Caritas in Europe in the third millennium International scientific congress, Warsaw 22-26 September 1999 Directions and problems in charity work shared by Churches in Europe. Speech by Denis Viénot, President of Caritas Europa:

The official title of the congress, "Caritas in Europe in the third millennium", raises the question of the future of charity work and also that of the geographical area concerned. The Europe in which action takes place is made up of three main zones : • a first, Western zone, with its heritage from Rome and Greece, has been strongly marked by Christianity in its Catholic and Protestant forms, and then by the philosophy of the Enlightenment. This Europe stands for expansion, world colonization, the invention of parliamentary democracy, industrialization, capitalism, various forms of socialism and sometimes secularism. It includes countries in Western and Northern Europe as far as the Baltic States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. It is not a coincidence that many of the latter are associated with NATO and European Union enlargement. • a second, Eastern zone has been marked by Orthodox Christianity. This zone in modern times has been the starting point for the tragic experiment of real socialism. Its history has been marked by the constant defence of its identity against nomadic communities from the East, against the Ottoman zone and pressure from the Western zone, for which it feels both attraction and repulsion at the same time. • a third, Ottoman zone was centred on Central Asia then spread to cover a wide region before being driven back to its current position. It now covers only part of Europe, leaving in its wake millions of Muslim Europeans. This vast Ottoman empire has also left behind it the ideology of "pan-Turkism" which is seeking support in the Muslim republics of the former USSR. In these very different European contexts, the Church has contributed to and wishes to continue with its specific contribution to the development of individuals and communities, in particular through its charity work, and its promotion of the human being and justice. The original and specific nature of its approach is due to its triple foundations : • firstly, the Gospel and related texts, the Old Testament and contributions by various commentators either in the Epistles or by Doctors of the Church. A central orientation emerges from this : "Love one another as I have loved you." • secondly, the social teaching of the Church which has been notably shaped and studied over the last century. Several different concepts have thus been highlighted, such as human dignity or the preferential option for the poor. The gradual take-over of the development of human rights has been carried out by incorporating the specific nature of the Christian faith, as expressed by Mgr. Claverie, the murdered Bishop of Oran, Algeria, when he wrote: "The only sacred thing here on earth is man, the image and likeness of God." • thirdly, the observation and analysis of realities of the times, at each different epoch. The teaching method set up for this congress is a clear sign of this, as it is based on the three steps of See, Judge, Act. This link with concrete reality is absolutely essential: one no longer walks between Jerusalem and Jericho but our duty is indeed to answer the appeals of the poor, thus becoming their neighbours, whether near or far. With these foundations and in this European area, three types of actors will intervene in connection with each other, in order to promote an integral approach to charity, in the richest meaning of this value and virtue : • The poor, the poors are certainly the first to be both subjects and initiators, as their talents are lying fallow. In the Parable of the talents, the first and second servants obtain 100% yield through their work as they bring their master double the amount with which he had entrusted them. The third servant brings back exactly the same amount he was given and his yield is therefore 0%. He is quite rightly blamed. It is not the capital or wealth which is important but rather the profit yielded. Each man and woman is therefore urged to take part in the construction of the Kingdom here on earth and in the creation and implementation of the universal use of earthly goods. In a manner of speaking, the poor person is in a condition of sub-creator. His responsibility and that of the community are to make him a full creator, with the limitations inherent in the human condition. • Society is the second actor, with its various components, both in terms of individuals, citizens, taxpayers, professional people in all areas and not just the social area for example, as well as democratic institutions, territorial or thematic groups, territorial authorities or components of the renowned civil society. • The Church will be the third actor for us, both in terms of individuals, believers and donors, as well as at institutional level with the groups, movements and communities which are organized at parish, diocesan, national and international level. Within the Church in Europe, the network of 49 Caritases present in 44 countries has recently drawn up orientations for common action which attempt to provide answers to the challenges and problems of European societies and the responsibilities of our continent towards other regions of the world. The current European news on the crisis in the Balkans and Kosovo shows the link between charity work, social pastoral work as it is known in Latin America, and the law. Charity and the law are in constant cycles and the strategic plan of the European Caritases underlines this by presenting their determination to become involved, within the Church, in lobbying work with whole societies and their democratic and social leaders. Before describing the vision, the perspectives and the actions shared by the European Caritases in the mandate received from the Church and their Bishops' Conferences, it would be useful to make a small digression on the connection between charity and the law, particularly as the question is asked of each Caritas and of Caritas Europa, which speaks on their behalf at supranational