Mr. McCord is Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.  He has been a staff member at the Conference since 1988 and a member of its senior staff since 1998.

Rick offers policy and program assistance to the bishops and to other church groups. He does research, writing, speaking, and represents the U.S. Catholic bishops in situations both inside and outside the church.  Rick has assisted the Bishops Conference with several pastoral statements -- among them are: Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium, Follow the Way of Love, A Family Perspective in Church and Society, From Words to Deeds, Always Our Children, and Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers on Marriage and Same-Sex Unions. 

Currently, Dr. McCord is directing the Bishops’ multi-year National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage.  This is an effort by the Catholic bishops and other leaders to call attention to the meaning and value of married life for the church and for society.  The Initiative weaves together the Catholic faith tradition and its pastoral practice, the data of social science, and the experience of married couples to offer guidance and resources for promoting, sustaining, strengthening, and restoring marriages.

Rick was a recipient in 1993 of the Annual Recognition Award from the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers for his national leadership in marriage and family issues.  With the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University he has been a major collaborator on three national research studies dealing with marriage preparation, interchurch marriages, and the early years of marriage.

Dr. McCord also plays a key role in staffing the Bishops’ Lay Ministry Project. In this capacity he was responsible for their most recent document entitled Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry (2005). Rick was given the Gaudium et Spes Award in 2000 by the National Association for Lay Ministry in recognition of his efforts on behalf of lay ministries.

Rick holds a doctorate in Adult Education Policy from the University of Maryland.  His other graduate degrees include a Masters Degree in Divinity from Mary Immaculate Seminary and a Masters Degree in Christian Education from Princeton Theological Seminary.

He has served the Catholic Church professionally since 1972, first as a parish religious education director and then for thirteen years in a variety of roles for the Archdiocese of Baltimore -- gaining experience in family ministry, parish renewal, permanent diaconate preparation, and ministry formation for laity.

Mr. McCord's published work has appeared in Chicago Studies, ORIGINS, Church, Deacon Digest, Liguorian, Today’s Parish, Living Light, and New Theology Review.  He writes occasionally for the Catholic News Service’s syndicated feature, Faith Alive.  He has also contributed chapters to five different books on family and laity topics – the most recent one entitled Called and Chosen: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders. 

Rick has been married to Denise since 1976.  They have an adult married son, Andrew. Find out more about Dr. McCord >