The beginning: Caritas Catholica

In 1891, Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum novarum was published, addressing the condition of the working classes.^[14] Rerum Novarum is considered a foundational text of modern Catholic social teaching and provides the ideological background for the work of Caritas.^[7] In this context, the first Caritas organisations began to be established, with Caritas Germany being the very first, founded by Lorenz Werthmann in 1897 in Freiburg.^[15] In the following years, national Caritas organisations were set up in other countries, including Caritas Switzerland (1901), Caritas Austria (1903), Catholic Charities in the United States (1910) and Caritas Czechoslovakia (1922).^{[16][17] [18]} The first Caritas at the diocesan level was set up in Strasbourg, which is now part of France but was then part of the German Empire, in 1903.^[19][20] In 1916, in the context of World War 1, Caritas was recognised as the single official umbrella organisation for the German Catholic church's relief operations.^[15] By 1922, all German dioceses had established their own Caritas association.^[21]

In July 1924, during the 27th International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, an international conference on charity was held. This conference saw the participation of delegates from Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland. The primary objective of the conference was to discuss Catholic charitable activities in various countries. These discussions revealed a plethora of charitable activities occurring, yet without effective cooperation and coordination.^[22]

As a result, most participants advocated for the establishment of a secretariat for charitable activities within each diocese. This centralised management would aim to consolidate various charitable efforts within a diocese, allowing for national and international collaboration. This network of organisations was subsequently named Caritas Catholica and formally established in 1928, with its headquarters at Caritas Switzerland in Lucerne. Wilhelm Kissling, the director of the Swiss Caritas, was appointed the first General Secretary, while Paul Müller-Sirnonis, the director of Caritas Alsace, became the inaugural president.^[23][24] The secretariat was organised into six specialised sections: youth, knowledge and teaching of charity, aid to the poor and to families, immigration and housing, assistance to the sick, and the fight against alcoholism.^[22]

The establishment of Caritas Catholica was reported to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See and the delegates of Caritas Catholica met every two years. Delegations were also present at some international conferences until the outbreak of the Second World War when all activities came to a standstill.^[22]

A few national Caritas organisations were set up during or right after the war to provide and coordinate aid for the populations most in need, including the American Catholic Relief Services (1943), the French Secours catholique (1946) and Caritas Japan (1946).^[25][26][27]

Formal establishment in 1951

The work of Caritas Catholica resumed in 1947, with the approval of the Secretariat of State. Two conferences were convened in Lucerne 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 Catholic welfare organisations at the international level, especially at the United Nations. The Holy Year in 1950 saw the beginning of a union of Caritas organisations.^[28] 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 Catholic Charities".^[29]

On 21 October 1951, the Holy See approved the statutes of this international organisations ad experimentum and from 12 to 14 December 1951, the constitutive assembly of Caritas Internationalis took place. Founding members came from Caritas organisations in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.^[22][30][31]

The first elected officials of the organisation were the Italian Bishop Ferdinando Baldelli, who served as President of Caritas Internationalis until 1962, and the German Carlo Bayer, who remained the Secretary General until 1970.^[32] In 1957, the International Conference of Catholic Charities changed its name to Caritas Internationalis to reflect the international presence of Caritas members on every continent.^[33][13][3]

Internationalisation throughout the 1950s and 1960s

Throughout the rest of the 1950s, new national Caritas organisations were founded and joined Caritas Internationalis, including Caritas Hong Kong in 1953,^[34] Caritas Syria in 1954,^[35] and Caritas Brazil and Caritas Colombia in 1956.^[36][37] At the same time, the French Secours catholique set up antennas in the French colonies in Africa which would later become independent Caritas organisations, such as the current Caritas Burkina Faso, first established in 1956, or the current Caritas Madagascar in 1959.^[38][39] By 1957, Caritas Internationalis had 37 member organisations.^[40]

