Pope names 2 Notre Dame professors as consultors to Vatican human development dicastery

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday appointed 12 new consultors to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development — reflecting a diverse group of theologians, experts, and professors, including two from the University of Notre Dame.

Pope Francis established the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in 2016. It promotes the Church’s efforts in the areas of peace, migration, health, and ecology. Consultors are called on to periodically meet with dicastery members to provide expert advice.

Pope Leo XIV renewed the leadership of the dicastery at the end of June with the appointment of Italian economist Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, to succeed Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, as prefect.

He also appointed Italian Cardinal Fabio Baggio, CS, who has been the dicastery’s undersecretary since 2022, to serve as pro-prefect alongside Smerilli. Father Jozef Barlaš was promoted from the dicastery’s undersecretary to secretary. They begin their roles on Sept. 1.

2 Notre Dame professors appointed Among the new consultors are Father Emmanuel Katongole, a priest from the Archdiocese of Kampala in Uganda and a professor of theology and peace studies at Notre Dame.…