Dear Roundtable,

On Thursday, the FY13 budget proposed by Rep. Ryan was approved, which includes deep cuts to safety net programs which protect the most vulnerable people in the U.S. and around the world.

The day the Ryan proposal was released, 2012 Social Action Summer Institute keynote speaker Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, responded:  “At a time when we should be supporting programs that help poor people get a leg up, we are opting to balance our federal deficit on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society. Unfortunately, this budget proposal fails to create a circle of protection around programs that are vital to hungry and poor people, the elderly, and children.”

Bread for the World’s release continues, “This FY 2013 budget proposal would have a devastating impact on programs

Photo: Ivan Muñoz/Oxfam (Creative Commons)

like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), low-income tax credits, and would make international food aid and poverty-focused foreign assistance vulnerable to cuts that would undermine our national security.”

Now is a crucial time for educators and advocates working in diocesan life and justice ministry to respond to what Cardinal Dolan has called our “broken economy.” For that reason, our 2012 Social Action Summer Institute will be on focused on “Creating Transformative Community: Addressing Poverty Today.” Please join us July 29-Aug. 1 at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. Information is available on our website & registration will open in late April.

Speaking of training opportunities, we were delighted to see many of you at our 27^th Annual Roundtable Symposium in February on The Constitution & Catholic Social Teaching: A Healthy Tension (Thanks be to God!) with Dr. Maryann Love, Dr. Dan Finn, and Fr. Bryan Hehir. Read some of the highlights from the Symposium and check out the photos!

During the Award Banquet, we had an opportunity to hear from Fagan Award winner Jan Benton, who inspired members with her personal story and challenged us to ensure that our ministries are inviting for people of all abilities.

And it’s already time to nominate 2013 winners – make sure to turn in a nomination form by April 20!

In addition to our in-person trainings, the Roundtable continues to host regular webinars. Videos from our January webinar on Building of a Life and Dignity Movement have been posted, as well as our March webinar on the Importance of Pastoral Planning.

In each quarterly newsletter, we like to highlight significant initiatives in dioceses around the country. We know that community organizing can be one of the most effective ways to build relationships and create systemic change in our communities, so in this issue, we highlight the unique community organizing model offered by Catholic Charities of Brooklyn & Queens. Read more about the successes of their unique model of organizing.

At the annual membership meeting, we elected four new board members. You can learn more about them here. As always, the Roundtable Roundup features much of the wonderful work that you are doing around the country.

We need your support to continue this work; please pay your 2012 membership dues soon! Thank you in advance.

May your Holy Week be a time of reflection, personal conversion, and renewal, and your Easter Season a time of great joy and hope!

Blessings,

Jenn Svetlik
Roundtable Coordinator

“To bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, this is the mission statement for the Church that Jesus offers,” presenter Jeff Korgen began the March 30 webinar on Building God’s Kingdom on a Tight Budget: The Importance of Pastoral Planning.

“The question, then,” he continued, “is how do we do this mission in this place, and this time?” He cited Dr. William Pickett’s definition of pastoral planning as “praying and thinking about the actions of the Body of Christ in a given place and time.” To begin pastoral planning for their offices, social action directors should think about their own office’s contribution to this mission.

Jeff invited participants to imagine their office winning the Oak of Justice Prize, then jot down a response to the question, “What makes your office worthy of this prize?” The answer, he contends, is a vision statement. It is the naming of an “ideal future,” for your office. In addition to visioning, Jeff challenged participants to think about goals for their office that could “change everything” if they were achieved. Game-changing goals, Jeff said, alter the way an office approaches their planning.

Jeff lifted up the example of the Diocese of Tucson, where the social action director realized that justice on the border would be a “game-changer,” since so many other life and justice issues emanate from that one. This type of focus “gives single-issue politics a good name,” Jeff said.

Objectives are the next step of the planning process and should be concrete and measureable; they are the “rungs on the ladder to get us to our goals,” goals which should address challenges related to the Church’s social mission.