Caritas Internationalis coordinated the relief efforts of its members in response to emergencies in Europe, such as the 1953 floods in the Netherlands and Belgium, the 1953 Ionian earthquake, and the displacement of 200,000 Hungarian refugees after the 1956 uprising. In February 1957, Caritas Internationalis established an Emergency Aid Commission. Two years later, the Confederation also took its first steps in advocacy. The economic prosperity that many Western countries experienced highlighted that other parts of the world were still facing hunger and misery. In 1959, at the initiative of Cardinal Joseph Frings, the German bishops decided to launch a joint Lenten campaign to alleviate, hunger, poverty and disease in what was back then called the "Third World". The idea of Lenten campaigns and using the raised funds to implement charitable projects was adopted in many countries and remains a major fundraising tool for many Caritas organisations worldwide.^[41]

Caritas collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization on its five-year "Freedom from Hunger" campaign, launched in 1960.^[42] During its fifth General Assembly in 1960, the confederation called for locally based development aid in addition to emergency aid. The Confederation increasingly prioritized development as more Caritas organisations became development actors within their own countries. Consequently, a dedicated service for this purpose was established in the general secretariat in Rome.^[43] In 1962, the Chilean Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez was elected as president of Caritas Internationalis.^[44]

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) opened up the Church to the modern world. It emphasized the value of the work done by laypeople, called for dialogue with other religions, and urged Christians to promote the development of poorer regions and social justice among nations. In 1967, Pope Paul VI published Populorum progressio, an encyclical on the topic of "the development of peoples" which would become a foundational text for the work of Caritas Internationalis and its members. It prompted Catholic charities such as Caritas to contemplate their role within the Church and the contemporary world, reinforcing the notion that social action should be grounded in serving those most in need and that initiatives should be developed collaboratively with the communities.^[45]

That same year, CIDSE was established to coordinate the tasks identified by the Second Vatican Council as priorities for the Church, such as caring for the poor and oppressed and focusing on global justice. Since then, there has been close cooperation between Caritas Internationalis and CIDSE, with some Caritas member organisations also belonging to CIDSE.

Emergency relief efforts and coordination continued in the 1960s, including reconstruction after the 1962 Buin Zahra earthquake and the 1963 Skopje earthquake, as well as hunger and relief campaign after repeated famines in India and Pakistan. Caritas was a major humanitarian actor during the Biafran War (1967-1970)^[46][47] and Caritas Jerusalem was founded to coordinate the Catholic relief efforts after the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.^[48][49]

In 1969, following the International Year of Human Rights (1968), the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis adopted a "Declaration on the Rights of Developing Nations". It supported the fundamental principled of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.^[50] This marked the beginning of Caritas Internationalis adopting a more outward-facing advocacy approach, involving closer cooperation and engagement on the global stage through its UN delegations.

Professionalisation and further expansion in the 1970s and 1980s

On 19 July 1976, at the initiative of Pope Paul VI, Caritas Internationalis was granted civil juridical personality by the Vatican City State.^[3]

The seven regions that currently form the Caritas confederation were established in the 1970s to enhance its effectiveness and unity. Regional assemblies were created and held during the General Assemblies of the confederation. Their primary task was to develop regional work plans, elect regional presidents, and appoint commissions to support the overall work of the Caritas Internationalis general secretariat. This structure aimed to foster increased cooperation among organisations within the same region, ensuring a more cohesive and impactful approach to their humanitarian missions.^[51] Additionally, the first common manual on how to implement disaster aid was adopted in 1979.^[52]

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Confederation responded to a series of global humanitarian emergencies, including droughts in the Sahel,^[53][54] the influx of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Hong Kong starting in 1982,^[55] the 1985 Mexico City earthquake,^[56] the humanitarian emergency during the First Gulf War (1980-1988), the 1988 Bangladesh cyclone, and the extreme winter conditions in Europe at the end of the 1980s.^[57]

Caritas Lebanon became a major humanitarian actor during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990).^[58] Together with the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, Caritas Internationalis formed the Churches Drought Action for Africa, later renamed Joint Relief Programme, to respond to the communities affected by the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia and later the victims of violence and hunger during the Eritrean War of Independence in the early 1990s.^{[59][60][61][62]}

In terms of advocacy, Caritas Internationalis focused on promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Notably, the organisation participated in United Nations sessions aimed at assessing and implementing recommendations from the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981). Another significant area of focus was the promotion of women's participation in programmes. Caritas Internationalis played an active role in the 1980 World Conference on Women and, in 1983, Caritas Latin America organised a dedicated event in Panama focusing on the role of women in development.^[63]

In 1983, the Angolan Cardinal Alexandre do Nascimento succeeded the German priest Georg Hüssler as President of Caritas Internationalis.

