NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, March 7, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — The Knights of Columbus, a major donor to the Salt + Light Catholic Media Foundation, is “re-evaluating” its relationship with the organization.
The Knights of Columbus, North America’s preeminent organization of charitable Catholic laymen, told LifeSiteNews last night that it was “very concerned” in the wake of recent revelations of extensive plagiarism by Salt + Light CEO Fr. Thomas Rosica.
Journalists and scholars have discovered that Rosica, 60, a Vatican spokesman and communications consultant, has been plagiarizing extensively for over 30 years. Rosica’s misappropriations of others’ uncredited work appear in some of his newspaper columns, speeches, books, and articles for peer-reviewed academic journals.
In addition, Rosica has been exaggerating his academic credentials, claiming to have “advanced degrees” in theology from universities in Toronto, Rome, and Jerusalem. However, the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem told LifeSiteNews that, while Rosica had been a student there, he had not received a degree or diploma. Rosica has an M.Div./S.T.B. from Regis College in Toronto, and the Pontifical Institute in Rome confirmed today that it awarded Rosica a license in Sacred Scripture.
“The Knights of Columbus is very concerned about the troubling information about Father Rosica,” said Kevin Shinkle, the senior vice president and chief communications officer at the Knights of Columbus.
“While we continue to believe in the importance of Catholic media in Canada, we are re-evaluating our relationship with Salt + Light Television.”
In 2017, Salt + Light reported assets of almost $3 million CAD. The organization’s total revenue for the year neared $4 million CAD. It received $2,327,797 CAD from other registered charities, including the Knights of Columbus. According to Charitydata.ca, the Toronto Council of the Knights of Columbus gave Salt + Light $62,107 CAD in 2017.
RELATED: ‘No formal diploma’: Jerusalem college denies Rosica’s claim they gave him ‘advanced degree’
The Knights of Columbus’ American tax records reveal that St. Joseph’s Printing in Concord, Ontario, whose president John Gagliano is on the Board of Salt + Light, is one of the Knights’ major contractors, receiving revenues of $3,242,860 USD in 2015 for “printing services.” The company prints Columbia magazine, which the Knights send out to all of its members.
Salt + Light Catholic Media Foundation was the brainchild of the late Gaetano Gagliano, a successful Italian-Canadian businessman whose children inherited both his St Joseph’s Communications publishing empire and his friendship with Salt + Light CEO Thomas Rosica.
Almost two weeks after Rosica’s serial plagiarism came to light, St. Joseph’s Communications chief Tony Gagliano issued a statement saying that the Board of Salt + Light planned to keep the priest as their CEO.
The Knights of Columbus give millions of dollars to Catholic causes, including numerous pro-life, pro-family charities in Canada and the USA. These include a counselling service for post-abortive women, the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of Life, the Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., and the Canadian March for Life in Ottawa .
The Catholic men’s organization also supports Crux newspaper, for which it is criticized by conservative Catholics, and funds EWTN News Nightly, for which it is questioned by liberals.
Find all of LifeSite's coverage of the Fr. Rosica plagiarism scandal here.