Engaging new leaders in social action work is often the biggest challenge that diocesan directors face. Jeff raised the example from his book My Lord and My God: Engaging Catholics in Social Ministry of Bertha, a woman at the fringe of her parish who took on all the social justice work and used “operational” tactics like bulletin announcements to try to recruit new volunteers.

To overcome this challenge, leadership development should be a goal for every social action office. Using the principles of community organizing, new leaders are developed through relationship building via 1:1 meetings. A pastoral plan’s concrete objectives should include numbers on how many 1:1 meetings with pastors, deacons, religious and lay persons will be completed each week. Jeff critiqued the “operational style” of recruitment via e-blasts and bulletin announcements, reminding participants that Jesus invited people to follow him by calling them by name.

After budget cuts and loss of social action staff in the Diocese of Davenport, the diocesan director had to discover new ways to build capacity in the office. The leaders that the director had developed over the years were willing to help, and he was able to engage ten volunteers, alongside the two paid staff, who worked weekly in the office, each with their own space and each working on a specific program. In exchange for their labor, the diocesan director’s responsibility was to ensure that these volunteers were growing as leaders.

Recognizing that this type of leadership development is time-intensive, Jeff recommended that priority be put on meeting with pastors who weren’t already engaged in justice work but were pastoral leaders who could be engaged and invited to participate. He also recommended that when seeking to collaborate with other diocesan offices, to actively listen to their needs and self-interests. He offered the example of a diocesan Catholic education office that did not feel they had the capacity to take on new justice education initiatives that the social action office wanted them to undertake. However, they were delighted when the social action office took the time to learn that they were in need of speakers at the teachers’ continuing education seminars, and offered to provide speakers on educating about Catholic social teaching. Through relationship building, creative solutions emerge which help to achieve those “game-changing” goals.

The ample time for discussion during the webinar surfaced a number of specific questions about how to do this work in various pastoral situations. Roundtable members who missed the webinar and would like to view the recording can login to the Virtual Roundtable to see it and download the presentation slides.

For those interested in learning even more about using principles of community organizing to build relationships and enhance the capacity of your office, please join us for our upcoming webinar on May 31, which will build on these ideas. Details to follow!

California Catholic Conference to Host Conference on Restorative Justice

The California Catholic Conference, representing the Catholic community in the state of California, will host a conference August 3-4 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles titled “Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration – A Symposium on Crime, Punishment and the Common Good in California.”

The purpose of this statewide event is to convene those affected by the criminal justice system. The 750 attendees will learn more about California’s current system, deepen their awareness of the Restorative Justice model and commit to bringing it into fruition. There will also be a focus on specific calls to actions for all these members of the community, including city, state and local government officials, to provide leadership in creating a criminal justice system that is more responsive to victims, offenders and communities.

The  symposium’s keynote speakers are all fully committed to the restorative justice model. Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix, Jr., of the Tarik Khamisa Foundation, will open the conference on Friday night. The Honorable Judge Gail Brewster Bereola of the Superior Court of California, Alameda County, will be the Saturday keynote.  For more information, visit www.restorejustice.com.

Submitted by Sr. Gail Young, Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Catholic Charities St. Louis hosts Immigration Forum

Catholic Charities of St. Louis recently hosted “A Catholic Forum on Immigration” to educate 100 participants on the Church’s teachings on immigration. The heart of the evening was a 4 person panel that included a pastor, two lawyers, and a religious sister. Fr. John Vien outlined the 5 Principles in Strangers No Longer, informed people of “Justice for Immigrants” and described his parish’s outreach to immigrants and refugees. Sr. Rose Espinos, SSND, told the personal stories of individuals and families affected by our nation’s policies. John Ammann and Ken Schmitt addressed the issue from state and federal levels. Before concluding, each participant was asked to identify one simple, specific concrete action s/he would take as a result of what s/he learned that evening. Participants has access to about 20 different handouts from Justice for Immigrants and other sources.

