Theresa Notare, PhD
Theresa Notare, PhD, Assistant Director, Natural Family Planning Program, Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is responsible for supporting the Catholic bishops and their staff to create and/or strengthen diocesan Natural Family Planning (NFP) ministry. This is accomplished through: consultation with individual diocesan NFP coordinators; development of pastoral resources; liaison to non-diocesan NFP providers (national and international); and staff to the USCCB’s bishop members of the Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
Dr. Notare’s expertise is in Church teaching on human sexuality, marriage and family life, conjugal love and responsible parenthood, contraception and the methods of NFP. She has an interest in Church history and ecumenism, both of which she studied in her graduate programs (MA, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA; 32 credits toward doctoral work, Universita S. Tommaso de’Aquino, Rome, Italy; and PhD, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC).
Dr. Notare has published numerous pastoral articles and resources. She has edited several books on the science and theology of human fertility, marriage, conjugal love and responsible parenthood (one of which received a Catholic book award). She has provided talks and papers in the dioceses of the United States as well as at international Catholic conferences. She has held NFP leadership meetings and has appeared on various media and news outlets including EWTN and Relevant Radio.
In 2007, Dr. Notare was appointed to the USCCB’s consultation for Anglican/Catholic dialogue (ARC-USA). She has represented the USCCB at several World Meetings on the Family sponsored by the Vatican’s office on the family. And assisted the delegations of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See at the United Nations at various population conferences and meetings on women.