America. The pair traveled more than 27,000 miles. Local councils were instructed to open up the lectures to the public free of charge. More than 2,000,000 people attended the lectures, and more than 800,000 questions were answered.
In 1946, in his first address to the Supreme Convention as Supreme Knight, Swift proposed a new program eventually called The Knights of Columbus Crusade for the Preservation and Promotion of American Ideals. It was similar to the 1943 Peace Program, except it highlighted Catholic philosophy and Catholic social teaching regarding the working man. This was one part of a larger Catholic anti-communist effort.