Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

The committee assists the bishops, both collectively and individually, in advancing the social mission of the Church, with culturally diverse community, through education, poverty awareness, capacity- and constituency-building, outreach, policy development, advocacy, and the organization of low-income communities. The committee advises the bishops on issues of human dignity, development, and poverty.

This mandate includes the following areas of responsibility: Domestic policy and advocacy, Catholic social teaching education outreach to dioceses and Catholic social mission organizations, and the Church's domestic anti-poverty effort, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development—including the Campaign's grant-making, poverty awareness initiatives, and resource development activities.

Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development: Mandate and Goals

 

Who We Are

  • Committee Members
  • Consultants
  • Observers
  • Staff
Committee Members

Most Reverend Borys Gudziak
Chairman
Archbishop of Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia

Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley
Archbishop of Oklahoma City

Most Reverend Mario E. Dorsonville-Rodriguez
Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux

Most Reverend Joseph A. Espaillat
Auxiliary Bishop of New York

Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre
Archbishop of Louisville

Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda
Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Most Reverend William M. Joensen
Bishop of Des Moines

Most Reverend William E. Koenig
Bishop of Wilmington

Most Reverend David J. Malloy
Bishop of Rockford

Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior
Bishop of Harrisburg

Most Reverend A. Elias Zaidan
Bishop of Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon

 

Consultants

Mr. Ray Boshara

Hon. Thomas More Donnelly
Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County

Dr. Joseph P. Kaboski
David F. and Erin F. Seng Foundation Professor of Economics
University of Notre Dame

Dr. Michael J. Naughton
Moss Chair in Catholic Social Thought
Director, John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought, University of St. Thomas

Ms. Debra Soltis, Esq.
Kiyonaga & Soltis, P.C.

Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox
Director, National Marriage Project
Director, Graduate Studies, Sociology Department and Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia 

Observers

Sr. Mary Bendyna, O.P.
Executive Director
Council of Major Superior of Women Religious

Rev. Frank Donio, S.A.C.
Executive Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men 

Mr. James Ennis
Executive Director
Catholic Rural Life Conference 

Sr. Mary Haddad, R.S.M.
President and CEO
Catholic Health Association of the United States

Dr. Peter K. Kilpatrick
President
Catholic University of America

Sr. Donna Markham, O.P., Ph.D.
President
Catholic Charities USA

Sr. Carol Zinn, S.S.J., Ph.D.
Executive Director
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Staff

Michael O'Rourke
Director

Julie Bodnar
Policy Advisor
Agriculture and Rural Development, Domestic Poverty and Income Support, Housing, Hunger and Nutrition, Payday Lending, Labor and Work, Trade, US-Mexico Border

Katherine Sheffield
Consultant 
Civil Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Death Penalty, Gun Violence, Healthcare, Mental and Behavioral Health, Human Trafficking, Native American Issues, Tax Policy

Elizabeth Dietz
DSD Staff Assistant