The Archbishop wrote an article in the diocesan paper a few weeks before the forum; read it here.

See their: publicity flyer / Facebook Event Information / Catholic Charities of St. Louis PSM website.

Submitted by Greg Rohde, Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Archdiocese of Washington Social Ministry & Life Issues Conference – April 14

This year the annual conference will be a joint event with the departments for Charity and Justice and Life Issues, on the theme “Faith Seeking Understanding. Building a Civilization of Life and Love.” Keynote speakers include Fr. Daniel Mindling, OFM, Cap., professor of moral theology at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg and Richard Doerflinger, associate director of Pro-Life Activities at the USCCB. Six workshops will also be offered. A special highlight this year is the High School Ambassadors program which aims to bring four students from each of the 18 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese to the conference.

Submitted by Tony Bosnick, Archdiocese of Washington.

Transitions at the Roundtable

Please welcome Biff Rocha, Director of the Office of Global Mission in the Diocese of Toledo.

Biff Rocha was raised in Cleveland and received his MA in Theology at the University of Dayton after serving as a campus minister. He’s currently in the process of completing his dissertation. For the last six years Biff had been directing the Youth Ministry program at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Along with teaching theology courses Biff has taught courses in catechesis, apologetics, youth ministry and evangelization. Contact Biff at brocha [at] toledodiocese.org or 419-244-4791×503.

Please welcome Stuart Andrie, Ministry Coordinator for the newly formed office of Justice and Life for the Diocese of Victoria, British Columbia.

Stuart previously taught in the Religious Education Department of the Catholic schools of the dioceses and served as Youth Ministry Consultant for the Diocese of Victoria. He received his BA in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and his MA in Religious Studies from Providence College in Rhode Island. Stuart also completed four years of postgraduate studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and taught in the Caribbean for two years in Antigua while serving as a lay missionary. Contact Stuart at sandrie [at] rcdvictoria.org or  (250) 479-1331×244. 

Greg Rohde is leaving Catholic Charities of St. Louis

After four great years, I am leaving Catholic Charities of St. Louis. Both my mom and 100 year-old uncle are now in hospice care. For the short term, I hope to be more present with them and my family. For the long term, I am relying on God’s grace as I discern where God calls me next. One of the greatest blessings of my life has been the people I serve and with whom I serve.  Thank you for the richness you have added to my life. Please know that you are in my prayers and I ask that you keep me in yours.

One of the things I’ll miss most is my national colleagues.  During my four years in Parish Social Ministry, I was impressed by the caliber of my national colleagues, people who are committed to this mission, people with a heart for service and a deep love for the Gospel.
If you want to keep in touch, I’m at grjmj [at] swbell.net.

Faithful Citizenship Web Resources Now Available

Dozens of resources are now available at www.faithfulcitizenship.org to help you share Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship with your audiences. Here are a few “feature items”:

·         In the Diocesan Leaders section, there is a Sample Editorial Calendar with resource descriptions and links you can use to notify your audiences throughout the year. There are also Do’s and Don’ts

·    In the Parishes section, there are new bulletin inserts on

• Conscience Formation
• Civil Dialogue
• Contacting Your Elected Officials

• There are also Videos on a variety of topics, ranging from conscience formation to political participation to poverty.
• A PowerPoint presentation is available by request to diocesan and state Catholic conference staff. (Also in Spanish!)
• See also this recording of the recent webinar on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.

  New Two Feet of Love in Action Resources

Updated materials are available to help educate about the revised the “two feet” model, which reflects the language of Pope Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est and Caritas in Veritate about putting love in action in two distinct, but complementary ways: Social Justice and Charitable Works. To help you share the new model, we are happy to provide:

• A printable brochure introducing the Two Feet Model (created Feb. 2012)
• A brief, 1-page handout on the Two Feet of Love in Action (revised March 2012)
• A Guide for Facilitators including an extensive session outline, which includes new helpful graphics (revised March 2012)

Sumitted by Jill Rauh, USCCB-JPHD.

