International Congress on Charity Pontifical Council Cor Unum Rome

International Congress on Charity Pontifical Council Cor Unum Rome, Synod Hall, 23 January 2006 Speech by Denis Viénot, President of Caritas Internationalis Caritas Charity subject in the Church

Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, President James Wolfensohn, Msgr Josef Cordes, Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On 13 November 2004, the President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, Msgr Archbishop Josef Cordes, in the presence of the members of the Pontifical Council and the Bureau of Caritas Internationalis, delivered to the President of Caritas Internationalis, Msgr Youhanna Fouad El-Hage, Archbishop of Tripoli, Lebanon – who passed away in May 2005 - the Pontifical Letter by Pope John Paul II of 16 September 2004 entitled During the Last Supper, which granted this Confederation public canonical legal personality.
In his speech the President of Cor Unum mentioned the creation of Caritas Internationalis in 1951, on the initiative of Msgr Montini who became Pope Paul VI. This Confederation of charity organisations fulfils a role of animating, coordinating and representing 162 autonomous national members that operate throughout the world. Ecclesial by nature, “Caritas, which stemmed from an initiative by Catholics (…) challenged by the poverty of so many brothers and sisters (...) is a privileged instrument of charity action by Bishops, who have the ultimate responsibility in this field”.
Already back in 1921 Pope Benedict XV had approved the idea of creating an international organisation of Caritas. An international conference of Caritas organisations was held at the Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam in 1924, and in 1928 Pope Pius XI called this network Caritas Catholica. It disappeared during the Second World War and was revived in 1951 with the support of Pope Pius XII.
Its action is manifested in each period in different contexts. The Particular Churches and the Universal Church adapt according to needs and changing situations. Their cooperation with states and international organisations does likewise.

Such different contexts include today’s globalisation which, according to Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize for economics and former chief economist and Vice-President of the World Bank, “is the closer integration of countries and peoples brought about by the substantial reduction of transportation and communication costs and the removal of artificial barriers to the cross-border movement of goods, services, capital and knowledge and – to a lesser extent - people” [1].
Pope John Paul II also took a position: “The Church makes an effective contribution to the issues presented by the current globalised economy. Her moral vision in this area ‘rests on the threefold cornerstone of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity’. The globalised economy must be analysed in the light of the principles of social justice, respecting the preferential option for the poor who must be allowed to take their place in such an economy, and the requirements of the international common good” [2].
Josef Stiglitz writes in the same vein: “It is true that a sustainable reduction in poverty cannot be achieved without strong economic growth. But the opposite is not true. Growth does not necessarily benefit everyone. It is not true that a rising tide lifts all boats. Sometimes, when the tide rises fast, especially in stormy weather, it hurls the flimsiest boats against the rocks along the coast and reduces them to splinters” [3].

Geographical contexts and practices differ as, for example, Pope Benedict XVI remarked with regard to a particular case while addressing the new French ambassador to the Holy See on 19 December 2005: “ (…) the principle of secularity consists in a ‘clear division of powers’, which is no way in opposition and does not prevent the Church from taking ‘a more and more active part in social life with respect for the competence of each one’ [4]. This concept must permit a greater promotion of the Church's autonomy, both in her organisation and in her mission”.
And in practice, the Church is more or less inclined to engage in contractual relations with the state, depending on places, circumstances and traditions. In the healthcare field, for example, English-speaking Churches in Africa are more fully engaged than French-speaking ones.

Policies also differ, as in the field of public development aid. Besides the scandalous non-respect of their commitments by the majority of rich nations, the famous 0.7% of GDP, such nations grant differing amounts of funding to NGOs. On average, 5% of bilateral aid is allocated to NGOs or channelled through them. Spain grants them 20% of its public development aid; Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand give them between 10 and 15% of theirs ; Australia, Japan and Italy between 2 and 5%, and France and Portugal a miserable 0.4% [5].

Caritas as an instrument of the Church’s institutional and mystic charity

At the end of the Gospel according to Saint John Christ gives a new command: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
This command is new as it concerns loving like Christ, and therefore to the point of totally giving one’s life. It is also new because it knows no borders. One’s neighbour is every man and woman, of whatever race, religion or culture. “The idea that Christian institutions and services that might limit themselves to believers and knowingly eliminate others is inconceivable (…) The charity of the Church should always be open to everyone” [6].
Therefore one’s neighbour is an object of love for charity and a due subject for justice [7]. Charity and justice go hand in hand. In Evangelii nuntiandi Pope Paul VI wrote: “It is impossible to accept that in evangelisation one could or should ignore the importance of the problems so much discussed today, concerning justice, liberation, development and peace in the world. This would be to forget the lesson which comes to us from the Gospel concerning love of our neighbour who is suffering and in need” (no. 31).
In its chapter on “The Mystery of the Church” the Constitution Lumen Gentium proclaims: “Similarly, the Church encompasses with love all who are afflicted with human suffering and in the poor and afflicted sees the image of its poor and suffering Founder. It does all it can to relieve their need and in them it strives to serve Christ”.

