Bishop Daly to lead national Catholic education panel

Bishop Thomas Daly will lead the national committee that provides guidance for Catholic education at all levels, the Diocese of Spokane announced Monday.

Daly, who has been involved in education for most of his time as a priest and bishop, is the new chairman of the U.S. Committee on Catholic Education, which also advocates for federal public policy consistent with Catholic values.

Daly has served on the committee since 2018.

The committee guides the educational mission of the church in the United States in all institutional settings.

The scope of the committee’s work includes Catholic elementary and secondary schools, Catholic colleges and universities and college campus ministry. The committee advocates for federal public policies in education that are consistent with Catholic values and that uphold parental rights and responsibilities regarding education.

Ordained as a priest in 1987, Daley then began service on the San Francisco Archdiocesan Board of Education.

From 1992 to 2011, he taught at Marin Catholic College Prep. During that time, Daly earned a master’s degree in Catholic Educational Administration from Boston College.

Daly was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose and ordained a bishop on May 25, 2011. In 2015, Daly was appointed Bishop of Spokane.

In Spokane, Daly leads a diocese with 13 parochial schools and four Catholic high schools.