Catholic Transcript Online

FAIRFIELD – The leader of the world’s largest lay Catholic organization is calling for a summit this month to promote volunteerism and to organize a response to the deepening economic crisis.

Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, issued the invitation while pointing out that the economy is hurting nonprofits at a time when they face greater demand for food, shelter, clothing and job and psychological services.

“If history will diagnose a major cause of this crisis to have been … greed, let us work so that history will judge the prescription to be charity,” he said in a speech Jan. 23 at Fairfield University.

In his talk, Mr. Anderson proposed the summit of religious and secular charitable and volunteer organizations on Feb. 27 in New York City.

The summit will be sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Fairfield University Center for Faith and Public Life.

The speech also encouraged charitable organizations to work together with the new administration to emphasize and create opportunities for volunteers, especially at a time when financial donations to charity are decreasing.

Speaking just days after the Jan. 19 National Day of Service, Mr. Anderson also called for Americans to take the spirit of that day forward and to make 2009 “the year of the volunteer.”

“Government and charities must work together for the good of our country, and in difficult economic times, that means creating opportunities for Americans to give of their time and talent, as well as their treasure,” said Mr. Anderson.

“People may be unable to donate 50 or 100 dollars to charity, but everyone can certainly spend an extra hour a week – that’s less than 10 minutes a day – doing something for the good of his or her neighbor.”

Mr. Anderson referred to a section about charity from Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical.

“‘Love – caritas will always prove necessary, even in the most just socity. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love […] There will always be suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will always be loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love of neighbor is indisputable,’” Pope Benedict wrote.

Mr. Anderson is the author of last year’s New York Times bestseller A Civilization of Love (HarperOne).