An Antidote to Isolation

Through Christ-centered friendship and fraternity, men discover who they are called to be

By Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly

TO BE HUMAN is to experience loneliness. It’s a part of our human condition and has been since the dawn of history. Yet today, for many, the experience of loneliness has grown acute. In 2023, the U.S. surgeon general released an advisory report on what he called “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” detailing the threat that social disconnection poses to the health of individuals and society.

The epidemic has hit young men especially hard — with many struggling more than ever to form healthy relationships. A 2020 study found that 28% of men under 30 say they have no close friends. Meanwhile, young men now account for three out of every four “deaths of despair” from suicide or overdose, which have reached historic levels.

This epidemic also seems to be fueling a troubling rise in the use of “AI companions.” These sophisticated chatbots are, simply put, the modern version of an imaginary friend. They are designed to simulate empathetic and supportive conversations, as if you were talking to a real person. Powered by artificial intelligence, they tailor their responses to the user’s emotional needs — offering comfort, support and validation. A 2024 Pew study found that 67% of adults under 35 have interacted with an AI companion, and 23% say they prefer these digital relationships to human ones.

Last month, Pope Leo XIV held a prayer vigil outside Rome with 1 million young people during the Jubilee for Youth. At the vigil, a young woman told the Holy Father that she was concerned that her generation’s overreliance on technology was leaving them empty and disillusioned. She then asked, “How can we find true friendship and genuine love?”

Pope Leo told her — and the 1 million young people listening — that technology is a poor substitute for real friendship. Algorithms and digital platforms, he warned, can become tools that control us, making us “a commodity 

on the market and, in turn, a piece of merchandise.” Only genuine relationships and stable connections, he said, can build good lives.

Isolation and loneliness can lead to dark places — to depression and addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, and now, it seems, to AI companions.

Yet, deep down, every man wants to protect and provide — and to serve a cause greater than himself. This is the journey of the spiritual life, and it’s the greatest adventure any man can undertake. It is a life that demands heroism and courage. It’s a life that matters.

This is what the Knights of Columbus offers. We give men the chance to live that life of courage, to be part of something much greater than themselves — and to do that while connecting with like-minded men.

We can be there for the young man struggling in the darkness, the young man who is having a hard time connecting to others. We can empower him to leave behind what holds him back and become who God created him to be: a man made for mission, a man made to serve others.

In his response at the vigil, Pope Leo said that friendship with Christ — in whom we find “a love capable of giving hope” — is how we can find and build authentic friendships with others. This friendship is the foundation of our fraternity and the goal of our Cor initiative. Cor brings men together in an atmosphere of trust so they can strengthen their relationship with Christ and form genuine friendships in him.

More than 140 years ago, Father Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus through a culture of invitation. He invited the struggling men of his parish to come together and serve a greater cause. Let’s do the same for the men of our generation — and do our part to fight the epidemic of loneliness and isolation.

Vivat Jesus!