CARITAS EUROPA Caritas Italiana, Caritas Ambrosiana, Solidarity Routes in East Europe Milano, May 10th 2001 The role of Caritas Europe facing the changes in Eastern Europe Speech by Denis Viénot, President of Caritas Europa

The title of the final Message of the European Synod, October 1999, is “ Jesus Christ alive in his Church, source of hope for Europe.” It raises the question of the future of charity work and also that of the geographical area concerned. The Europe in which the Caritas Europa’s actions take 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 colonisation, the invention of parliamentary democracy, industrialisation, 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 with the 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. Within the Church in Europe, the network of 48 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 recent but still current European 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 advocacy work with whole societies and their democratic and social leaders. In order to describe Caritas involvement in our changing Europe and especially in Central and eastern Europe, it is useful to describe the common and the particular policies and practices.

1."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 (48). • 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 co-ordination is sometimes awkward. - In positively developing countries, especially those in central Europe, the first signs of stabilisation 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 world-wide 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 individualisation 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.

2. Caritas European Activities in general

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 categorise 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 specialised work. • the response through creation and management of specialised institutions, which often receive public subsidies, such as hospitals, training schools for health or social workers, reception centres and specialised 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 co-ordination 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 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. 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 co-ordination or consultation with the local Church, and these actions are particularly developed in Poland where the Catholics are a majority or Bulgaria where they are a small minority. Internal work on social and health policy concerns nearly all the members of Caritas Europa in Central and Eastern Europe. External work potentially concerns all the European Caritases : the charity of the Church in fact concerns fellow men both near. Some of the Central European Caritases develop now financial solidarity with Third World countries: for example Poland is active in various projects in Africa and lead the Caritas Internationalis emergency program in Mongolia or support activities in Turkey after the last earthquakes; the Check Caritas is active in Russia for the refuges from Chechnya. 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 pauperisation 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 organisation 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 co-operation 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. Co-operation with other organisations working in the same spirit, such as CIDSE or ICMC. 7. Co-operation with the Council of European Bishops' Conferences. The common work is in action on some specific topics, such as: - Standards for reception of asylum seekers. - Trafficking in human beings, study and new practices of collaboration among the members. The Caritases from Check Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Germany and Switzerland have created a web site and service, COATNET to share information . Two publics are concerned. Everybody to obtain informations on the legislations for instance, and selected social workers for informations on the persons themselves. - The working poor and the preparation of a report on the poverty in Europe - The social impacts of the European Union enlargement; - The status of Welfare institutions in the European Union, in its new members and in non adherent countries. - Support of the weakest members - Training for volunteers and staff: migrations, emergency, finance, personnel, planning and monitoring, evaluation.

3. New activities in the East: the example of migrations.

All the candidates countries have to adapt their legislations, laws and rules to implement the present European Union ones. This is a huge work and those news policies are creating many difficulties. The new members will have to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria defined in 1993 ( stables institutions, democracy, etc). Among many other points they have to adapt their legislation concerning the refuges or the asylum right. Or for them, former communist countries, it is not so easy to change of perspective: they had the habit to prevent their citizens to flee abroad, and now they have to adopt new rules for the arrivals of foreigners! And the enlargement creates also new duties such as for Poland the responsibility of the Eastern border of the European union. This a very heavy task as the pressure of migrations is strong. It creates also new tensions resulting from visa policies: this is especially the case for Hungarian national minorities which live in Yugoslavia or in Ukraine; for the time being they can stay in Hungary without visa. The Schengen regulations will change that and create tensions. All the European Caritas are involved in programs for migrants and refugees: - A common program is run by Caritas in Bulgaria, Croatia, Check Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine. The purpose is to create new programs or improve existing ones: feasibility studies and support of consultants. - In the Check Republic, Caritas operates humanitarian stores at the borders or in camps to distribute clothes, food, hygiene kits and give a basic social assistance. In many countries there are social centres for consultation and legal matters - In Ukraine there are three centres for the information of candidates refugees to the Check republic; they receive counselling and advices. This program is organised in links with the Check Caritas and financed by the Check Ministry of Interior. In Slovakia such a program will start soon in each diocesan Caritases.

4. Some specific issues

- In many Eastern countries Caritas works in a situation where the Catholics are a minority. Often the collaboration with the Orthodox Church is a difficult one. This is the case in Greece but also in Ukraine or in Russia. The publication a few weeks ago of the European Oeucumenical Charter is a positive step, but the way is still long. - After the fall of the Berlin wall in November 1989, many Caritases have been created or re-created. Many of them were hesitating between the two models, network of teams of volunteers at the parish level for instance, creation of social or medical institutions. Today the two behaviours live together. - In social matters the enlargement will creates difficulties as the minimum standards in the East are really lower. For instance the situation of the retired people is dramatic in many countries. It will be a true progress to improve them but this will create new compulsory costs difficult to finance. The European structural funds which are presently of benefit mostly to Portugal, Ireland and South Italy will certainly decreased for them in order to be reoriented towards the coming new members. Caritas Europa just issued two reports, one on the sanctions against Iraq, the other to plead for more human common standards for asylum seekers in Europe. Those documents are symbolic of its identity, European to serve the whole world, catholic to dialog with other faiths, professionals and volunteers together to serve the poor, to be with them, to empower them for their promotion, social, economical, cultural, spiritual. Denis Viénot Paris, May 5th 2001