About the Committee

A small and focused enterprise to recognize and protect the dignity and worth of the individual

Our Mission

As Catholics who work in such diverse fields as education, business, government, and ministry, we share a commitment to upholding the dignity of the human being, especially the most vulnerable who have no voices. We have therefore established The Catholic Humanitarian Committee, to support and heighten public awareness of those whose dignity is being denigrated by their being subjected to persecution in varied forms.

We are inspired by the witness of Pope John Paul II who described the freedom of conscience as “the basis and foundation of all other human rights.”

In our work, we recall the words of John Paul at the Shrine of Saint Lazarus in El Rincon, Cuba on 24 January of 1998: “There is also suffering of the soul, such as we see in those who are isolated, persecuted, imprisoned for various offences or for reasons of conscience, for ideas which though dissident are nonetheless peaceful. These prisoners of conscience suffer an isolation and a penalty for something for which their own conscience does not condemn them.”

The Catholic Humanitarian Committee also draws inspiration from John Paul’s address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on 10 January 2005: “The Catholic Church, because of her universal nature, is always directly engaged in the great causes for which the men and women of our age struggle and hope. She considers herself a stranger to no people, since wherever there are Christians, the whole body of the Church is called into play; indeed, wherever there is any one individual, we sense a bond of brotherhood.”

In the immediate term, we are working to highlight the situation of Mr. Jimmy Lai, a 75-year-old Catholic businessman in Hong Kong who, inspired by his Catholic convictions, has peacefully advocated democracy and respect for human rights. Because he expressed concern for the least of his brethren, Mr. Lai has been jailed by the Chinese Communist authorities since December 2020. It is a difficult time for Mr. Lai, but he is facing his imprisonment with courage empowered by faith. He will not get his day in court to fight the most serious charges until September 2023, when he could be imprisoned in mainland China for the rest of his life.

This is a small and focused enterprise to recognize and protect the dignity and worth of the individual, which is so often assailed in these endarked times, when human rights are misunderstood, manipulated, and ignored by the most notorious human rights violators in the World.

Our work is rooted in both the Catholic moral and intellectual traditions and in our American commitment to the rule of law, which includes the constitutional protection of basic human rights. Through this work we aim to strengthen the moral foundations of liberty and justice for all, at home and abroad.

“Our work is rooted in both the Catholic moral and intellectual traditions and in our American commitment to the rule of law, which includes the constitutional protection of basic human rights. Through this work we aim to strengthen the moral foundations of liberty and justice for all, at home and abroad.”

– The Catholic Humanitarian Committee