By: Sara Suman, Community Project Director, Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens

Perhaps you have found that the term “community organizing” is an elusive one for many of the people you work with in parish life, and yet community organizing has deep roots in many religious traditions. While the term has various definitions, the PICO Network defines faith-based community organizing as “a method of working with faith communities to address the problems and concerns of their communities, and in turn, vitalize and strengthen the life of congregations.”

Community organizing is one of the fullest expressions of the Catholic social teaching principle The Call to Family, Community, and Participation, which states, “The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.  Every person has a right to participate in society and a corresponding duty to work for the advancement of the common good and the wellbeing of all.”

Catholic Charities of Brooklyn & Queens has created a style of Catholic social teaching- based community organizing that works with parishes to address the community’s immediate needs and work towards social justice and systemic change on a state, national, and global level.  For us, the importance of a Catholic-branded model is clear; parishes feel more comfortable working with a model informed by Catholic teaching, and many are surprised and excited to learn about Catholic social teaching through this work.

Utilizing four full-time staff called Community Project Directors or “CPDs,” we assist parishes in identifying local issues and seek to develop strong partnerships with parish leaders to respond to the needs of individuals and families throughout the diocese. Each CPD functions as a liaison and community organizer for one of the four vicariates that make up the Diocese of Brooklyn.  I am responsible for the parishes of Brooklyn West.

Practical Application

How do we do this in practice? The quick answer:  relationship building. We introduce ourselves to parishes and are invited to parish council and parish cluster meetings. We demonstrate that we have something to offer parishes.  We are always actively listening for the needs of the parish or community.  We offer assistance in addressing that need in a strategic, careful way. We are not there to be “super heroes;” but we offer guidance, connection to resources, and work with the parish and community to find their own way to address the identified problem.

I have worked with parishes on affordable housing, food access, and gang awareness.  We invite pastors to join us in city-wide campaigns for affordable housing, which brings important voice to issue and provides the pastor and parish an opportunity to engage in individual and community change.

Fr. Hilaire speaks at a housing press conference, with CCBQ staff including author in back.

Individual Change

Recently, I spoke with a parish food pantry administrator about creating a food justice forum that links the need for emergency food with the justice issue of hunger. She said she didn’t know about Catholic social teaching and never thought to connect her commitment to justice with her devout Catholic faith.  It was a revelation for her to integrate her faith and justice.

Community Change

Currently, the CPD in Brooklyn East is helping a parish that reached out to him for support in addressing issues the youth of the community face, particularly unemployment and gang involvement.  The CPD drafted a survey and distributed it to parishioners after each Sunday mass a few months ago. He discussed the results with the parish council, who found the results to be “very powerful” and decided to create a social justice committee to address the top needs that emerged. The CPD connected them with the NYC Department of Education’s Gang Intervention and Prevention Unit, which resulted in a gang forum advertised through the parish cluster.

Another successful example has been the citywide campaign on affordable housing. In it, a variety of secular and faith-based groups came together to target saving rent stabilization, one of the last rental laws preserving affordable rent in New York City. Unions, tenant groups, and a variety of community organizing groups were involved. Catholic Charities led the way in creating a sub-committee of the campaign for faith-based organizations. Catholic parishes, along with other faith groups, got involved primarily through “Housing Sabbath Sunday” where pulpit talks were held after mass. As parishioners left mass, they signed postcards, identifying themselves as persons of faith, and calling on New York’s governor and state legislature to save rent stabilization. Religious women and clergy also signed a letter sent to the governor. The campaign didn’t win all of its goals but we did save rent stabilization.

Over the years, Community Project Directors, working with parishes, have also fought for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, better funding for food pantries, and better youth programming, to name a few.

