Mary FioRito

Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC)

Mary Hallan FioRito is an attorney, public speaker, and the Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her areas of expertise include human life issues, primarily abortion law and policy, post-abortion aftermath, and the Consistent Ethic of Life. She holds an honors degree in English Literature from Loyola University Chicago and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois.

Ms. FioRito was named the Archdiocese of Chicago’s first female Vice-Chancellor in 2000, the same year she was honored by Newsweek Magazine as one of their “Women of the New Century,” highlighting her contribution to the nation’s conversation about abortion law and policy. In 2003, she was promoted to the position of Executive Assistant to the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., a role she held until the time of the Cardinal’s death in April 2015. She joined the EPPC shortly thereafter.

Ms. FioRito’s professional experiences give her a wealth of knowledge and insight into issues affecting the Catholic faith, Catholic social services, Church administration, and the impact of public policy on women and the family. She regularly lectures and participates in a variety of academic and professional conferences. Speaking appearances include Legatus chapters, pregnancy resource center dinners, Bar Associations, and women’s conferences.

For more than two decades, Ms. FioRito has been a sought-after presenter and debater on the college and university speaking circuit. She has participated in debates at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Princeton University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Arkansas, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Northwestern University School of Law, and Colby College. She is known for her good humor and cordial, civil and persuasive advocacy of the pro-life position.

In addition to her expertise on the abortion issues, Ms. FioRito’s essays and opinions on topics ranging from perinatal hospice to the role of women in the Catholic Church have been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, National Review, and many religious publications. She is the contributor to two books: Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves, edited by Helen M. Alvare, and Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Complementarity, Feminism, and the Church, a selection of essays by Catholic women scholars edited by Mary Rice Hasson.

Her television and radio appearances include all major Chicago area news outlets, NPR, EWTN, and other local and national religious media. She is a weekly contributor to Relevant Radio’s Morning Air program, and the former host of a Chicago-area radio show, Winds of Change, which aired on EWTN’s local AM and FM stations. She is also the former host of the EDIFY podcast.

She serves on the Board of Directors of and is a consultor to numerous arch/dioceses, and pro-life and charitable organizations, including Aid for Women, a pregnancy resource center and maternity home, and Life House, a maternity home and women’s shelter serving the Black community on Chicago’s South Side. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work on behalf of the Catholic Church and the pro-life movement, including the Woman of the Year Award from St. Joseph College Seminary, the Catholic Press Association’s 2022 Henry Hyde Award, and the Aid for Women Praesidium Vitae Award.

Mary and her husband, Kevin, are the parents of three daughters and live in the Chicago area.