VATICAN (CNS): Caritas Internationalis must share the Gospel message of unity, justice and peace or risk becoming “merely a semblance of goodness,” Pope Francis told delegates to the organisation’s general assembly on May 11. The pope underscored the dual nature of the Church’s charitable arm as a service of charity and a Catholic institution dedicated to pastoral care.
The work of Caritas is “not just a matter of initiating projects and strategies that prove successful and effective, but also of engaging in an ongoing process of missionary conversion,” the pope said.
The pope said that if charity loses its connection to the gospel “it would be easy to comply with worldly ways of thinking that would divert us to pragmatic activism or self-interest that wound” the body of the Church.
Caritas Internationalis is the umbrella organisation for 162 official Catholic charities operating in 200 countries and territories around the world. Its general assembly, attended by some 400 delegates representing national and local Caritas organisations, took place from May 11 to 16 in Rome to elect a new president, secretary-general, executive board and fill other leadership positions.
In November 2022, Pope Francis issued a decree suspending the secretary-general and other top officers of Caritas, citing “deficiencies” in management and procedures “seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale.” Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle was also removed as Caritas president but remained in the organisation to assist the temporary administrator appointed to oversee the transition.
The work of Caritas is ‘not just a matter of initiating projects and strategies that prove successful and effective, but also of engaging in an ongoing process of missionary conversion
Pope Francis
In his address to Caritas delegates on May 11, Pope Francis explained that what distinguishes Caritas from other aid organisations is its “ecclesial vocation,” which offers charity in communion with the Holy See and in line with the Catholic Church teaching.
From its conception, he said, Caritas was meant to mediate “between the universal and particular Churches” and support “the involvement of the entire people of God in the work of charity.”
He told the delegates, “Take care to train competent lay persons capable of bringing the Church’s message to political and social life.”
The pope said, “The challenge of a mature and conscious laity is as timely as ever, since their presence reaches all those spheres that directly touch the lives of the poor,” the pope said, adding, “They can express with creative freedom the Church’s maternal heart and concern for social justice thanks to their involvement in the challenging work of unjust social structures and promoting the happiness of the human person.”
Pope Francis stressed the centrality of charity in Christian life, explaining that while “faith and hope are ‘provisional gifts’ linked to our lives as pilgrims and wayfarers on this earth, charity, by contrast, is a ‘definitive gift,’ a pledge and a foretaste of the end of time.”
Citing St. Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians, the pope said, “Even the most extraordinary actions, even the most heroic acts of generosity, like giving away all one’s possessions to help the starving, if done without charity, are of no avail.”
Pope Francis also encouraged the delegates to remain united and learn to value their differences.
“Your confederation embraces many different identities. Experience your diversity as a treasure, pluralism as a resource,” he said. “Compete in showing esteem for one another, and allow conflicts to lead, not to division, but to encounter and growth.”