European level. I - Charity: the fish, the fisherman and the right to fish. When discussing the question of charity with Mgr. Alphonso Gregory, a Brazilian bishop and former President of Caritas Internationalis, I had quoted the saying; "Give a hungry man a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will be able to feed himself all his life". "That's true, answered the bishop, but your phrase is not complete. It's no use a hungry man knowing how to fish if he doesn't have the right to do so or if the factory ships leave him nothing". Charity inevitably raises the question of the law. If the former has its own logic, that of the love of God for all men and of fraternity between men, it takes place in a concrete society. Laws are a means, a tool for respect and protection and they organize a space in which contacts can take place in a stable manner. Giving a man a fish is sometimes necessary, urgent and vital. The question is not even asked in times of natural disaster or armed conflict, whether in the Sudan or Iraq in a war context, in Central America or India after cyclones, in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia or the Ukraine after severe flooding, in Turkey after an earthquake or in Kosovo, Albania or Macedonia in a difficult civil war situation. Emergency teams must be sent with food and medicine. Likewise, situations of poverty in Europe require assistance too, to house the homeless, feed families or clothe migrants. In these circumstances however, one must be aware that there is no deadline for action and that the manner is just as important as the act itself. When we give something to a homeless person, how do we see him? The quality of our regard can lead to contact being developed. Teaching him how to fish : any response to an emergency must be linked to the aim of the autonomy of individuals and groups. The act of promotion, development and training (teaching people how to fish) pleases everyone and rightly so. It enables the talents of the poor to be put to use and concretely solves problems for a while. In “Centesimus Annus”, Pope John Paul II uses the term "progress of the poor" and highlights their justifiable desire to gain access to their share of material goods and through their capabilities, to participate in the creation of a fairer world for all. John Paul II continues, "The progress of the poor is an opportunity for the moral, cultural and even economic growth of humanity as a whole". If he doesn't have the right to fish : what is the use of a Pakistani woman knowing how to read and write if she is marginalized and treated as a second-class citizen, and is often the victim of ill-treatment ? What is the use of a European family having "the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals" (Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) if it is dispossessed of its home to cover debts ? The progress of the poor is interdependent on their civil and political rights. If the factory-ships leave him nothing : what is the use of a group of Bangladeshi having saved to build up a small herd of cows, if the local market is dominated by imported milk powder? What is the use of professional work training schemes if a young Pole cannot find work due to the high unemployment rate? The progress of the poor is interdependent on their economic, social and cultural rights. At a colloquium organized by Caritas Spain in 1996, in the speech given by Father Antonio Bravo, General Superior of the priests of Prado, entitled "The cause of the poor, a challenge for an evangelistic Church", he proposed seven ways for action : • cultivate spirituality directly with the poor, • understand and believe in the poor, • develop fraternal contacts with the poor, • love freely, • act efficiently and productively, • animate the whole Church through the preferential option for the poor, • risk the proposals of the Gospel. The fifth way (act efficiently and productively) is worth commenting as Father Bravo makes a link between charity and the law. In his view, it is not up to the Church to take responsibility for society and the poor. It calls on others for help, just as the Good Samaritan did. Along with the excluded and those who have no say, the Church wants to be present at the negotiating table, despite the ambiguous nature of all human achievements. Faced with injustice and violence, it fights for legislation which will defend the weak and help them obtain justice. This action is founded on a clear-sighted and critical analysis which does not call dialogue and cooperation into question, as long as they serve the cause of the poor. These seven ways show the great variety of possibilities available for building human dignity: from regard to contact, from assistance to sharing, from project to witness and to social change. These ways also lead to spiritual reflection and evangelization: "A body dies when it is separated from the spirit, and in the same way faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds". (Epistle of St. James, 2:26). Striving for charity therefore means going as far as social change, by respecting human rights and through economic justice. This means conquering, defending and even fighting. As Cardinal Etchegaray declared at the World Congress on the Pastoral of Human Rights (Rome, July 1998): "Fighting for human rights is often a collision with a wall of sin (...) The fight for human rights means constantly wearing down resistance." This fight for a culture of life and for the right of all people to life, is a long term undertaking as shown for example by the problems encountered in setting up the International Criminal Court. There is no law without judges, or without a mechanism for sanctions. The decisions of the United Nations' Security Council in 1993 and 1994 on the creation of ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda paved the way for the Conference of Rome in 1998. This is where the creation of the Court was voted with 120 votes for, 6 against (including the USA) and 21 abstentions. This score illustrates the debate which took place on the independence of this new jurisdiction, which would be able to judge