WILDWOOD — Some 2,000 Knights of Columbus and family members traveled to Wildwood for their annual state convention, May 14-17.
The official beginning of the convention was a Mass celebrated by Bishop Charles J. McDonnell, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Newark and chaplain of the New Jersey State Council, at St. Ann Church on Friday morning. A dozen children, who recently received their first Holy Communion at St. Ann, participated in a May crowning of the Blessed Mother ceremony at the Mass.
Thomas Ciborski, State Deputy, called the delegates, representing the nearly 65,000 members of the Knights in the state, to order on Friday at noon in the Wildwood Convention Center. During the convention meetings, the Knights elected their slate of officers for the coming year:
— Herbert Meyer (Newark) – State Deputy;
— Wayne McCormack (Metuchen) – State Secretary;
— Daniel Rossi (Trenton) – State Treasurer;
— John Moore (Camden) – State Advocate; and
— Bruce DeMolli (Paterson) – State Warden.
The delegates also passed a number of resolutions, most notably ones addressing three crucial issues in which the Knights have provided leadership in New Jersey. The first affirms their support of traditional marriage and call upon the governor and members of the state legislature to enact SCR 30/ACR 120 that will allow the people to decide on the definition of marriage through a referendum on the matter.
A second supports the “Urban Enterprise Zone Jobs Scholarship Act” (S-1607/A-2897) and urges its passage by the state legislature and enactment into law by the signature of the governor.
The third calls upon the state legislature to enact the “Full Disclosure Ultrasound Bill” (S-2800) requiring that a sonogram be made available to every woman before she undergoes abortion surgery.
At the closing banquet, guest speaker Sister Helen Prejean captivated the audience with her personal and passionate testimony on her opposition to the death penalty.
Sister Helen is best known for her first book, “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States.” The book became a bestseller, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and inspired an Oscar-winning movie, starring Susan Sarandon.