ARLINGTON, VA (5/19/07) - The St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc. presented Charl van Wyk of the Republic of South Africa with its Medallion of Honor and accompanying certificate during ceremonies last week in Potomac MD, Society Chairman John M. Snyder announced here today.

'Charl is a true, heroic proponent in both word and deed of the legitimate right to self-defense. He is a genuine, living exemplar of the principles upon which the international, interdenominational St. Gabriel Possenti Society is based. We are delighted that he is here with us in the United States to accept this presentation in person. Even his brief presence among us offers a strong counter to thoughtless calls for civilian disarmament coming from some American churchmen.

'Today, we in the United States face perpetually the possibility of terrorist attacks of various sorts. The examples of both Charl van Wyk and St. Gabriel Possenti offer us valuable instruction on how we can be prepared individually to protect innocent life from violent terrorist attack.-

In July 1993, Charl, relying on his faith and a .38 caliber special revolver, caused a gang of terrorists armed with grenades and AK-47s to flee a Cape Town church in the St. James Massacre.

The terrorists murdered 11 and wounded 58 parishioners. Charl fired five rounds with his handgun, wounding one. The gang fled.

The incident led Charl to become an even more ardent defender of the right to self-defense and the right to bear arms than he already had been. He recounted his experiences in his book, Shooting Back - The Right and Duty of Self-Defense.

A member of the Anglican Church of South Africa, Charl is Assistant Director of Frontline Fellowship, a trans-denominational missionary organization.

The namesake of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society was a Catholic seminarian who saved villagers of Isola del Gran Sasso, Italy from a gang of terrorists in 1860 with a striking, one-shot, lizard-slaying demonstration of handgun marksmanship. He died of natural causes in 1862. Pope Benedict XV canonized him in 1920. The Society seeks his official Vatican designation as Patron of Handgunners. It emphasizes the historical, philosophical and theological bases for the doctrine of legitimate self-defense.

For more information, contact John Snyder at 703-212-9863 or 321-385-9193 or by email at gundean@aol.com. Website: www.gunsaint.com.