Caritas Internationalis

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Caritas Internationalis
Founded9 November 1951
Founder Lorenz Werthmann
Focus Humanitarian aid, International development and social service
Headquarters Vatican City
Area served
Worldwide
Secretary General
Alistair Dutton [1]
Key people
Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, President
Ms. Kirsty Robertson, Vice-President
Website www.caritas.org

Caritas Internationalis (Latin for "Charity International") is a confederation of over 160 [2] Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Contents

Collectively and individually, their missions are to work to build a better world, especially for the poor and oppressed [3] to end poverty, promote justice and restoring dignity. [4] The first Caritas organization was established by Lorenz Werthmann on 9 November 1897 in Freiburg (headquarters for Germany). [5] Other national Caritas organizations were soon formed in Switzerland (1901) and the United States (Catholic Charities, 1910).

History

In July 1924, during the international Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, 60 delegates from 22 countries formed a conference, with headquarters at Caritas Switzerland in Luzern. In 1928, the conference became known as Caritas Catholica. The delegates met every two years until the outbreak of the Second World War when all activities came to a standstill. Work resumed in 1947, with the approval of the Secretariat of State, and two conferences were convened in Luzern to help coordinate efforts and collaboration.

Caritas was given a further endorsement when the Secretariat of State entrusted it with the official representation of all welfare organizations at the international level, especially at the United Nations. The Holy Year in 1950 saw the beginning of a union of Caritas organizations. Following a suggestion by Monsignor Montini, then Substitute Secretary of State, and later Pope Paul VI, a study week, with participants from 22 countries, was held in Rome to examine the problems of Christian Caritas work. As a result, the decision was made to set up an international conference of Roman Catholic charities.

In December 1951, upon approval of the statutes by the Holy See, the first constitutive General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis took place. Founding members came from Caritas organizations in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. The Church describes Caritas as its official voice "in relation to its teachings in the area of charity work". [6]

In 1954, the Confederation changed its name to Caritas Internationalis to reflect the international presence of Caritas members on every continent. [6] As of 2015, the Confederation has 164 members working in over 200 countries and territories. Its General Secretariat is located in the Palazzo San Callisto, Vatican City. The current president is Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and the Secretary General is Aloysius John. [7]

After World War Two, Caritas was implicated in assisting Franz Stangl, a supervisor at the Hartheim Euthanasia Centre which was the early Nazi euthanasia programme responsible for the deaths of over 70,000 mentally ill or physically deformed people in Germany, in his escape to Syria. After Stangl made his way to Rome from Linz, the Caritas relief agency provided him with a Red Cross passport and a boat ticket to Syria. [8]

Caritas national and regional agencies

The full membership list of Caritas organizations includes:

Africa

Including 45 national agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa:

Asia

The Caritas House in Caine Road, Mid-levels, Hong Kong DSCN2287.JPG
The Caritas House in Caine Road, Mid-levels, Hong Kong

24 national agencies including:

Europe

Nursery home of the German Caritas Berlin st norbert 05.02.2015 13-24-14.JPG
Nursery home of the German Caritas

Caritas Europa with 49 national agencies including:

St. Nicholas Orphanage, established by Caritas in Novosibirsk, Russia St. Nicholas Orphanage.jpg
St. Nicholas Orphanage, established by Caritas in Novosibirsk, Russia

North America, Central America and the Caribbean

Oceania

Regional body Caritas Oceania, with seven member agencies including:

South America

See also

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References

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