New book collects Carl Anderson's speeches on religious liberty

A recently published work collects speeches, articles, and essays by Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, on religious freedom, respect for life, and more.

These Liberties We Hold Sacred was published Jan. 27 by Square One Publishers.

Its 26 selections regard domestic religious freedom, conscience, and secularism; international religious freedom; respect for life; transcending partisanship; and love in society.

Anderson, who will retire as Supreme Knight at the end of February, has been a vocal advocate for religious freedom, both nationally and internationally, throughout his career.

“What should America be? Can its promise of liberty and justice for all be fulfilled? These questions — over the past year — seem to be tearing our country apart,” Anderson wrote in the book's introduction. “Is there a greatness or promise in our constitution that should be embraced, or has the American experiment failed to such an extent that it needs to be radically re-constituted? This book, through a series of essays and speeches on the subject of the confluence of faith and public life, speaks to that question.”

The Knights of Columbus has over 2 million members in 16,000 councils worldwide. The order was founded in 1882 by a Connecticut parish priest, Blessed Michael J. McGivney, who was beatified in October 2020. It is dedicated to the principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. In 2020 members of the Knights performed over 77 million reported service hours and gave over $187 million for charitable causes.