This article needs to be updated.(November 2022) |
Formation | 9 November 1951 |
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Founded at | Vatican City |
Purpose | Humanitarian aid, international development, social service, advocacy |
Headquarters | Palazzo San Callisto |
Location | |
Coordinates | 41°53′20″N12°28′14″E / 41.88889°N 12.47056°E |
Origins | Catholic Social Teaching |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership (2023) | 162 national member organisations [1] [2] |
Official language | English, French, Spanish |
Secretary General | Alistair Dutton |
Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi | |
Vice-President | Kirsty Robertson |
Main organ | General Assembly and Executive Board |
Affiliations | ICVA, [3] SCHR, Sphere |
Website | www |
Caritas Internationalis (Latin for "Charity International") is a confederation of 162 [1] [2] national Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. [4] The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the global network of Caritas organizations and to its general secretariat based in the Vatican City in Rome, Italy.
Collectively and individually, their missions are "to serve the poor and to promote charity and justice throughout the world". [5] Caritas Internationalis is the second-largest international humanitarian aid netowrk in the world after the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. [6] [7] [8] [9]
The first Caritas organization was Caritas Germany, established by Lorenz Werthmann in 1897 in Freiburg. [10] Other national Caritas organizations were soon formed in Switzerland (1901) and the United States (Catholic Charities, 1910). [11]
This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2018) |
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. [12]
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". [13]
In 1954, the Confederation changed its name to Caritas Internationalis to reflect the international presence of Caritas members on every continent. [13] 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. [14]
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. [15]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2021) |
The full membership list of Caritas organizations includes:
Including 45 national agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa:
24 national agencies including:
Caritas Europa with 49 national agencies including:
Regional body Caritas Oceania, with seven member agencies including:
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is an international development charity and the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Its stated aim is to tackle poverty globally. Through local Catholic Church and secular partners, its aims to help people directly in their own communities and campaigns for global justice.
Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. is a Honduran prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Tegucigalpa from 1993 to 2023. He was president of Caritas Internationalis and served as president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999.
The Pontifical Council Cor Unum for Human and Christian Development was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church from 1971 to 2016.
The Catholic Near East Welfare Association is a papal agency established in 1926 and dedicated to giving pastoral and humanitarian support to Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. CNEWA operates specifically in areas of concentrated mass poverty, war, and displacement, providing human dignity and addressing basic needs for vulnerable populations. As a Catholic organization CNEWA utilizes the network of Eastern Catholic Churches and devoted religious sisters to provide the most effective and holistic humanitarian support regardless of creed or religious affiliation. As sisters with CNEWA have stated, "We don't help people because they're Christian. We help [them] because we are."
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, better known by its acronym SCIAF, is the official aid and development agency of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Established in 1965, SCIAF now works in eight countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America and providing assistance to vulnerable people. SCIAF works with partner organisations and has responded to humanitarian disasters with emergency provisions and support. In Scotland, SCIAF raises awareness of the underlying causes of global poverty and injustice, work that includes visiting schools.
Caritas Catholica Belgica is a Belgian confederation of Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in Flanders and Wallonia. The organization groups about 1,100 institutions active in healthcare in Belgium.
Caritas Europa is a European confederation of Catholic social service providers and international development and humanitarian relief organisations operating in Europe. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis.
Qatar Charity is a humanitarian and development non-governmental organization in the Middle East. It was founded in 1992 in response to the thousands of children who were made orphans by the Afghanistan war and while orphans still remain a priority cause in the organization's work with more than 150,000 sponsored orphans, it has now expanded its fields of action to include six humanitarian fields and seven development fields.
The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations.
Robert Joseph Vitillo is the Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). Prior to that, Vitillo has served in various high level functions in Catholic charitable agencies, including Caritas Internationalis and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. A trained social worker, he is known for his broad expertise on human migration and refugee services, child protection, social services, human rights, HIV/AIDS and global health.
Caritas Bangladesh is a Catholic charitable organization in Bangladesh. It is a member of Caritas Internationalis and governed by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh.
Caritas Oceania is an Oceanian confederation of Catholic social, humanitarian, and relief organisations. It is one of the seven regional confederations of Caritas Internationalis members. Caritas Oceania consists of seven member organisations from across the Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand.
Caritas Ukraine is a Ukrainian Catholic not-for-profit and humanitarian relief organisation.
Caritas Poland is a Polish Catholic not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation. It is a service of the Polish Bishops' Conference and the largest social welfare and charitable organisation in the country.
Caritas Czech Republic is a Czech Catholic not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation. It is a service of the Czech Bishops' Conference and is the largest social welfare and charitable organisation in the country. Caritas Czech Republic is a member of both Caritas Europa and Caritas Internationalis.
Caritas Denmark is a Danish nonprofit organisation. It is the official aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Denmark and implements some social services in the country, while the core of its work are humanitarian and development programmes abroad.
Caritas Australia is an Australian Catholic agency for development cooperation and humanitarian aid.
Caritas Africa is a confederation of Catholic social service, international development and humanitarian relief organisations operating across Africa. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis.
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