Relations within the Church vary. Everywhere, Caritas have been founded by a bishop or the Bishop’s Conferences. Therefore, they are always coordination and communion organisations created for diakonia, the spread and implementation of charity within the Church, to its borders and beyond. According to the Compendium of Social Doctrine [8], no. 525, “The social message of the Gospel should direct the Church to carry out a dual task: help men and women to discover the truth and choose the path to follow; and encourage the commitment of Christians to bear witness to the Gospel in the social field, with a concern for service. (…). The social message (of the Church) will gain credibility more immediately from the witness of actions than as a result of its internal logic and consistency” [9].
On 18 January 2006, in announcing the forthcoming publication of his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas est, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that “the personal act of love” must also be expressed in the Church as an “organisational act” and that “Caritas is the necessary expression of the deepest personal love for which God has created us” [10].
With its services, institutions, socio-pastoral actions, emergency and care programmes, assistance, development and promotion, social and medical action, training and research, and with its administrators and millions of volunteers, Caritas is a deeply pluralist network rooted in local autonomous Churches within the Universal Church.
Caritas is one of the bridges between the Church and the world, a place exposed to all weathers and a real place of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue: “It is the same Spirit of the Lord, leading the People of God while simultaneously permeating the universe, who from time to time inspires new and appropriate ways for humanity to exercise its solutions for creative responsibility. This inspiration is given to the community of Christians who are part of the world and history, and who are therefore open to dialogue with all people of good will in the common quest for the seeds of truth and freedom sown in the vast field of humanity” [11].
The identity of Caritas takes the forms of charity, solidarity and justice. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church justice towards men and women aims at the respect of rights of and the promotion of equity and the common good [12], and solidarity is “an eminently Christian virtue that entails the sharing of spiritual even more than material goods” [13].
This characteristic trilogy of charity, solidarity and justice has had an impact on identity, in connection with the situations in which individual Caritas, in a spirit of service, embody and “glocalise” - a word arising from the work of the World Bank which stressed the link between the global and the local - the mission of the Universal Church in a place, a country, a diocese, a parish, a local community or within a history, as Pope John Paul II said in Vienna in 1998, “regarding the fight against poverty, to gradually bridge the inhuman gap between standards of living (…)”. He is therefore in agreement with Gaudium et Spes, “God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples. Thus, under the leadership of justice and in the company of charity, created goods should be in abundance for all in like manner” (no, 69), or in the 1971 Synod of Bishops: “Christian love of neighbour and justice cannot be separated. For love implies an absolute demand for justice, namely a recognition of the dignity and rights of one's neighbour. Justice attains its inner fullness only in love”.

At a conference in Valencia in 1996, Caritas Spain contributed to the reflection on the identity of Caritas. Father Antonio Bravo - who is now Caritas Spain’s ecclesiastical advisor - in his speech, The cause of poverty, a challenge for an evangelising Church, proposed seven voices for action: to cultivate a spirituality of neighbourliness with the poor; to acquire a believing understanding with the poor; develop friendly relations with the poor; love without asking for anything in return; act effectively and productively; animate the whole Church regarding the preferential option for the poor; and dare to proclaim the Gospel proposal.
The fifth voice - to act effectively and productively - merits a few comments, because a link is made between charity and rights. The Church should not take on the responsibilities of society and the poor. Like the Good Samaritan, its response to the appeal of the poor makes it a “neighbour” and it calls on the assistance of others. Together with the excluded and voiceless, it wishes to be at the negotiating table, despite the ambiguities of any human project. Faced with injustice and violence, it fights for legislation that defends the most vulnerable and provides them with justice. This action is based on a clear and critical analysis, which does not in itself question dialogue and collaboration if they serve the cause of the poor.
These seven voices show the variety of available actions for building the dignity of the human person: ranging from a look to a relationship, from help to sharing, from a project to witness, and to social transformation. They also open up spiritual reflection and evangelisation: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26).
John the Baptist, the central figure of yesterday’s Gospel, receives a message from Christ: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the Good News is preached to the poor” (Matthew 11:4).