Nuts and Bolts

As far as resources are concerned, it might appear at first that your diocese doesn’t have the resources to do this kind of work, but in reality, so much of what we do is link parishes and communities to existing city resources outside of our agency.  The example of connecting the Brooklyn East parishes with the Department of Education’s Gang Intervention and Prevention Unit to host a gang forum is one of many. While this work does require knowing your communities really well, it doesn’t require a lot of money.

Dear Roundtable members and friends,

I’d like to direct your attention to the Roundtable’s jobs webpage.
There are great jobs here actively seeking resumes! New & current postings include:

• Secretary General, Pax Christi International
• Director, Partner Training & Engagement, Catholic Relief Services
• Director of World Ministries, Archdiocese of Milwaukee
• Program Officer II, Northeast/ Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, US Ops – Catholic Relief Services
• Materials Development Specialist, US Ops – Catholic Relief Services
• Director, Dept. of Life, Dignity and Justice – Diocese of San Bernardino
• Diocese of Winona – Parish Social Ministry Coordinator
• California Catholic Conference – Associate for Advocacy & Education
• Diocese of Green Bay – Living Justice Director & also Dignity of Human Life Coordinator

Please share these opportunities widely in your communities. Thank you!

“These numbers are not statistics, but people suffering and wounded in their human dignity.”

If you missed this letter on the economic situation by Cardinal Dolan last fall, take a look in anticipation of this summer’s SASI in Louisville, July 29-Aug. 1 “Called to Transformative Community: Addressing Poverty Today.”

Track II will provide an in-depth look at how to better educate and advocate in our communities in the context of a broken economy, where many continue to suffer. Join us for sessions from USCCB-JPHD, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA & go home inspired & equipped!

See the original posting.

September 15, 2011

Dear Brother Bishops,
The Administrative Committee urged me to write you on an important matter for our Church and nation. During our recent meeting, it was reported that 46 million people (15%) now live in poverty in the United States. This report follows dismal unemployment figures in recent months.  For us as bishops, these numbers are not statistics, but people suffering and wounded in their human dignity.  They are parents who cannot feed their children, families that have lost their homes and jobless workers who have lost not only income, but also a sense of their place in society.  For us, each of these persons is a child of God with innate human dignity and rights that deserve respect.  These numbers bring home to us the human costs and moral consequences of a broken economy that cannot fully utilize the talents, energy and work of all our  people.  We know the terrible toll the current economic turmoil is taking on families and communities. In our own Catholic dioceses we are struggling to match scarce resources with growing needs and have had to make very difficult financial, personnel and organizational choices.

We discussed how best to respond to this urgent pastoral challenge.  The Administrative Committee wanted something more than a public statement. Instead, they asked me to write to all the bishops and ask you to continue do all you can to lift up the human, moral and spiritual dimensions of the ongoing economic crisis.  Widespread unemployment, underemployment and pervasive poverty are diminishing human lives, undermining human dignity, and hurting children and families.  I hope we can use our opportunities as pastors, teachers, and leaders to focus public attention and priority on the scandal of so much poverty and so many without work in our society. In order to assist you in these ongoing efforts, the Administrative Committee has asked the bishops’ conference to provide you, diocesan staffs and other leaders with resources and materials for preaching, educating the faithful and advocating on behalf of the poor and jobless.  You can already find some materials that can be helpful in these tasks on the “Unemployment and Poverty” page of the USCCB website.  This page will be updated periodically and additional resources will be available shortly.  Please share with the bishops’ conference your own statements, resources or actions that you have taken to address these issues (please email or fax to 202-541-3339).

The best way out of poverty is to work at a living wage.  In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, ‘Being out of work or dependent on public or private assistance for a prolonged period undermines the freedom and creativity of the person and his family and social relationships, causing great psychological and spiritual suffering’ (Caritas in Veritate, no. 25).  The common good will not advance; economic security will not be achieved; and individual initiative will be weakened when so many live without the dignity of work and bear the crushing burden of poverty.  These economic failures have fundamental institutional and systemic elements that have either been ignored or made worse by political and economic behaviors, which have undermined trust and confidence.  However, this is not time to make excuses or place blame.  It is a time for everyone to accept their own personal and institutional responsibility to help create jobs and to overcome poverty, each in accord with their own abilities and opportunities. Individuals and families, faith-based and community groups, businesses and labor, government at every level, all must work together and find effective ways to promote the common good in national and economic life.