those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity including massive attacks against civilians, war crimes and criminal assaults. The creation of the Court will not take effect until at least 60 States have ratified the statutes, which will take several years. International law in the area of human rights has thus taken a major step forward. With regard to the debt of the poorest countries, there has also been some real progress in 1999. Public opinion is changing positively and the heads of State of the wealthiest countries who met in Cologne this June have taken decisions allowing progress to be made on the issue. The Catholic Church has been very involved in this and is playing a leading role. The issue is a constituent element for improving the common good, to the benefit of entire communities and nations crushed by poverty, made worse by the burden of repayment of their countries' debts. The action of the European Caritases is inspired by these principles which create a link between charity and its effective implementation. In a way, the Caritases declared this by unanimously voting their strategic plan at the Regional Conference held in Kaunas in October 1998. II - "The strategy of Caritas Europa: Taking part in the construction of Europe's future". Caritas Internationalis, the international confederation of Caritases, approved its own strategic plan in 1997. It then asked each of the regions to begin the same process. Caritas Europa therefore did so by setting up a participatory process based on the vision it shares with all Caritases throughout the world: "The vision of Caritas is that of a civilization of love." It is based on the following shared values: human dignity, the option for the poor, the universal use of earthly goods, solidarity and respect for the environment. The Caritas Europa plan first of all describes the elements which are specific to our region : • the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to numerous changes. One of the most striking figures mentioned is that of the number of European Caritases at the end of the 1980s (20) and the number today (49). • huge differences exist between European countries : - In OECD member countries, the social State is faced with financial problems and there is an increasingly unfair distribution of wealth. There is also strong competition between NGOs and coordination is sometimes awkward. - In positively developing countries, especially those in central Europe, the first signs of stabilization and growth are appearing but there are also severe financial restrictions. NGOs must prove their abilities. - In countries in regression however, most of which are to be found in Eastern Europe, there is high unemployment. Solidarity found in the family or clan is often the only social security available. The construction of civil society is only just starting. • Economic and social challenges can be found everywhere: social injustice, unemployment, ethnic tension, migratory flows, deterioration of asylum policies and admission of migrants and the State stepping back from certain areas. Europe does have wealth however and a certain economic and political power which generate worldwide responsibility. The Caritas Europa region is strongly inspired by this observation. The current attention to the Kosovo crisis certainly does not mean any timid withdrawal or introversion. It is the response to clear needs but it does not exclude solidarity with populations in difficulty on other continents. The fact that many of the new Central and Eastern European Caritases are forming contacts with Caritases in the South says a great deal, and thus increases overall possibilities for providing support. • Religions and Churches are changing, with the individualization of members of religious orders, pluralization and awakening. Cultural and religious pluralism is firmly established in the region and we must support this multi-cultural and multi-religious Europe. In this context the Caritas network is involved in two main types of activities, the internal and the external ones. On the internal level of each Caritas' action in its own country, the whole area of social and health policy is concerned. Activities are aimed at poor and marginalized individuals and groups. We can categorize the different types of poverty: employment, health, housing, drugs, etc. ; or types of people : unemployed, elderly, disabled, homeless, women with problems, gypsies, etc. We can also distinguish two major methods of action : • the response by teams of volunteers most often at parish and local level, through their general or more specialized work. • the response through creation and management of specialized institutions, which often receive public subsidies, such as hospitals, training schools for health or social workers, reception centres and specialized services for children and women with problems, workshops preparing people for a return to the working world, home treatment services, centres for refugees and migrants, etc. The balance between these two methods of action varies from one country to another, but both are generally found either directly within the Caritas, or for institutions, via the bodies which Caritas has been able to create over the years and which often remain in close contact. Action is generally carried out at diocesan level, with the national level providing coordination and encouragement to various degrees. The balance between diocesan and national levels depends on the history, mentalities and periods concerned. Responsibility at national level can range from strong direction to management of a number of joint services or a representative function only. The following examples illustrate the variety of work carried out by Caritas : in Bulgaria, several day centres for women with problems enable the latter to find the energy necessary to look for work and to be able to have a break in a community atmosphere ; in the Czech Republic, a centre for disabled children provides them with an education ; in Luxembourg, a laundry provides work for twenty people with social problems ; in Greece and Turkey, there are numerous reception