Who We Are
The Committee for Religious Liberty of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops seeks to strengthen and sustain religious freedom by assisting the U.S. bishops, individually and collectively, to teach about religious freedom to the faithful and the broader public, and to promote and defend religious freedom in law and policy.
To this end we:
- Collaborate with other USCCB committees on religious liberty issues
- Develop educational materials
- Sponsor the annual Religious Freedom Week (June 22 - 29)
- Provide materials for the Solemnity of Christ the King
- Circulate fact sheets and other information on critical issues
- Publish First Freedom newsletter
- Provide dioceses with religious liberty liturgical resources
- Coordinate/advise on public policy efforts concerning these issues
Chairman
Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Chairman
Bishop of Ft. Wayne-South Bend
Committee Members
Most Reverend Robert E. Barron
Bishop of Winona-Rochester
Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge
Bishop of Arlington
Most Reverend James D. Conley
Bishop of Lincoln
Most Reverend Thomas A. Daly
Bishop of Spokane
Most Reverend Robert J. McClory
Bishop of Gary
Most Reverend Michael F. Olson
Bishop of Fort Worth
Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz
Bishop of El Paso
Most Reverend A. Elias Zaidan, MLM
Bishop of Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon
Consultants
Most Reverend Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
Most Reverend William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore
Maria Montserrat (“Montse”) Alvarado
President and COO of EWTN News
Richard W. Garnett
University of Notre Dame Paul J. Schierl / Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law; Concurrent Professor of Political Science; Faculty Director, Notre Dame Program on Church, State & Society
Mary Rice Hasson
Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Co-founder and Director of the Person and Identity Project
Patrick E. Kelly
Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus
L. Martin Nussbaum
Partner, First & Fourteenth PLLC; General Counsel, Catholic Benefits Association
Staff
Aaron M. Weldon, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Diana Brown
Program Specialist
Emily Schumacher-Novak
Associate Director, Education and Outreach