Caritas Mexicana, a Woman in Charge of Pastoral Activity: I am an Afro-Mexican woman, I carry in my throat the voice of my ancestors: my mother’s, my grandmothers’, my great-great-grandmothers’. In my travels through a large part of this beautiful Latin American and Caribbean continent, I have discovered different faces, especially the faces of black ...
Address: Tintoreto No. 104, Colonia Cd. de los Deportes, C. P. 03710 Mexico,
D. F., Mexico
Telephone: +52 (55) 5563-1604 Fax: +52 (55) 5563-3968
Email: [email protected]
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www.caritasmexicana.org
Caritas Mexico was founded in 1973, when the team was formed and operations began. From 1979 to 1995 Caritas Mexico was considered as a social welfare and emergency relief entity. In 1997 its legal status was changed as it became an IAP (Private Charitable Institution), thereby regaining its original nature as a federation of diocesan Caritas, directly linked to the Mexican Bishops’ Conference. Currently the organisation has 62 diocesan Caritas, with a presence in 30 of Mexico’s states.
Caritas Mexico (CEPS) operates in seven areas of pastoral care.
Caritas pastoral care: accompanies the diocesan Caritas, supports people with HIV/AIDS, promotes gender equality and helps in emergencies caused by natural disasters and social crisis situations.
Pastoral care of workers: in the interest that all human activities may be dignified and contribute towards social progress.
Pastoral care of indigenous peoples: training of indigenous peoples − most of whom come from states in southern and south-eastern Mexico − so that they can play key roles in their own integral development.
Pastoral healthcare: an annual national meeting is held in September to reflect on healthcare approaches from a theological viewpoint.
Pastoral care of prisoners: aimed at boosting the training of those deprived of their freedom and their families. In Mexico, 80 per cent of the prison population is under 30 years, with low incomes and little education.
Human mobility: responds to the situation of transit, destination, deportation and trafficking of emigrants and immigrants from an overall perspective, by seeking to deal with the causes in order to reduce migration flows and exploitation of human beings.
Justice, peace and reconciliation: promotes peaceful resolution of conflicts and reconciliation processes, via educational means.
Caritas Mexico has established relations with other members of the Caritas confederation, including among others Caritas Spain, Caritas Norway, Caritas Germany, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), CAFOD (Caritas England and Wales), Trócaire (Caritas Ireland), Secours Catholique (Caritas France), the Caritas of Latin American and the Caribbean, Miserior, UN agencies and religious groups, the Don Bosco Foundation, the Society of Jesus, the Guadalupe Missionaries and the Mesón de la Misericordia.
Updates from Mexico
In partnership with Caritas Mexico, Caritas Internationalis launched an emergency appeal as an immediate response to the earthquake that hit central Mexico on 19 September.
Measuring 7. 1 on the Richter scale, a second earthquake in less than two weeks hit Mexico on 19 September severely affecting the populations of the states of Morelos, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Mexico City in central Mexico. As of 01:00 AM (local time in Mexico) 248 deaths were reported. Many more are buried ...
Jimmy Lopez, 24, was trafficked after he left his family in Honduras to go to the United States. His story reminds us of the vulnerability of child migrants to human trafficking, and the need to protect them and their rights.
Caritas believes it is vital that migrants are treated with dignity as persons. Caritas Mexico provides all kinds of assistance to those seeking hope for their families through their Casa del Migrante program
With the voyage of Pope Francis to the Mexican border with the US, there is increased focus on migration and the impact on poor and vulnerable families.
“The Pope invites us to take up the Church's task of mercy and forgiveness, and with migrants this means informing or reminding them that they are human persons, with dignity, values and rights,” says Bishop Ortiz
Hurricane Patricia has made landfall in south west Mexico, in what is said to be the strongest storm on record. Heavy damage appears to have been avoided, but there is still a risk of major floods and mudslides.
Electronic purses containing 600 pesos per month were delivered to each of the 725 families affected by hurricane Odile, so that they could decide what they needed most and directly buy goods from the supermarket, with the only restriction that the purse may not be used to buy tobacco or alcoholic beverages.
The situation of extreme poverty, armed conflict, limited access to means of development, and in some cases family pressure, is driving ever more children and adolescents from Central America to travel along migration corridors in the hope of reaching the US border, or otherwise trying their luck in Mexico.