centres for migrants from the Middle East ; in Slovakia and also Macedonia, several diocesan Caritases work with gypsies ; in Albania, some forty clinics enable the poor to receive health care ; in Italy and Spain, many centres for the homeless give them the opportunity to meet volunteers and make use of washing and eating facilities. The action of the Caritases is increasingly aimed at promotion of individuals through what could be called development projects, even if emergency situations sometimes oblige them to provide immediate aid such as the distribution of medicines. Caritas continues moreover to develop a policy of external communication and in nearly all countries, of alerting public powers to the realities of poverty. This is done in coordination or consultation with the local Church, and these actions are particularly developed in Germany and in France. Internal work on social and health policy concerns nearly all the members of Caritas Europa, except for a few Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries which concentrate on international solidarity. External work potentially concerns all the European Caritases : the charity of the Church in fact concerns fellow men both near and far. In practice, many of these Caritases have become involved in this type of action, and their work with foreigners, whether migrants or refugees, broadens their outlook beyond national borders. This external work is nearly always carried out in partnership with Caritases in other continents, in the areas of emergency work, social action, development or even operational aid for vital structures. The dramatic situation in Kosovo has clearly meant and will continue to mean for a long time to come, great involvement by the whole network, thanks to Caritas Switzerland's coordination which also covers Serbia and Montenegro. Caritas Belgium is involved in educational programmes in Kosovo and Caritas Austria in reconstruction projects. Caritas Poland has been greatly involved but also supports development projects, for example in the area of apiculture in Burundi. International activities are many and varied, and include current involvement in Turkey, in Central America in the aftermath of hurricane Mitch, in North Korea, and in Timor, in coordination with Caritas Indonesia and Caritas Australia. Development projects are also underway, for example : Caritas Netherlands works with Caritas Bangladesh to provide schooling for children from rural families with no land or from tribal families ; Caritas Switzerland supports agricultural projects in Chad and Somalia ; Caritas England and Wales is coordinating work in the fight against AIDS ; Caritas Sweden is involved in the reconstruction of villages in Kurdistan along with the "Confrérie de la Charité" / Caritas Iraq. Many Caritases are also supporting projects for street children in Latin America or micro-credit projects throughout the whole world. Most of the European Caritases are thus involved in the various aspects of the response of charity, solidarity and justice, in both the short and longer term. I could also mention many examples of intra-European cooperation such as the Western European Caritases support for numerous projects by Central and Eastern European Caritases, and also those in Greece and Turkey. Self-sufficiency has made rapid progress however over the last few years and enables a number of Caritases which received external aid in the past to now show financial solidarity with Third World countries for example. The Caritas Europa plan outlines seven strategic orientations: They are both directions for action and attempts to answer the problems encountered and shared by European Churches and their institutions in the areas of the fight against poverty, the promotion of man and his rights, justice and solidarity and the spreading of charity. These orientations are the link between the international and European plans, based on four areas of activity: social disparities between the different European States and the process of European unification; growing poverty and the future of social policy; migrations and asylum; the pauperization process in "Third World" countries and a development policy capable of fighting the causes of this process. The seven orientations are : 1. The adaptation, development and professionalization of Caritas Europa structures, decision-making processes and working groups and also the development of plans of action and setting up both internal and external communication. 2. The promotion and support of members by developing principles aimed at helping the Caritases to adapt their organization and methods and through a training policy. 3. Strengthening political influence with regard to European institutions, both the European Union and the Council of Europe and OSCE. This concerns areas which are specifically linked to the region as well as those involving development cooperation with countries in the South. This orientation is particularly important as Europe is currently inventing an original political system cutting across country borders. 4. Clearer task sharing between Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Europa. 5. Improving the representation of Central and Eastern European members in joint bodies. 6. Cooperation with other organizations working in the same spirit, such as CIDSE or ICMC. 7. Cooperation with the Council of European Bishops' Conferences. The fight against poverty, commitment to creative charity (love, human dignity), solidarity (the common good) and justice (the law), form work without which the Church's mission would not be complete. This is not an extra, but rather an integral part of faith. For the Church, the poor are a priority deeply rooted in the Gospel. If this was not the case, then it should be. The spirit which drives us was clearly explained in the conclusions of the synod of European bishops in 1971: "For us, the commitment to justice and participation in the reconstruction of the world are the fundamental elements of the Gospel's proclamation, that is to say the Church's mission to set humanity free and relieve it of all oppression." Denis Viénot 31 July 1999