On Tuesday (Aug. 18), Pope Leo XIV appointed two University of Notre Dame faculty members, Emmanuel Katongole and Clemens Sedmak, as consultors to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. University Trustee Kathryn 鈥淜atie鈥� Koch, president and CEO of TCW, a global investment management firm, was also named a consultor.
Katongole, a professor of theology and peace studies and director of the ; Sedmak, a professor of social ethics and director of the ; and Koch are among 12 new consultors from around the globe鈥攁nd the only three selected from within the United States. They have been appointed for a five-year term.
Consultors may be religious or laypeople and are chosen 鈥渇rom among the faithful who are distinguished by their expertise, proven ability, and prudence,鈥� according to the Vatican鈥檚 announcement.
鈥淭hese appointments are a tremendous honor not only for Emmanuel, Clemens, and Katie, but for the University as a whole,鈥� said Notre Dame President 鈥淲e congratulate them on their selection, and we are deeply grateful for the Holy Father鈥檚 recognition of their expertise and abiding commitment to the Church. We look forward to the ways their leadership and wisdom will guide the important work of the dicastery.鈥�
Established by the late Pope Francis in 2016, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development supports the Church鈥檚 worldwide efforts in the areas of human dignity and human rights, economic justice, care for creation, migration, and displacement, as well as peace, conflict, and humanitarian crises.
Katongole, who came to Notre Dame in 2013, holds a joint appointment in the University鈥檚 and . A native of Kampala, Uganda, and a priest of the Kampala Archdiocese, he is the founder and president of , a residential agricultural institute that works with young people to realize the vision, spirituality, and practice of Laudato si鈥� in Uganda. Before joining the Notre Dame faculty, he served as an associate professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke University and was a founding co-director of the Duke Center for Reconciliation. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome, as well as a master鈥檚 in religious studies and a doctoral degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
Sedmak, a concurrent professor of theology, holds a joint appointment in Notre Dame鈥檚 and the Keough 91视频. His research focuses on issues of poverty, justice, and the Catholic social tradition, as well as a collaboration with Notre Dame colleagues on the Church鈥檚 role in . A native Austrian, Sedmak holds a doctoral degree in theology from the Catholic Private University of Linz and doctoral degrees in philosophy and social theory from the University of Innsbruck. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Sedmak served as the F.D. Maurice Professor for Moral Theology and Social Theology at King鈥檚 College London. He also held multiple positions at the University of Salzburg and was president of the Institute for Advanced 91视频 in Social Ethics in Salzburg.
Koch, a Notre Dame alumna, was named a University Trustee in 2023. Prior to moving to TCW, she spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs in a variety of leadership positions, including chief investment officer of public equity. She graduated from Notre Dame in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and English.