The deacon's exercise of charity and justice extends the loving hand of God's constant love and mercy to all who are in need. The Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education has called this work "the ministry most characteristic of the deacon." In The Deacon's Ministry of Charity and Justice, Deacon William Ditewig focuses on this ministry as a constitutive element of the nature of the church itself—always flowing from the ministries of word and sacrament and leading back to them, never apart from them. Along with a rich exploration of the scriptural, historical, and theological foundation of the deacon's practice of charity and justice, Deacon Ditewig—one of today's foremost experts on the permanent diaconate—develops specific and concrete principles for exercising these ministries faithfully, authentically, and effectively. William T. Ditewig is executive professor of theology at Santa Clara University, and he serves as director of faith formation, diaconate, and pastoral planning for the Diocese of Monterey. He is a deacon ordained for the Archdiocese of Washington as well as a retired Navy Commander. He is the author of many books on the diaconate, including The Deacon at Mass: A Theological and Pastoral Guide, Second Edition (Paulist, 2013), The Emerging Diaconate: Servant Leaders in a Servant Church (Paulist, 2007), and 101 Questions and Answers On Deacons (Paulist, 2004).