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WASHINGTON (June 11, 1998) -- Daniel A. Lizárraga, currently a field representative for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, has been named Associate Director of the Secretariat for Latin America at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Fr. James J. Ronan, the Secretariat's Executive Director, made the announcement.
While the assistant director is involved in all the activities of the Secretariat, Lizárraga's responsibilities will lie primarily in outreach to the Catholic Church in the United States. He will be responsible for fostering contacts at the diocesan level as well as promoting the annual collection taken up in parishes throughout the United States to assist the Church in Latin America.
Fr. Ronan said Lizárraga's field work over the last three years with the CCHD will serve him well in his new position.
"His deep understanding of and service to the Church, combined with his many personal gifts, make Daniel a wonderful choice to join the staff at the Secretariat," said Fr. Ronan. "As a Mexican-American, his love for the Hispanic people and culture will bring a rich dimension to the important work of the Secretariat."
Before joining the staff of the CCHD, the domestic anti-poverty program of the NCCB/U.S. Catholic Conference, Lizárraga spent nearly six years working on housing and hunger issues in Austin, Texas. He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in Government/International Studies and Theology, and a 1998 graduate of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas with a master's degree in Public Affairs.
"This is an especially hopeful moment for the Secretariat for Latin America as the Bishops throughout the hemisphere look to the millennium and a deeper solidarity within the Church in this hemisphere," said Fr. Ronan. "Daniel Lizárraga will be a great asset to the Bishops of the Committee on the Church in Latin America as they respond to the signs of these times."
The Secretariat staffs the Bishops' Committee on the Church in Latin America. It serves as a liaison between the Church in the United States and in Central and South America, coordinates the annual collection for the Church in Latin America, and distributes the funds as grants for various Church needs in Latin America. The Secretariat also has responsibility for initiating activities to raise the consciousness of U.S. Catholics about the reality of the Church in Latin America.
Lizárraga succeeds Marta Torres-Reilly who left her post as Assistant Director of the Secretariat to return to Guatemala.