Washington, D.C. - In a videotaped greeting to the Knights of Columbus gathered in Washington,D.C., for their 121st annual meeting,President George Bush urged members of the Catholic fraternal order to make their voices heard on pro-life legislation and to back the nomination of "good strong judges" to the U.S. courts.

President Bush thanked the Knights for helping "build a culture of life where every human being counts." He also used his message to urge the Congress to send him legislation to outlaw partial birth abortion and to ban cloning.

The president said he welcomed the Knights' involvement in their communities and efforts allied with his administration's initiatives to "build a more welcoming society."

The videotape was introduced by Matthew Smith, asociate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Smith, a member of the Knights, congratulated the organization for prayer books printed and provided to the troops along with rosaries earlier this year. "Thanks on behalf of the commander in chief for supporting the troops," Smith said.

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic family fraternal service organization with more than 1.6 million members in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. In 2002, Knights at all levels of the organization reported raising and distributing to charity $128 million and volunteering more than 60 million hours of service. The Knights was founded in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, a 29-year-old Catholic priest. Father McGivney's cause for canonization is under review by the Vatican.