Sixteen million of our children (almost one out of four) are growing up poor.  It is especially disheartening that African-Americans and Hispanics live with unemployment and poverty at far higher rates than others. Immigrant workers are especially vulnerable to exploitation and unfair treatment.  These realities contradict our national pledge of “liberty and justice for all.”  They also contradict the consistent teaching of our Church.  Our Catholic tradition begins with respect for the life and dignity of all, requires a priority concern for poor and vulnerable people, reflects the ties and bonds of solidarity, respects the mutual relationships of subsidiarity, and promotes the dignity of work and protection for workers.

As bishops, we lead communities that include many of those who lack sufficient work or resources to live a decent life.  Every day, we serve ‘the least of these’ in our midst. In our Catholic parishes, schools, charities, hospitals and other ministries, the poor, the underemployed and the unemployed are not issues, but people with names and faces.  It is an essential part of our work as Catholics to build a more just society and economy.  We feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, educate the young, welcome refugees and care for the sick and vulnerable.  Our Church serves and stands in solidarity with those who are poor and jobless, helping them break the cycle of poverty and act on behalf of their own families and communities.  Our Conference will continue to urge our leaders to assist and protect the poor and jobless as they seek to promote economic growth and fiscal responsibility.  The Catholic community will strengthen our work with others to address the economic, family, social and other factors which contribute to widespread poverty.

In these tough economic times, we turn to the God who loves us.  We pray for those who need work.  We lift up the poor and suffering.  We ask God’s guidance for our nation.  This is not a time to give into discouragement.  It is a time for faith, hope and love.  Faith offers us moral principles to guide us in the days ahead.  Christian hope gives us strength.  Christ’s love calls us to care for those left behind in this broken economy.

Thank you my brothers for your pastoral leadership in preaching the Gospel and standing strong for the Church’s moral and social teaching in these difficult days.

Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Through an arrangement with the Archdiocese of Louisville, catechists who attend the Social Action Summer Institute can receive continuing education credit.

This arrangement was made through a request with the local Office of Lifelong Formation and Education, and required filling out a simple form with information about the SASI’s program, speaker qualifications, etc. The Roundtable is happy to assist in filling out a form for your diocese.

Please consider requesting credit for attending SASI in your diocese, and/or encouraging local catechists, parish DREs, and other interested educators to attend!

At the Annual Membership Meeting following the Roundtable Symposium on February 12, the Roundtable Board experienced several changes. Rob Shelledy (Archdiocese of Milwaukee) and  Scott Cooper (Diocese of Spokane) moved off the board after serving for two terms, though Scott will continue to serve as Chair until new executive officers are elected at the summer board meeting. Earlier in the year, Tricia Hoyt (Diocese of Phoenix) and Andy Zampini (Diocese of Wilmington) left the board due to changes in their offices or professions. We thank them for their time, energy, creativity and  faithful service on the board.

The membership elected four new board members via majority vote through verbal affirmation. We are excited to welcome four new members to the Roundtable board this year! You can read about these new board members below.

Nick with Victor of CRS Kenya.

Nick Albares

Throughout my four years as a member of the social action office in New Orleans, the Roundtable has been a tremendous support. I have attended the Social Action Summer Institute 3 times and served on the planning committee for SASI 2011 at Loyola University New Orleans. Being involved in this planning process, created a stronger connection to the Roundtable and led me to accept the nomination to be considered on the board. I look forward to working with so many amazing people committed to the social mission of the Church. I believe the Roundtable is well-positioned to continue resourcing diocesan social action directors while also helping to shape new strategic directions for social ministry.

