Later on Tuesday evening, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow and former personal secretary to Pope St. John Paul II, praised the Knights for spreading the messages of mercy and the Gospel all over the world.
"The Knights of Columbus embraced the message of Divine Mercy proclaimed by the Pope from Kraków, and they proclaim this message in a world affected by various forms of injustice and violence," he said in his remarks at the dinner.
Pope Francis has taught us to see to see "the other," our neighbor," as a "gift," Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, said on Tuesday at the dinner.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, he said that the two men who passed by the wounded man were "looking to self-interest, looking to other things." The Good Samaritan, however, "tosses aside any consideration except love of neighbor. His help and generosity is excessive."
Furthermore, he said, Christ teaches that "there is no more boundary when it comes to 'who are you neighbor to'?" The Knights of Columbus live this teaching out, he said, helping everyone – the immigrant, the refugee, or the Christian displaced from their home.
Cardinal DiNardo also urged those in attendance to join in solidarity with Eastern Rite Catholics who are fasting before the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. He asked Latin rite Catholics to pray and fast for persecuted Christians in the days leading up to the Assumption.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Vatican sent a message to the convention assuring those in attendance of the "good wishes" and prayers of Pope Francis.
"The Holy Father has often observed that in our own day a new world war is being fought piecemeal, as an ungodly thirst for power and domination, whether economic, political, or military, is leading to untold violence, injustice and suffering in our human family," Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, said in his written message delivered at the opening business session of the convention.
Pope Francis, he said, "has asked Christians everywhere, truly convinced of the infinite power of God's love, to reject this mentality and to combat the growth of a global culture of indifference that discards the least of our brothers and sisters."
Cardinal Parolin asked the Knights to "respond generously to this challenge" through working for the "sanctification of the world from within" in their lay vocation.
He also noted Pope Francis' appreciation for the Knights upholding "the sanctity of marriage and the dignity and beauty of family life," as well as the organization's aid to persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
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Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.