2023-05-12 03:30:00
May 11, 2023 / 8:30 p.m
Pope Francis met this Thursday, May 11, with delegates from the Vatican’s main charitable organization six months after he himself dismissed its top leaders.
The members of the General Assembly of Charity Internationala confederation of more than 160 Catholic charities operating in 200 countries and territories, have come to Vatican City this week to elect a new president and a new secretary general, among other officials.
Added to the whirlwind that surrounds the deliberations of this body are the criticisms of two of its former leaders of the pontifical decree last November by which the administration of the organization was dismissed. In a press release issued at the time, it was stated that no embezzlement of funds or sexual abuse had been found, but deficiencies were cited in the “management and procedures (of Cáritas), which seriously harmed the team spirit and the morale of the staff “.
An interim management, led by a former Bain Capital management expert, has run the global organization ever since.
Pope Francis’ decree stated that Caritas would undergo a review “to improve its management rules and procedures—even if financial matters were well managed and fundraising targets were regularly achieved—and thus better serve their charities around the world.
However, in a couple of open letters sent to delegates, obtained by ACI Stampa – the Italian agency of the ACI Group – and other media outlets, the two former general secretaries of Caritas – Aloysius John and his predecessor, Michel Roy – criticize harshly the actions of the Holy Father.
Calling the move a “brutal seizure of power,” John says in his eight-page letter that he considers it an “incomprehensible act” in light of the ongoing synodal process in the world Church.
In his opinion, the changes in leadership obey “a deliberate will on the part of some superiors of departments who think and act with a logic of control of the institution, of people, of resources.” He also blames a “colonialist” attitude on the part of some members of the confederation, stating that they saw him as an interloper because he was of Indian origin.
In his letter, John recalls that the external inspection had begun in the summer of 2022, following a letter he had sent to Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, on June 23. The inspection had been requested because “some employees, unhappy with the changes, had written anonymous letters and a signed letter to the vice president of Caritas International.”
The inspection was intended to “help understand the situation,” John writes in the letter. However, the final inspection report was classified as “confidential”, he points out. At the same time, when the Cáritas leadership was dismissed, it was stressed that there had been “neither embezzlement nor sexual abuse, but rather a failure in management.”
Some words “surprisingly vague”, “unsubstantiated” and “the result of an investigation solely incriminating”, says John.
The provisional government, says John, humiliates “the members of the confederation, who place their trust in this institution and in its future.”
John stresses that “the announcement of this suspension, made in haste, with incredible violence and little public communication, has discredited the Church and one of its jewels.”
In his letter, Roy warns that “the confederation runs the risk of becoming a mere platform subject to decisions from above and not from its members.”
He points out that “there is no doubt” that “those in charge” of the Department for the Promotion of Integral Human Development are responsible for trying to centralize control over Cáritas. And he adds: “The fact that the decision made cannot be questioned because it is subject to a decree of the Holy Father cannot hide where it comes from.”
Election of new leaders
The General Secretariat of Charity International It is based in Vatican City. From there, the organization’s leadership “coordinates emergency responses, policy and advocacy, communications, international representation and capacity building,” according to the Caritas website.
National Caritas organizations are linked to their Episcopal Conferences. Every four years, representatives of these organizations meet in a General Assembly in Vatican City to elect their president, vice-presidents, general secretary, and treasurer. The last Assembly was in 2019.
Among the possible successors to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who was ousted as president of Cáritas in November, are Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Archbishop of Tonga; the Archbishop of Tokyo Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi; the Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli (Lebanon) Joseph Soueif, who ran for the Caritas presidency in 2015; and Mons. Gabriel Hatti, president of the Middle East and North Africa office.
Candidates for secretary general include Cristina Calvo, consultant for Caritas Latin America, and Alistair Dutton, executive director of Caritas Scotland and former humanitarian director of Charity International.
Catholic News Agency — EWTN news agency in English — contacted Wednesday with Charity International to request comment on the criticism of its former leadership, but did not receive a response prior to this publication.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Caritas says it has spent the last six months on a “journey of renewal and communion” in response to Pope Francis’ call for reform.
“We are preparing for [la Asamblea General, ya en curso] may it be a moment of joyful encounter, of sincere dialogue and mutual listening, aimed at building together the future path of fraternal cooperation, at the service of the poor and the most vulnerable,” the statement added.
This article has been translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. It was originally published on CNA.
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