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Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

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Kim Daniels, J.D.

Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

Kim Daniels is the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. She is a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, and served in the 2021-24 Synod on Synodality as an expert participant, as a member of the Synod Communications Commission, and as the coordinator of one of the ten major Synod study groups, which focused on the Church's mission in the digital environment. Kim has served as a consultor to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, and has advised other Catholic leaders and institutions on a broad range of issues where Church teachings intersect with public life, including immigration, human life and dignity, religious liberty, and care for creation. She is an adjunct professor in Georgetown’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and serves as a member of Georgetown’s Mission Advisory Board and as the senior mentor for the Figge Fellowship Program. Kim is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and Princeton University.

Selected Speaking Engagements

April 11, 2024
Interview, "A Consistent Ethic of Life" with Kim Daniels, The Weight Podcast (Oxford University United Methodist Church)

March 5, 2024
Moderator, Discernment and Dialog: Critical Resources for Difficult Times, Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education

February 14, 2024
Interview,  Kim Daniels on Pope Francis’ legacy and the impact of the Synod, Christiane Amanpour (CNN)

February 2, 2024
Speaker, Navigating the Unseen: Women Leading with Resilience, ACCU Women Executive Leaders Pre-conference (Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities)

March 8, 2023
Interview, Kim Daniels: Faith-informed Leadership, Catholic Leaders Podcast (Leadership Roundtable)

May 25, 2022
Interview, Kim Daniels - What synodality means for the church, Field Hospital Podcast (U.S. Catholic)

March 1, 2022
Panelist, The Francis Factor at Nine Years: Synodality and Solidarity, Reform and Resistance, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

May 13, 2021
Lecture, Trusting the Church, Its Communication, and Its Communicators, Inspiring Trust Conference (Pontifical University of the Holy Cross)

February 26, 2021
Panelist, Refugees, Immigrants and the Pandemic, Integral Human Development in the Digital Age Conference (International Institute for Ethics and Contemporary Issues, the Ukrainian Catholic University, and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs)

February 7, 2021
Panelist, Healing as Church and Nation: Remembering, Recognizing and Reimagining the Common Good, Catholic Social Ministry Gathering

November 19, 2020
Presenter, Faith and Polarization in 2020, Council on Foreign Relations

November 17, 2020
Presentation, “Writing Editorials and Opinion Pieces to Contribute to Civic Dialogue”, Conference for the Major Superiors of Men

November 12, 2020
Panelist, Towards Fraternity: Reflections on Fratelli Tutti, Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture

May 5, 2020
Panelist, The Papacy Confronts Coronavirus, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

Selected Writing

Book Chapters

“Kim Daniels: Co-Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University, Washington DC” in  Rising: Learning from Women’s Leadership in Catholic Ministries, ed. Carolyn W. Woo (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2022), 125-129.

“Trusting the Church, its Communication, and its Communicators” in Inspiring Trust: Church Communications & Organizational Vulnerability, ed. Jordi Pujol, Juan Narbona, and José María Díaz (Rome: Edizioni Santa Croce, 2021), 131-146.

“Beyond Politics: Everyday Catholic Life” in Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves , ed. Helen M. Alvaré (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2012), 159-168.

Articles

What can bring together pro-life Republicans and progressive Democrats? Expanding the child tax credit. (2022, America)

Pope Francis has increased leadership roles for women in the church. But there’s still work to do. (2021, America)

The Four Waves of the U.S. Catholic Abuse Crisis (2018, Church Life Journal)

Teaching

Course Title: Pope Francis, Catholic Social Thought, and Public Life: Principles, Policies, Politics
Course Semester: Fall 2023
Course Number: THEO 2832
CRN: 38135

Kim Daniels also serves as the Senior Mentor for the Figge Fellowship program within the Catholic Studies department at Georgetown University’s College of Arts and Sciences.