The USA is the third largest state in the world both in terms of area and population. About 75 percent of the Americans belong to a Christian Church, approximately 24 percent thereof to the Roman Catholic Church, the others to a Protestant Church. The social net of the American citizens appears to become increasingly insecure and many people are engaged in income activities far beyond the age of retirement.
Kolping in the USA
The mission statement of Kolping USA says: We, the members of the Catholic Kolping Society of America, extend the vision of our founder, Blessed Adolph Kolping, by promoting the development of the individual and family; we foster a sense of belonging and friendship through our program of spiritual, educational, charitable and social activities.
Already on May 17, 1856 the first journeymen’s association of the USA was founded in St. Louis! In 1923 Kolping USA acquired the status of a National Association. The association currently has 1,478 members in 11 Kolping Families nationwide.
What a Kolping representative to the UN does
For more than 20 years Mr John Reitter has been the representative of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL with the UN in New York and sees to it that the Consultative Status of the Kolping Association is filled with life. Through his participation in the regular conferences he time and again presents the activities of the Kolping Association at the level of the UN and introduces the papers and declarations of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL into the work of the UN.
“KOLPING INTERNATIONAL has not only brought many of the concerns into the communities and homes of the people, but has also provided some of the solutions, the spiritual values, the temporal training and assistance to help the individual realize his full potential. In turn, we go back to the UN Agencies with interventions calling on the 191 Member States to fulfil commitments they have previously made in the various worldwide conferences held over the past years, but we do so with a voice full of real life experiences to assist in making those commitments a reality. We have taken stands in support of families, education for all children, debt relief, women’s and children’s rights, and spoken out against abortion, trafficking of human beings, cloning, and abuses of women and children among other issues.”
