What We Do
The Department of Social Development and World Peace works on behalf of the United States Catholic Bishops to share and apply Catholic social teaching on domestic and international issues.
Catholic teaching calls us to serve those in need and to change the structures that deny people their dignity and rights as children of God. Service and action, charity and justice are complementary components of parish social ministry.
Communities of Salt and Light, U.S. Catholic Bishops.
The Department of Social Development and World Peace (SDWP) assists the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
- Share the social teaching of the Church;
- Apply Catholic social teaching to major contemporary domestic and international issues which have significant moral and religious dimensions;
- Advocate effectively for the poor and vulnerable and for genuine justice and peace in the public policy arena;
- Build the capacity of the Church (national and diocesan) to act effectively in defense of human life, human dignity, human rights and the pursuit of justice and peace.
The bishops' Committees on Domestic and International Policy guide the work of SDWP. To do this work, the department is divided into three primary offices under the guidance of the Secretary.
The Office of Domestic Social Development:
Coordinates USCCB's policy development and advocacy on major national issues including: health care, welfare reform, violence and the death penalty, poverty, civil rights, housing, homelessness, hunger, rural life, economic justice, labor and employment.
The Office of International Justice and Peace:
Has primary responsibility for policy development and advocacy on questions of world peace and international justice including: human rights, religious liberty, peace and disarmament, foreign aid, debt, trade and the global economy, and regional conflicts.
The Office of Education and Outreach:
Provides ongoing services and support to bishops and diocesan offices. This office works closely with diocesan social ministry professionals in building local capacity to carry out Catholic social teaching in a variety of ways:
- Assisting bishops in strengthening and supporting their own efforts at the diocesan level;
- Providing training programs, telephone, e-mail, and on-site consultation, assisting in the formation of legislative networks, and researching and sharing successful models of social ministry to diocesan social ministry leaders;
- Develop and promote materials and resources on Catholic social teaching and on key moral and social issues to bishops, diocesan staff, parish leaders and other organizations and individuals;
- Co-sponsoring with a dozen other national Catholic organizations the annual Catholic social ministry gathering in Washington each winter and the social action summer institute each summer.