Nick Albares serves as the Parish Social Ministry Coordinator with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, a position he has held since 2008. An ’08 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Nick studied Theology and Peace Studies. In New Orleans, Nick has maintained a focus on transformational social justice formation through promotion and coordination of the programs of JustFaith Ministries throughout the archdiocese. He has also worked to promote the activities of CCHD and CRS. Nick serves as co-chair of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops Life and Justice Committee, is the convener for the New Orleans chapter of Louisiana Catholics Committed to the Repeal of the Death Penalty, and is a member of the Racial Harmony Committee for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He has a passion for partnership with community organizing groups and legislative advocacy.

Tom Dobbins

For the past seven years, Tom Dobbins, Jr. has been the Justice and Peace Coordinator in the Department of Social and Community Development of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. In that role, he has worked in partnership with numerous parishioners of the more than 400 parishes in the Archdiocese, educating them on the social teachings of the Church and connecting them with opportunities in advocacy and service to put these teachings into practice. Prior to this, Tom worked in other justice and policy work for the Archdiocese, serving as both Catholic Charities’ Criminal Justice Outreach Coordinator, and the Coordinator of the Archdiocesan Public Policy Education Network, where he helped parishioners advocate nationally and in Albany for policies that enhance and support the life and dignity of all people. Tom is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law and Manhattan College. Before starting his work for the Archdiocese, Tom worked in healthcare and labor relations, and has also worked in homeless services and international peace and reconciliation. Tom was the 1989-1990 Stein Fellow of Law and Ethics and was the recipient of the both the Ryan Medal of Governmental Studies and Pope John XXIII Medal for Peace Studies in 1986. In 2004, Tom and his entire family were awarded the Terence Cardinal Cooke Award for Outstanding Service by the Catholic Youth Organization of the Archdiocese of New York, and in 2005 was recipient of the CYO “Shining Star” Award. Tom is a producer and on-air personality on the JustLove Radio show on the Catholic Channel Sirius XM Satellite Radio – Sirius Channel/ XM 129.

Pat Dougherty

Pat Dougherty is the oldest of four boys born from Decatur, Illinois, graduated from Quincy University, attended Kenrick Theological Seminary and later worked for the Missouri Division of Family Service as a caseworker.  In 1979, he began his career in the Legislature serving in the House for 22 years and later in the Senate for almost 6 years, retiring due to term limits.

In the Missouri House, he worked in many areas including chairing the Energy and Environment Committee and later Chairing the Children, Youth and Families Committee. Pat spent most of his years in the House as a member of the Appropriations Committee for Social Services working on issues affecting children, health care, Medicaid, CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), seniors, nursing homes, and more.  While in the Senate, he  focused a great deal on health care issues, children and Medicaid.  In addition, he was instrumental in moving legislation in the areas of cancer early detection, screenings as well as clinical trials, child protection, SCHIP, nursing homes and fighting devastating Medicaid cuts, especially during the last two years of his tenure.

Pat currently is the Senior Director of Advocacy for Catholic Charities of St. Louis where he is working on public policies that impact the over 157,000 clients that Catholic Charities serves every year. His main focus is legislative public policy directed at state level policies. He has created a 28 member advocacy council of Catholics and non-Catholics alike who have a passion for justice and who work on legislative advocacy. This council now officially makes the annual policy priorities recommendations to the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities. He is currently collaborating with the local faith-based community organization on advocacy in select parishes.  Pat also participates in Missourians to Eliminate Poverty and is on the boards of: Nurses for Newborns, Cornerstone Early Learning Center and Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance and is an appointee to the Mo. Catholic Conference Public Policy Committee.

Pat and his wife Bev have three daughters and one granddaughter. They reside in St. Louis city and are members of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church.

Patrick O’Bryan

I am pleased and looking forward to the opportunity to work with colleagues across the country to learn and collaborate on issues, projects, actions, and programs that can have a wide impact on our work of Catholic social action, teaching, and development in my diocese/state and across the U.S.

