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 Frank J. Dewane
Chairman
Bishop of Venice

Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley
Chairman-Elect
Archbishop of Oklahoma City

Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, SJ
Bishop of Oakland

Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput
Archbishop of Philadelphia

Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio
Bishop of Brooklyn

Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy
Bishop of San Diego

Most Reverend Jaime Soto
Bishop of Sacramento

Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan
Bishop of Camden

Most Reverend David P. Talley
Bishop of Memphis

Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski
Archbishop of Miami

Consultants

Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila
Archbishop of Denver

Most Reverend Oscar Cantú
Coadjutor Bishop of San Jose

Most Reverend Joe D. Vásquez
Bishop of Austin

Most Reverend David P. Zubik
Bishop of Pittsburgh

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

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. Joan Marie Steadman, C.S.C.
Executive Director
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Sr. Marie Bernadette Thompson, O.P.
Council Coordinator
Council of Major Superior of Women Religious

Staff

Richard Coll
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