The 1990s and 2000s marked by humanitarian emergencies

Other work

Nonetheless, Caritas also continued its work as social service provider and development actor around the world. For example Caritas Hong Kong, greatly expanded its educational and healthcare services.^[74] In Iraq, Caritas Iraq assisted more than 250,000 persons with food programmes alone and between 1995 and 2000.^[75] Caritas Austria expanded its support to children, people with disabilities, refugees, the homeless, the elderly, young mothers, people suffering from addictions, and the long-term unemployed.^[76]

Simultaneously, a new global crisis emerged with the spreading of HIV/AIDS. In 1999, Caritas Internationalis signed a memorandum of understanding with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, agreeing to collaborating in raising awareness about the virus and caring for those affected.^[77]

In the late 1990s, Caritas also focused on peacebuilding, notably in Colombia where Caritas Colombia started implementing peacebuilding projects and became involved in truth and reconciliation initiatives. In 2000, it convened the first National Congress of Reconciliation.^[78]

In the 2000s, Caritas became involved in the World Social Forum,^[79] with 450 delegates from around 40 Caritas organisations participating in the Porto Alegre summit in 2003.^[80]

On 16 September 2004, Pope John Paul II granted public, juridical, and canonical personality to Caritas Internationalis, recognizing its formal status within the Church and its ability to operate with a greater degree of autonomy and authority.^[3][28] He also entrusted the task of "supervising and guiding the activity of Caritas Internationalis" to the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.^[28]

Caritas Internationalis launched its "HAART for Children" advocacy campaign in 2009, calling on governments and pharmaceutical companies to develop and provide child-friendly HIV and tuberculosis medicine.^[77][81] In November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI published the motu proprio Intima Ecclesiae natura, which focuses on the principles and guidelines for the charitable activities of the Catholic Church, which explicitly asks of the bishops to "encourage in every parish of his territory the creation of a local Caritas service or a similar body".^[82]

Since 2019: Controversies and organisational changes

In May 2019, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development became the new Vatican body overseeing the work of the Caritas Internationalis, following the integration of the previous oversight body, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, into the Dicastery in 2017.^[83]

In November 2019, CNN reported that the Director of Caritas Central African Republic, a Belgian Salesian priest, had been convicted in Belgium in 2012 for child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography. CNN also identified two children in the Central African Republic who were allegedly abused by the priest.^[84] Following this report, the UN temporarily suspended its work with Caritas Central African Republic. Caritas Internationalis issues an apology, stating that it was "saddened and outraged" by the allegations of abuse and said it was working to improve its safeguarding policies towards children.^[85][86]

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Caritas in Ukraine and the neighbouring countries implemented a large-scale response to support the internally displaced persons and refugees from Ukraine. In the first two years of the conflict, Caritas Ukraine and Caritas-Spes alone provided humanitarian aid to more than 3.8 million people in Ukraine.^[87]

In November 2022, Pope Francis removed the secretary general and the entire leadership and governance team of Caritas Internationalis following an external investigation that uncovered significant management deficiencies impacting staff morale at the Caritas secretariat in Rome. An organisational consultant was appointed as a temporary administrator until elections were held for a new secretary-general in May 2023.^[88][89][90] These elections resulted in Alistair Dutton, previously the executive director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), winning the position of Secretary-General, and Archbishop of Tokyo Msgr. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi being elected as President.^[91][92][93]

Presidents

The successive presidents of Caritas Internationalis have been:^[32]

Secretaries-general

The incomplete list of secretaries-general of Caritas Internationalis includes:^[32]