The International Alliance of Catholic Knights brings together fifteen Orders of Catholic men with a combined membership of over 1,6 million members, who work in twenty-six countries throughout the world. All are deeply committed to defending the basic human right to life enjoyed by every human being from conception to natural death.
To this end, in 1992 the Alliance decided to seek out and recognize outstanding initiatives in defense of the Right to Life by organizations and individuals throughout the world, by instituting the international award ‘Initiatives for Life'.
The
Award was named
‘Michael Bell Award'
in honor of a Catholic English lawyer who gave
heroic service to the
Right to Life movement during his lifetime and whose
influence and example spread to many parts of the world
by means of a great number of initiatives.
His
involvement in the pro-Life and pro-Family Cause started
in his country of birth, Brazil, and developed later in
Canada, The USA, South Africa, New Zealand and
Australia.
The International
Alliance of Catholic Knights did not present to Raymond
de Souza the ‘Michael Bell Award' because of any of his
initiatives for life - but because a lifetime full of
initiatives for Life.