IACK COUNCIL
STATEMENT, VATICAN 1998
Religious Freedom & Combating
Corruption
Post
Meeting Statement
Concluding the meeting of
13–17 October 1998 in Rome, the International Council of IACK issued the
following statement.
At the XVIIth meeting of the
International Alliance of Catholic Knights in Rome members from the Americas, Africa,
Asia, Australasia and Europe examined issues of common, Christian concern. As well, they
held discussions with three Pontifical Councils: Cor Unum, Social Communication and the
Laity. Members of the Alliance were privileged to meet the Holy Father in General Audience
and present him with a chasuble and stole in the Ghanaian tradition to mark the 20th
anniversary of his Pontificate on 16 October 1998.
Responding to the conditions
in some countries, the International Alliance of Catholic Knights adopted the following
resolution on religious freedom:
That the Alliance
acknowledges the right to religious freedom of expression by Muslims in countries where
they are in the minority but would also claim the reciprocal right of religious expression
by Christians and other minority religious bodies in largely Muslim countries.
It is a mark of civilization
as expressed in the United Nations Charter on Human Rights that this should be the case.
Recognizing the socially
destructive effects of corruption in government and business around the world, the
International Alliance of Catholic Knights adopted the following resolution against
bribery and corruption:
That the Alliance supports,
and commends to all nations, the crusade launched by the Catholic Bishops of Ghana against
bribery and corruption.
The thrust of the crusade, in
the words of the Bishops, is:
We hereby declare a crusade
against bribery and corruption and appeal to the whole Church, clergy, religious and lay,
to begin it right away with intensive prayer. Let us celebrate Masses, use Novenas, hold
prayer meetings, organise pilgrimages, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, symposia, etc,
all for that purpose.
With the Bishops, we call on
all Christ?s faithful to form small units and cells of people committed to honesty and
probity, to wage a relentless war on dishonesty and impropriety.
This will not be easy. Those
who are so committed to the defense of their compatriots and the promotion of justice
should be prepared:
never to give bribes, under
any circumstance whatsoever, no matter what their needs may be;
to vow never to demand or
accept bribes, even if this will deprive them of a job to which they are entitled; and
to commit themselves to
combating any acts of bribery and corruption that they notice or that comes to their
attention.
In doing this, they should be
ready to be condemned; they may be imprisoned; they may be fined heavy sums of money; they
will be hated; they will be persecuted; they will be disgraced. However, they should
always remember the words of the Lord: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted in the
cause of uprightness: the kingdom Heaven is theirs’ (Mt 5:10).
The Alliance members met with
Cardinal Stafford, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. They committed
themselves to continued promotion of the participation of young people at World Assemblies
of Youth with the Holy Father; in particular in the Assembly to be held in Rome in August
in the Jubilee Year 2000. Through the Council?s solidarity fund, the Alliance will assist
young people of the third world to participate in this Congress. In their own countries,
Alliance members will seek to reach the working , marginalised Catholic young people so
that they may participate in this Jubilee event.
The Alliance is seeking ways
to bring the rich store of the social teaching of the Catholic Church to the world so that
the common wealth may be used for the common good.
Members of the Alliance met
with Archbishop Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Dicastry to help
the poor. Examining the initiatives of that Council in its mission to coordinate all the
initiatives on charity and to inspire all the groups, the Alliance members were
particularly struck by one Council initiative for the Year of Charity 1999: the Panis
Caritatis - the bread of charity. The loaf of 12 pieces reminds those eating it of the
twelve apostles sent by Christ to the poor. Practically, the money from one piece of each
loaf is given to the poor. Responding to the maxim: If you give a fish you feed a person
today; if you teach how to fish you give food for life, the Alliance members are to
examine the Council's document on hunger in the world to promulgate its message on
providing charity without destroying the human dignity of recipients.
Dr Edmund Kwaw, President
Sir Tony Rouse, Secretary
General
Members of the Alliance are:
Knights of Columbus, United States of
America;
Knights of St Columba, United Kingdom;
Knights of St Columbanus, Ireland;
Knights of Da Gama, South Africa;
Knights of the Southern Cross New Zealand;
Knights of the Southern Cross Australia;
Knights of Peter Claver, United States of America;
Knights of Marshall, Ghana;
Knights of St Mulumba, Nigeria;
Fraternal Order of Saints Peter and Paul, The Gambia;
Knights of St Virgil, Austria;
Knights of St Gabriel, United Nations; and
Knights of St Thomas the Apostle, Pakistan
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