Patrick O’Bryan, a director of the Diocesan Social Action Office of the Diocese of Cleveland, has been serving as the executive director of the Catholic Commission of Wayne, Ashland, & Medina since 1995.

He was co-founder and co-chair of the Tri-County Payday Lending Project, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Ohio Coalition for Responsible Lending, leading to the victory on Issue 5 in 2008, severely limiting the number and impact of payday lenders in Ohio.

He served for several years as the chair of the Center for Restorative Justice of North Central Ohio, a joint effort of Catholics and Mennonites, which has mediated between victims and offenders in the courts of Summit, Wayne, & Holmes counties. Out of this collaboration he helped found a local Bridgefolk community of peace-minded Catholics and Mennonites, one of a number of such communities across the U.S. and Canada. He serves on the leadership committees of the Ashland Center for Nonviolence, the Wooster Area Interfaith Partnership, the Brunswick Ministerial Assoc., and ECCOHIO (Ecumenical Community for a Compassionate Ohio), the last of which he co-founded.

Pat is also the Rural Life director for the Cleveland Diocese. From 1998-2003, he served as the chair of the Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference, leading in the development of statewide recognition and advocacy for Latino immigrants. In that regard, he co-founded the statewide Immigrant Worker Project and served as its chair from 2000-2003.

Before coming to Ohio, Pat had received training at the Industrial Areas Foundation and staffed Chicago’s Lakeview Citizens’ Council as a community organizer. Once in Ohio, he became the community outreach and development director for Cleveland L’Arche, a Catholic/interfaith community for the developmentally disabled — one of 150 such communities in 40 countries.

Pat graduated from the University of Notre Dame, magna cum laude, in 1972, with a degree in government. He is married to Marlene and lives in Wooster.

According the Roundtable’s bylaws, the board consists of up to 15 directors who are elected by the regular members. Efforts are made to maintain appropriate representation on the board of members from large and small dioceses, different genders, and from different geographical regions.

Board members, who are diocesan social action directors, serve a three-year term, with the opportunity to be re-elected for another three-year term (though this is by no means mandatory). Board members attend two board meetings each year (in Washington DC in February and at the location of the Social Action Summer Institute in July), participate in 1-2 committee working groups, do annual outreach calls to 10 Roundtable members in their region, and provide support for projects of the Roundtable.

Dear Roundtable Members,

On behalf of the Awards Committee of the Roundtable Board, I am pleased to share with you the nomination forms for the 2013 Roundtable Harry A. Fagan and Servant of Justice Awards. Please give some thought to whom you believe most deserves these awards next year.

Please note that the criteria for the two awards are similar, but the Fagan award is given to someone for contributions made at a national or international level and the Servant of Justice award is given specifically to a Roundtable member or former member for contributions at the local or regional level.

The Award Committee will make recommendations to the full board during the summer board meeting.

Download the award nomination forms on the Awards Webpage.

Please return your nominations by April 20 to coordinator@catholicroundtable.org. Generally, the winners in past years have been people who had a full nomination submitted on their behalf.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Information is now available for this year’s Social Action Summer Institute (SASI). Join social action ministers from across the country for a four-day institute: Called to Transfomative Community: Addressing Poverty Today. The SASI will feature many engaging  speakers including David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World; Jack Jezreel and Joe Grant of JustFaith Ministries; Fr. John Rausch, Director of the Catholic Commission on Appalachia;  sessions on international & domestic poverty by staff of Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and USCCB-JPHD; and more.

**Additionally, JustFaith Ministries will host a day of visioning for social justice ministry and transformative learning**

For more program details, visit the SASI webpage. There you can download a flyer to share with your communities and a press release to share with your diocesan newspapers and others.

Join us July 29-Aug 1, 2012 | Bellarmine University | Louisville, KY
Cost information is coming soon. Limited scholarships are available.

Please share this information with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I hope to see you there!