Freewalt appointed director of Office for Social Concerns

By Doug Bean, Catholic Times Editor

Jerry Freewalt hopes to continue to reach out to the parishes and organizations impacted by the Office for Social Concerns in the Diocese of Columbus as its director.
Freewalt was elevated from his previous role as associate director in late June. He has been with the diocese since 1995.

Mark Huddy had served as director as well as Episcopal Moderator for the Office for Social Concerns and Catholic Charities. He will now focus his attention on his duties as Episcopal Moderator.

As associate director, Freewalt concentrated on parish social concerns ministry and rural life in addition to many other activities. He continues to serve on a wide range of boards and committees at the local, state and national level. Among them are the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference, Joint Organization for Inner City Needs (JOIN) and the Immigrant Worker Project.

“What I want to do is go around the diocese and do some additional listening,” Freewalt said. “Listen to the pastors and listen to some of the needs they’re continually addressing. Learn what is new and help to equip them in their ministries. We listen a lot in this office, but we’re going to be more intentional.

“I think in this office we’re bridge builders. And that only comes from listening and finding out what people are really doing out there.”

In addition to working with parishes and groups, Freewalt is actively involved in advocacy on many levels. That includes defending dignity of human life at Columbus City Hall, the Ohio Statehouse and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and he has directed large-scale urban plunge service opportunities addressing poverty and care for creation.

“Our job is to bring light to Catholic social teaching in the areas of prayer, education, pastoral outreach or service, and advocacy,” Freewalt said. “The Church looks at the signs of the times and applies scripture, the gospel, in its over two millennia of teaching to really try to help us on our pilgrimage journey as we work through difficult problems in our society.

“When we call it social teaching, we really mean relationships. How are we to live in relationship with each other on this pilgrimage journey? What do we have to do to love God and love our neighbor?” 

Those pressing issues of concern are respect for human life in all stages, lifting up people living in poverty, recognizing the dignity of work, promoting global solidarity, protecting family life through religious liberty, keeping families together and helping them thrive as part of the domestic church, and care for God’s creation.

Freewalt has coordinated numerous projects. Some of those are the annual Good Friday Walking Stations of he Cross in downtown Columbus, Diocesan Senior Citizens Day celebration, Respect Life Mass and conference, diocesan creation care team, jail and prison ministry, ARCH reentry program, Drug Addiction Response Committee of the Diocesan Hope Task Force, and the Information and Response Network.

“Our office is really trying to create citizens that behave faithfully,” he said. “We are equipping Catholics to be good citizens in our country and in our communities to build the kingdom of God. We have to be animated by our faith and tackle the hard problems with a solution in mind that doesn’t tear apart or cause hurt. That’s hard.”

Freewalt has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Xavier University and a master’s degree in public policy and management from The Ohio State University. He and his wife, Karen, have three children and are parishioners at Columbus St. Margaret of Cortona Church.