#66 With Kerry Kennedy, author, lawyer, and human rights activist on her family, her faith, and her work with the Kennedy Human Rights Center: "We all have ways of making our country better."

#66 With Kerry Kennedy, author, lawyer, and human rights activist on her family, her faith, and her work with the Kennedy Human Rights Center: "We all have ways of making our country better."

From The Nonviolent Jesus by Fr. John Dear

April 6, 2026 · 49 min · Season 2 · Episode 66

About this episode

Kerry Kennedy discusses her life, family, and extensive work in human rights.

On today’s new episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” I speak with my friend Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Center for Human Rights kennedyhumanrights.org . A lifelong human rights activist and lawyer, she authored Being Catholic Now , as well as Speak Truth to Power , Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope , and the forthcoming Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy . The 7th of Ethel and Robert Kennedy’s 11 children, Kerry has devoted more than 40 years to the pursuit of equal justice, and the promotion and protection of basic rights around the world on a range of issues. She has led hundreds of human rights delegations and regularly provides commentary on TV. For 10 years, she served as chair of the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council. A graduate of Boston College Law School, she lives in Massachusetts. Kerry talks about her life as a child, her parents, and her human rights work at the Kennedy Center. She lays out the three things her organization does around the world with her team of lawyers and how they have never lost a litigation case. They also work to decrease mass incarceration and abuses committed by ICE, as well as…

People in this episode

Host: Fr. John Dear

Guest: Kerry Kennedy

Topics covered

  • human rights
  • activism
  • justice
  • family legacy
  • faith
  • legal work

Keywords

  • Kerry Kennedy
  • human rights
  • justice
  • activism
  • Kennedy Center

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Robert and Ethel Kennedy Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International USA

Places: Massachusetts, El Salvador

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