Enacting Integral Human Development

Integral Human Development (IHD) is a term coined by Louis-Joseph Lebret OP and then used by Paul VI in his encyclical Populorum Progressio in 1967. It is, in a way, the Catholic approach to human development and has been adopted by Catholic Relief Services. Pope Francis has emphasized the idea with the creation of a special dicastery of which Cardinal Czerny is the new Prefect. Similar to Enacting Catholic Social Teaching, the book emphasizes practice and examples without being a simple “how-to” book.

“I applaud Prof. Sedmak’s deep and far-reaching treatment of “integral human development”. Reading his exploration of the bedrock concept of human dignity will richly reward both the researchers and the practitioners who seek to advance human development.”

Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

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“Enacting Integral Human Development is an excellent book. It is at once remarkably accessible with clear examples and conceptually rigorous. Sedmak provides a rich understanding of Integral Human Development as an analytic lens useful in promoting the development of every person and the whole person by respecting the dignity of each person as a whole and contextualized person.”

Lori Keleher, New Mexico State University

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“Integral Human Development, grounded in the pursuit of human dignity and the common good, is such an inspiring and capacious concept that it naturally draws a wide audience. The danger is that this embrace is seldom matched by action or accountability. Sedmak, in Enacting Integral Human Development, directly addresses this challenge by providing clear and grounded definitions, explicit markers for assessing projects and policies, rich illuminations of authentic implementation, and examples of false steps and embedded biases. This is an invaluable companion for all scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers who stand on Integral Human Development as their guiding framework.”

Carolyn Woo, former President and CEO, Catholic Relief Services