To those students who have spent the last week criticizing the Holy Father: Stop it. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Here you are, attending the premier Catholic university in the nation and you attack the head of the Catholic Church. Seriously? What makes you think that you, someone barely out of high school, has more knowledge and insight than the Pope does in matters of spirituality and the shepherding of the Church? For you to assume that your judgment surpasses that of the Holy Father's on these issues is incredibly, ridiculously and offensively arrogant. If you haughty ones are unwilling to accept the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, perhaps this isn't the university for you.
But you're probably wondering, what authority does this guy have to say these things? Isn't he, after all, "barely out of high school" as well? Certainly. But I am a Knight of Columbus. The Knights are ever-committed to defending our priests, our bishops, and yes - you guessed it - our Pope. Any attack on the Holy See will always be met with a passionate, rigorous and emphatic defense of the Holy Father. So I'm not just speaking for myself - I am speaking for the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1477. There's a reason that our organization has been dubbed "the strong right arm of the Church" - when the battle rages, we're always there, unified, defending our Church and her leaders.
If you are interested in joining our Catholic brotherhood, e-mail Jim Redden at jredden@nd.edu. Our only requirements are that you must be over 18, Catholic and male. We are always looking for new brother Knights to join us in the good fight. God bless you all; God bless Pope Benedict XVI.
Lee Metzger
grad student
off campus
Feb. 8
