In both 2014 and 2015, the Knights of Columbus was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. This is a tremendous honor and achievement that all Knights should be proud of. You are part of a fraternal benefit society that puts integrity above everything.

But tremendous though it is, being one of the world’s most ethical companies is not just an achievement; it’s our legacy and our responsibility. We won’t settle for less. We owe it to our founder, to our Church, and to our members. As a business, the Knights of Columbus holds a unique place in the world.

For starters, we were founded by a Venerable Servant of God, who, we pray, is on the path to Sainthood. How many companies can say that? It is our responsibility to continue the business in a way that Father McGivney intended. He founded this organization so that a caring community of Catholic families could come together and protect widows and orphans from financial devastation upon the death of the bread winner. Our mission remains the same 133 years later.

From our founding to the present day, we are and have been an unapologetically Catholic company. For us, this means that we must conduct our business in accordance with Catholic principles. We have established a strict screening process for our investments, and we refuse to invest in companies that deal in abortions, contraception, human cloning, embryonic stem cell research, for-profit health care that pays for any of the aforementioned, and pornography.

We are an organization by brother Knights, for brother Knights. We don’t worry about stock price, shareholders, or corporate takeovers. We don’t obsess over profit margins and golden parachutes. We worry about doing what’s right for our members and their families. After all, we’re brother Knights too.

As agents, we are rigorously trained to adhere to the highest ethical standards. Each of us must sign a Code of Ethics, which is modeled after the Ten Commandments. Among its commandments is “Thou shall present, honestly and accurately, all the facts necessary to enable a member to make an informed decision.” “Our fraternal ties to our members,” it goes on to say, “make it more incumbent on us, in our dealings with them, to assure that their interests are uppermost in our minds as we provide solutions to their financial needs. It all boils down simply to the golden rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” After all, we are our brother’s keeper.

That’s our commitment to you. And that’s our commitment to conducting our business in line with Church teaching, and in line with the vision of our holy founder.

We are honored that the Ethisphere Institute has acknowledged that commitment.