Knights of Columbus, Illustrated... A Complete Ritual and History of the First Three Degrees...An Historical Sketch of the Institution Knights of Columbus (1920)
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Knights of Columbus, Illustrated... A Complete Ritual and History of the First Three Degrees...An Historical Sketch of the Institution Knights of Columbus (1920)
Author of this pamphlet, Thomas Cornelius Knight, judges the Knights of Columbus rather kindly. The only features of the Order which it criticizes are, first, "the farcical element" in the initiation ceremony of the third degree, about which there has been a good deal of complaint even among members of the Order. Second, "a singular lack of moral emphasis." This objection is unfounded, for the candidate pledges himself repeatedly to God and promises to obey the Church, which is by all believing Catholics regarded as the depository of the divine law. The third objection is "the singular omission of prayer from the ritual of initiation." The chaplain at each meeting offers this ancient and beautiful invocation: "May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, descend upon us and remain with us forever. Amen." As the pamphlet does not contain the full ritual of the Order, an outsider is unable to say whether this is the only prayer offered, though it seems to us both appropriate and sufficient.
From inside the book: "During the past years the many activities in which the Knights of Columbus have been engaged, both political and religious, have brought them before the public notice continually, thus creating a tremendous demand for literature concerning the Order. For an organization that has been in existence so short a time to have reached a membership of nearly one half a million seems phenomenal, but such are the facts. "
