Quebec City, Canada, Aug 4, 2008 / 14:19 pm

The Knights of Columbus is to launch its “Fathers for Good” initiative on Tuesday during the opening session of the Catholic fraternal charity’s annual convention in Quebec City. The initiative is aimed at helping men strengthening their marriages and families in a culture that it says “often does not value fatherhood.”

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson will announce the fatherhood initiative during the delivery of his annual report on Tuesday afternoon. A special website for the initiative will also launch tomorrow.

“Fatherhood is a gift, a privilege and a responsibility," Anderson says in a video message on the Fathers for Good website. The way in which men accept the gift of fatherhood, he continues, determines the ways in which they will build up their families and communities.

"By being faithful to our calling as husbands and fathers," Anderson notes, "we are ultimately being faithful to ourselves."

The theme for the website, “A Father’s Identity,” is examined in resources meant to help men build a strong, loving, and confident identity in a culture that “often does not value fatherhood or masculine virtues,” a Knights of Columbus statement says. Future website themes will be determined by votes from visitors.

Featuring videos, podcasts, a bookstore, and opportunities for questions to be answered in e-mail exchanges, the site provides expert advice on how men can be better fathers and husbands and includes information on men’s health and financial issues. It also discusses male spirituality and men’s relationship with God, topics that the Knights of Columbus say are often overlooked at other men’s sites.

In some of the highlighted podcasts, New York Giants Super Bowl champion Chris Godfrey explains how to talk about sex with one’s children, while pediatrician Dr. Meg Meeker delivers a special message to fathers about their relationships with their children.

Addressing a press conference held Monday in Quebec City, Knights of Columbus vice president of communications Patrick Korten explained that the Knights are very aware that this is an election year.

“There are a few issues that are of extreme interest to us as Catholics and Knights” and among these are “the life issues and marriage,” Korten said.

According to the Knights, the fatherhood initiative flows out of those concerns.

The "Fathers for Good" web site is located at www.fathersforgood.org.