Catholic Activist Named to HHS Faith-Based Office

By Jacqueline L. Salmon

Alexia Kelley, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, has been named director of the Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Health and Human Services. That's one of the agency-level faith-based offices that President Barack Obama is holding over (although with significant differences) from the Bush administration.

Kelley cofounded Catholics in Alliance four years ago. It's cut from the "social justice" Catholic mold and has teamed up with Catholic and non-Catholic organizations to promote health care reform and to bridge the gap between abortion opponents and abortion-rights supporters. It follows church teachings and opposes abortion rights.

But her appointment sparked a war of words among other Catholic activist groups.

Catholics for Choice, which opposes the church's teachings banning birth control, abortion and embryonic stem cell research, called Kelley an "antiabortion advocate" and said in a statement that the choice "calls into question whether President Obama's administration is serious about reducing the need for abortion."

But another Catholic organization has come to Kelley's defense. Chris Korzen, who co-authored a book with Kelley, is executive director of Catholics United, an organization similar to Catholics in Alliance. Korzen praised Kelley as a "wonderful, compassionate" person "with great experience in finding common ground and working for the common good."

By Jacqueline L. Salmon  |  June 4, 2009; 11:46 AM ET  | Category:  God in Government Save & Share:                 
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