Governance

How Caritas is structured

A description of Caritas Internationalis’ governing bodies and their functions.

Caritas Internationalis is a public canonical juridical person dedicated to the service of the poor and to the promotion of charity, justice and the integral human development (art. 1, CI Statutes).

The specific task entrusted to Caritas Internationalis is to assist the Roman Pontiff and the other bishops in their ministry of charity. Caritas Internationalis carries out this task by attending to the poorest and most needy, assisting in humanitarian emergencies, and helping to spread charity and justice in the world in the light of the Gospel and of the teaching of the Catholic Church (art. 1.3, CI Statutes)

CI is a Confederarion of Catholic charitable organisations which, in general are national Caritas or a collective group of them that works with the support of their Church.

Regions

Caritas Internationalis is made up of seven regions. Members of regions work together on common issues, strengthening each other and contributing to global action. They are AfricaAsiaEuropeLatin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa (MONA), North America, and Oceania.

Governance

Every four years, representatives from our member organisations worldwide meet in Vatican City to review work carried out and approve a strategic framework and a budget. The most recent gathering of the General Assembly was in May 2023. The General Assembly elects the Representative Council to serve four-year to govern the confederation’s activities.

The General Assembly elects the Caritas Internationalis President and Secretary General. The Vice president and the treasurer are elected by the Representative Council. The president and vice president are ex officio members of the Executive Board which is composed of seven members, two of which are appointed by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) and one is elected by the Representative Council. The Treasurer and the chair of the Legal Affairs Commission are also members of the Executive Board.

In May 2023, Mr Alistair Dutton was elected as Secretary General; Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo, as President; Mrs Kirsty Robertson (CEO of Caritas Australia) as Vice President; and Mr Patrick Dubecquois (Deputy Director of Caritas Belgium) as Treasurer.

General Secretariat and offices

The General Secretariat of the Caritas Confederation, based in the Vatican City, is the organizational structure under the direction of the Secretary

General. The personnel of the General Secretariat carry out their duties assigned by the Secretary General in accordance with the strategic framework, the instructions from the Executive Board and in compliance with the Personnel Rules of Caritas Internationalis (art. 15.1, CI Statutes).

This Secretariat coordinates emergency response, policy and advocacy, communications, international representation and capacity building. It also has international delegations at the United Nations, in New York and Geneva.

 

EXBO Members

President: H.E. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D, Archbishop of Tokyo

Vice-President: Ms. Kirsty Robertson, Caritas Australia

Treasurer: Mr. Patrick Debucquois, Caritas Belgium

Mr. Kidane Bekele Moges, Caritas Ethiopia

Mr. Karam Abi Yazbeck, Regional Coordinator MONA Region

Ms. Cristina Calvo, Argentina

Legal Affairs Committee Chair to be decided

 

REPCO Members

President: H.E. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D, Archbishop of Tokyo

Vice-President: Ms. Kirsty Robertson, Caritas Australia

Treasurer: Mr. Patrick Debucquois, Caritas Belgium

Sr. Regina Ignatia Aflah, Caritas Ghana

Dr. Benedict Alo D’Rozario, President Caritas ASIA

Msgr. Giorgio Bertin, President Caritas MONA

Fr. Pierre Cibambo, President Caritas AFRICA

Mr. Santos Gotine, Caritas Mozambique

Mr. Carl Hétu, Caritas Canada (Development and Peace)

Msgr. Michael Landau, President Caritas EUROPA

Ms. Agustina Langwagen, Caritas Uruguay

Mr. Jeremy Laurie, Youth Representative, Caritas Canada (Development and Peace)

H.E. Card. Soane Patita Mafi, President Caritas OCEANIA

Ms. Janeth Márquez, Caritas Venezuela

Mr. Oliver Müller, Caritas Germany

Ms. Chimwemwe Ndhlovu, Caritas Malawi

Fr. Marco Pagniello, Caritas Italiana

Mr. Kim Rattana, Caritas Cambodia

Msgr. Gustavo Rodríguez, President Caritas LATIN AMERICA & the CARIBBEAN

Ms. Clara Sánchez, Youth Representative, Caritas Spain

Dr. Shannon Senefeld, Catholic Relief Services

Fr. Takashi Seto, Caritas Japan

Mr. Wael Souleiman, Caritas Jordan

Ms. Tetiana Stawnychy, Caritas Ukraine

Legal Affairs Committee Chair to be decided

 

Member Organisations

National charitable organizations whose statutes have been approved by the local Episcopal Conferences or by its equivalent in law or, in the case of a country consisting of a single diocese, by the diocesan bishop or by its equivalent in law, can apply for membership of Caritas Internationalis, following acceptance by the General Assembly and ratification by the DPIHD. (art. 4.2, CI Statutes).

Members have to comply with the norms of conduct and the criteria defined in the Statutes and the Internal Rules of Caritas Internationalis, as well as with internationally shared principles and Management Standards, established by Caritas Internationalis (art. 6.1c, CI Statutes).

 

Statutes

Download Caritas Internationalis Statutes here.

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