Knights honor pro-life advocates
By Lou Baldwin
Special to the CS&T
As with any phrase, the important call for “respecting life from
the moment of conception until natural death” can lose its impact
through repetition.
But its true meaning remained in sharp focus for the Philadelphia Knights
of Columbus, in awards the chapter presented at its annual Columbus Day
Dinner on Oct. 15 at Rosewood Caterers.
Joseph Mortimer, the founder and editor of the periodic newsletter, Voices
for the Unborn, was honored for his work in the fight against abortion.
And Rita Ungaro-Schiavone, the founder and executive director of Aid For
Friends, was honored for her tireless work on behalf of shut-ins, especially
the frail elderly.
A member of St. Jerome Parish, Schiavone began her social outreach in
the 1960s by serving in the interracial and interfaith dialogue programs
of the Cardinal’s Commission [on] Human Relations. In 1969, she
instituted a community food distribution program for the needy, relying
on 23 emergency cupboards — a program now operating under the direction
of the archdiocesan Nutritional Development Services. She also worked
on programs for hurricane relief and assistance to poor families in Appalachia.
Schiavone’s chief work began in 1974, with the founding of Aid for
Friends.
The program’s concept is simple but effective. Volunteers cook an
extra portion of their main meal in their home, freeze it in pans provided
by Aid For Friends, and later take the accumulated meals to one the many
collections points at designated Catholic and Protestant churches, and
Jewish synagogues. The meals are then taken by volunteers to the shut-ins;
at this point, the program serves more than 2,200 persons.
But the program’s volunteers are not merely delivery persons. They
devote perhaps an hour of quality time with the meal recipients, because
many of the people they visit hunger as much for human contact and friendship
as they do for physical nourishment.
“People can be disabled in many ways — crippled physically
or with emotional problems, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia,” Schiavone
said. “There is nothing worse than growing old, being sick and alone,
with nobody to talk to.”
Despite the multitude of volunteers, there are never enough, she said.
There is a waiting list of homebound elderly needing to be served.
“The volunteers are the Lord’s love and His heart and His
eyes when they do this,” Schiavone said. The Oct. 15 award by the
Knights was just the latest in a very long list of accolades for her —
not the least the them being the Papal honor, the ProEcclesia et Pontifice
cross.
Joseph Mortimer — “Joe” to everyone who knows him —
is a Feasterville jeweler who began his personal crusade for the lives
of the unborn 18 years ago after hearing a stirring homily preached by
Father Roland Slobogin at his parish church, St. Christopher, in the far
Northeast.
“It was the first time I heard about abortion preached from the
pulpit,” he said.
Teamed with Father Slobogin, and using his own resources, Mortimer started
a half-hour radio show, erected billboards and began writing and publishing
Voices for the Unborn. The newsletter, with a circulation of about 5,500
reaches 44 states and 11 foreign countries. Mortimer also branched into
television, taping shows in a studio he built in his place of business.
His programs featuring well-known pro-life advocates have been aired in
many areas on radio and cable TV. A longtime member of the Knights of
Columbus through the St. Katharine Drexel Council, Mortimer is assisted
in his work by a core group of unpaid volunteers, many, if not most of
them, also members of the Knights.
Right now, because of the expense, Voices for the Unborn is not televised,
but Mortimer hopes to galvanize support, especially through the Knights,
for statewide coverage. His group has also put out a comprehensive national
directory listing 6,000 pro-life groups.
The Philadelphia Chapter, Knights of Columbus is an association of many
of the area’s Knights of Columbus councils.
Also honored at its 105th annual Columbus Day Banquet were Man of the
Year Joseph Fleming and Immediate Past President Frank Sistrunk.
Fleming, of St. Albert the Great Parish, Huntingdon Valley and a longtime
Knight, was named the councils’ Man of the year. He heads the chapter’s
Medical Aid and Social Services (MASS) Committee, which assists members
and their families with physical needs.
Sistrunk, a member of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, has also
in the past headed many of the chapter’s outreach programs, including
the long-standing annual children’s outing, which treats institutionalized
and needy children in the area to a day at an amusement park.
For further information concerning Aid For Friends call 215-464-2244 or
go to www.aidforfriends.org.
For further information concerning Voices For the Unborn call 215-355-5292
or go to www.voicesfortheunborn.com.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.