Who We Are

Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

The committee assists the bishops, both collectively and individually, in advancing the social mission of the Church, within a 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

Committee Members

Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley
Chairman
Archbishop of Oklahoma City

Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane
Bishop of Venice

Most Reverend David J. Malloy
Bishop of Rockford

Most Reverend David G. O'Connell
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

Most Reverend Richard E. Pates
Bishop Emeritus of Des Moines    

Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

Most Reverend David P. Talley
Bishop of Memphis

Most Reverend James S. Wall
Bishop of Gallup

Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski
Archbishop of Miami

Consultants

Mr. Ray Boshara
Senior Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 

Mr. John H. Garvey, Esq.
President
The Catholic University of America

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 Christine Cremin, R.S.M.
Executive Director
Council of Major Superior of Women Religious

Mr. James Ennis
Executive Director
National Catholic Rural Life Conference 

Mr. Jason D. Hall
Executive Director
Catholic Conference of Kentucky

Sr. Mary Haddad, R.S.M.
President/C.E.O.
The Catholic Health Association of the United States   

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

Very Reverend Mark Padrez, O.P.
Executive Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men 

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

Staff

Vacant
Director
Hunger and Nutrition, Agriculture, Agriculture Labor, Farm Bill, Argriculture Appropriations, Rural Development, Religious Liberty-Domestic Policy, Trade, U.S.-Mexico Border

Julie Bodnar
Policy Advisor
Domestic Poverty and Income Support, Menal and Behavioral Health, Affordable Housing, Census, Native American Issues, Payday Lending, Healthcare

Michael O'Rourke
Policy Advisor
Financial Regulation, Civil Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Gun Violence, Death Penalty, Labor, Tax Policy

Elizabeth Dietz
DSD Staff Assistant