Center of Concern

Since its founding in 1971 at the office of United Nations Secretary General U Thant by National Conference of Catholic Bishops General Secretary Joseph Bernardin and Jesuit Superior General Pedro Arrupe, S.J., and with significant talent and treasure from women religious, Center of Concern (Center) has operated in Washington, D.C., with a mission to research, educate, and advocate from Catholic social tradition to create a world where economic, political, and cultural systems promote sustainable flourishing of the global community. The Center envisions a global community that upholds basic human rights and human dignity, fosters just relationships, promotes sustainable livelihoods, and renews the earth.

The Center’s strategy for executing this mission is to add value by engaging with public and private centers of influence through an integrated model of social enterprise that seeks global transformation for social justice in core competencies of social justice education; global financial systems and human rights; global women’s issues; integral ecology; strategic governance, principled leadership, and philanthropy; and related areas.

The Center represents the United States in the global lay Catholic development and advocacy alliance, Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité (CIDSE) and is a member of Catholic Charities USA. It has been accredited with consultative status before the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1974.

The Center is a social profit organization exempt under United States Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3).

Founded 1971

www.coc.org