VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Ugandan priest and academic Rev. Emmanuel Katongole as a consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, placing him among 12 experts selected to advise the Catholic Church’s department responsible for issues including peace, migration, health, ecology and human development.
The appointment was announced on August 18, 2026, alongside that of 11 other consultors drawn from different parts of the world and fields including theology, economics, social ethics, education, healthcare and humanitarian work.
Katongole, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kampala, is a professor of theology and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. He previously served as an associate professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke University and was a founding co-director of the Duke Center for Reconciliation.
He is also the founder and president of the Bethany Land Institute in Rwanda, an initiative inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which focuses on environmental stewardship and human development.
Katongole’s appointment comes alongside that of Clemens Sedmak, an Austrian professor of social ethics and director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at Notre Dame. The two are among the 12 new consultors appointed by Pope Leo XIV.
According to the Vatican, consultors are selected for their expertise, proven ability and prudence and serve five-year terms. They provide the Dicastery with human, scientific, pastoral and ecclesial expertise on matters requiring particular attention.
The other appointees include Lucy Afandi Esipila, Regional Coordinator of Caritas Africa; Omer S. Combary of Thomas Sankara University in Burkina Faso; Peter G. Kirchschläger of the University of Lucerne in Switzerland; and Caren Rodrigues of Saint Joseph’s Institute of Management in India.
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development was established by Pope Francis in 2016 to advance the Church’s work on integral human development, including peace, migration, healthcare and environmental concerns.
The latest appointments follow a leadership reorganisation of the Dicastery under Pope Leo XIV. Italian economist Sister Alessandra Smerilli was appointed prefect in June, succeeding Cardinal Michael Czerny, while Cardinal Fabio Baggio was named pro-prefect. Their new roles take effect on September 1.
For Uganda, Katongole’s appointment adds a prominent Ugandan voice to a Vatican advisory body dealing with some of the major global challenges facing vulnerable populations, including conflict, migration, poverty, environmental degradation and human development.
