Caritas Slovenia

Last updated
Caritas Slovenia
Slovenska karitas
Established1 May 1990
TypeNonprofit
Purposesocial work, humanitarian aid
HeadquartersKristanova ulica 1
Location
Coordinates 46°03′02″N14°30′39″E / 46.05052°N 14.51091°E / 46.05052; 14.51091
Origins Catholic Social Teaching
Region served
Slovenia and worldwide
Secretary General
Peter Tomažič
President
Alojzij Cvikl
Affiliations Caritas Europa, Caritas Internationalis
Expenses (2023)28.6 million € [1]
Volunteers (2023)
10,161 [1]
Website www.karitas.si

Caritas Slovenia (Slovene: Slovenska karitas) is a Slovenian Catholic charity organisation. It operates nationally by providing social welfare services, and internationally by supporting the relief and development efforts of partner organisations.

Contents

Caritas Slovenia is a member of both Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Europa.

History

Catholic charitable actions existed in the territory that is now the Republic of Slovenia already in the first half of the 20th century, but all organised Church charitable activities were banned after the Second World War, although they continued to be carried out on a small scale in the parishes. [2]

The Slovenian Bishops' Conference founded the national Caritas Slovenia on 1 May 1990, in the context of the democratisation of Slovenia. [3] The driving force behind this initiative was Archbishop Alojzij Šuštar. Shortly after the creation of the national organisation, three more diocesan Caritas organisations were established: Caritas Ljubljana on 29 June 1990, Caritas Koper on 6 September 1990, and Caritas Maribor on 12 October 1990, along with numerous parish Caritas organisations. [4] [5]

Shortly after Slovenia declared independence, followed by the Ten-Day War, conflicts continued during the Breakup of Yugoslavia in other republics, leading to the arrival of many refugees. Caritas played a crucial role in assisting these refugees in Slovenia. [2]

In 1995, Slovenian Caritas became a full member of Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Europa.

Three institutes were also established for the implementation of specific social programmes: the Zavod Pelikan – Karitas drug addiction treatment centre (founded on 20 February 1997), the Čebela Karitas daycare centre (founded on 21 May 1997), and the Zavod Karitas Samarijan social centre (founded on 24 March 2000). Finally, three more diocesan organisations were created: Caritas Novo mesto was founded on 15 September 2006, Caritas Murska Sobota on 1 January 2007, and Caritas Celje on 2 February 2007. [4]

Work and impact

Domestic work

Caritas Slovenia provides a variety of social welfare programmes across the country, including areas such as drug addiction support, maternity homes, homeless shelters, outpatient clinics for the uninsured, and assistance for victims of human trafficking. Additionally, the organisation acts as an important humanitarian actor, extending support to various segments of society, such as aiding victims of the 2023 floods with essential needs. [1] [6]

In 2023, the organisation supported a total of 153,491 individuals, including almost 30,000 children and 40,000 elderly persons. Notably, more than 111,000 people received food assistance during this period. This work is carried out by employed staff, but largely also by its network of more than 11,000 volunteers. [5]

International work

In addition to its domestic work, the national Caritas Slovenia office also supports development and humanitarian projects abroad, in particular in Africa, in Asia, and in eastern and south-eastern Europe. The priority of these programmes lies on water and food supply, education, and healthcare. [7] [8]

Structure

The structure of Caritas follows the structure of the Catholic Church in Slovenia and consists of one national office as well ass six diocesan Caritas organisations:

In addition, there exist around 450 local parish Caritas organisations, and three specialised institutes: the Institute Pelikan, the Samaritan Caritas Institute, and the Karion Institute. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slovenian Railways</span> State railway company of Slovenia

Slovenian Railways is the state railway company of Slovenia, created in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drava Banovina</span>

The Drava Banovina or Drava Banate, was a province (banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slovenia and was named for the Drava River. The capital city of the Drava Banovina was Ljubljana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Slovenia</span>

The Slovenian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Slovenia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The 2018 Eurobarometer data shows 73.4% of Slovenian population identifying as Catholic that fell to 72.1% in the 2019 Eurobarometer survey. According to the Catholic Church data, the Catholic population fell from 78.04% in 2009 to 72.11% in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Administrative divisions of Yugoslavia</span>

Yugoslavia had various administrative divisions throughout its 74 years of existence.

Slovenia received a new country code following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. Additionally, the Ipko mobile phone company in Kosovo used the +386 country code.

The National Education Institute Slovenia - NEI is the main public organisation in Slovenia responsible for development in pre-university education in Slovenia — covering all kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools, music schools, and boarding schools.

The 1999–2000 Slovenian Football Cup was the ninth season of the Slovenian Football Cup, Slovenia's football knockout competition.

The Slovenian Regional Leagues are the fourth tier leagues in the Slovenian football system. They are alternately operated by the participating clubs' Intercommunal Football Associations. The winners are promoted to the Slovenian Third League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slovenian Junior League</span> Football league

The Slovenian Junior League, currently known as the EON NextGen Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the top level of Slovenian youth football in its age category. The league is contested among the under-19 sides of Slovenian football clubs and is governed by the Football Association of Slovenia. Maribor is the most successful team with eight titles.

The Šavrin Hills subdialect is a Slovene subdialect of the Istrian dialect in the Littoral dialect group. It is spoken in the Šavrin Hills south of a line from Koper to south of Zazid. It includes the settlements of Koper, Izola, Portorož, Sečovlje, Šmarje, Sočerga, and Rakitovec.

The 2012–13 Slovenian Football Cup was the 22nd season of the Slovenian Football Cup, Slovenia's football knockout competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Conference of Slovenia</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops

Slovenian Bishops' Conference is the supreme authority of the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia, which combines all the bishops of Slovenian dioceses and archdioceses: Archdiocese of Ljubljana, Archdiocese of Maribor, Diocese of Koper, Diocese of Novo Mesto, Diocese of Celje, and the Diocese of Murska Sobota. SBC territory coincides with the borders of the Republic of Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Stres</span> 20th and 21st-century Slovenian Catholic Archbishop

Anton Stres, C.M., was the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana and the metropolitan bishop of Ljubljana as well as the president of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference from January 2010 until July 2013. As Archbishop of Ljubljana he was also the grand chancellor of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Ljubljana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franc Kramberger</span> Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate (born 1936)

Archbishop Franc Kramberger is a Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate who served as a bishop of the Diocese of Maribor from 6 November 1980 until 7 April 2006 and as an archbishop of the newly elevated Archdiocese of Maribor since 7 April 2006 until his resignation on 3 February 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Letno poročilo mreže Karitas za l. 2023". karitas.si. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 Oven, Luka (30 April 2020). "30 let Slovenske karitas". karitas.si. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  3. "Statutes of Caritas Slovenia" (PDF). katoliska-cerkev.si. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  4. 1 2 "O Karitas". karitas.si. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Slovenska karitas deluje že 34 let". Družina . 1 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  6. "Mineva 30 let od ustanovitve Slovenske karitas". bakos.si. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  7. "Mednarodna pomoč". karitas.si. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  8. "Slovenska karitas začenja dobrodelni akciji za pomoč najrevnejšim v Afriki". Radiotelevizija Slovenija . 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  9. "Slovenian Caritas Celebrating 25th Anniversary". Slovenian Press Agency . 4 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  10. "Slovenska karitas". sopa.si. Retrieved 12 May 2024.