Caritas Internationalis defines its vision as follows: “Caritas believes that the weak and oppressed are not objects of pity, but agents of change leading the struggle to eradicate dehumanising poverty, unacceptable living and working conditions, and unjust social, political, economic and cultural structures” [14].
Caritas therefore aims at integral promotion of the person. Its programmes animated by the spirit of sharing and justice bear witness to the Gospel of Charity.
Its advocacy is based on the experience of partnership with victims and the rejected. It embodies the preferential option for the poor and the Church’s social teaching. It aims for economic and social justice, human rights and peace. Its goal is to change analysis carried out by leaders; policies, laws and regulations; and procedures and practices.
Working for charity entails going as far as social transformation out of a respect for and desire to promote all persons and the whole person [15], by acting in favour of human rights and economic justice. As Cardinal Roger Etchegaray said during the World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Human Rights (Rome, July 1998): “fighting for human rights often means bumping into the substance of sin (…) The struggle for human rights is like a war of attrition”.

Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, speaking to the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis in July 2003, linked charity and solidarity. This explosive statement expresses the “solid” condition of humanity. The golden rule of charity is the development of solidarity: “do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you”.
Chapter 25 of Matthew [16] and his Last Judgement depict the meeting with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the stranger, the prisoner, suffering men and women and victims.
The King declares: “(…) whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”. The King validates these solidarity encounters in what today is an appeal for a globalisation of solidarity among persons and peoples.
The Cardinal comments on the Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. The Holy Father says that solidarity is a “new” virtue, very close to the “virtue of charity”, which has its own human foundation - interdependence among individuals, groups and nations. It has its own particular ethics [17], which bring about and transform interdependence into solidarity, thereby avoiding the “structures of sin” that arise from incorrect usage of interdependence.
In a very specific way, with regard to collaboration with societies and international organisations, he analyses solidarity as a teaching that helps to see others - persons, peoples or nations - as fellow creatures to be invited to the banquet of life, and also as a path for Christian identity in social commitment, because the practice of solidarity may be understood as the realisation of God’s plan, at both national and international levels. Populorum Progressio clarifies two emphatic points - the obligation of rich countries to help the poorest, and the need to build an international order based on justice.

To take part in it, like the Good Samaritan, the Church seeks alliances and partnerships with society, civil society and social forces, public authorities, states and international organisations.

The Encyclical Pacem in Terris [18] subtitled On establishing universal peace in truth, justice, charity and liberty - acknowledges the role of international organisations of the United Nations and the world financial system: “The United Nations Organisation (UN) was established, as is well known, on June 26, 1945. To it were subsequently added organisations consisting of members nominated by the public authority of the various nations and entrusted with highly important international functions in the economics, social, cultural, educational and health fields” (no. 142).
And on 1 January 2006, Pope Benedict XVI in his Message for the World Day of Peace wrote: “Here I wish to express gratitude to the international organisations and to all those who are daily engaged in the application of international humanitarian law” (no. 8). And in paragraph 15: “The United Nations Organisation must become a more efficient instrument for promoting the values of justice, solidarity and peace in the world”.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America [19], specifically calling for cooperation with international financial institutions, Pope John Paul II wrote: “Once more I express the hope, which the Synod Fathers made their own, that the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace together with other competent agencies, such as the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, ‘through study and dialogue with representatives of the First World and with the leaders of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, will seek ways of resolving the problem of foreign debt and produce guidelines that would prevent similar situations from recurring on the occasion of future loans. On the broadest level possible, it would be helpful if ‘internationally known experts in economics and monetary questions would undertake a critical analysis of the world economic order, in its positive and negative aspects, so as to correct the present order, and that they would propose a system and mechanisms capable of ensuring an integral and concerted development of individuals and peoples’” (no. 59).

Cooperation between actors

The example of the Democratic Republic of Congo highlights the interventions of many actors in a country undergoing a serious crisis.
Since independence in 1960 and after thirty years of an authoritarian regime, this country has been marked by economic collapse, impoverishment of the population and deterioration of infrastructure. The serious worsening of the situation in the early 1990s was followed by territorial threats as neighbours had their hearts set on grabbing certain areas. Since 1998 four million people have died as a result of wars and their humanitarian repercussions.
A democratic and electoral process has begun with the support of, and under pressure from, the United Nations and the Security Council with African countries and the European Union which, for example, during the Africa-EU Summit in Bamako in December 2005 declared: “Ministers noted with great satisfaction the process of enrolment on electoral lists, the organisation of a referendum and the elections”.
A United Nations mission was created in 1999, which is now responsible for the logistics of the electoral process.
The vast majority of electors had never voted before the constitutional referendum held on 18 December 2005.
Therefore, it was necessary to set up registration offices and for citizens to enrol on electoral lists. This took seven months amid enormous practical difficulties. 25 out of an estimated 30 million electors were registered. Despite a high level of abstention in certain areas, voting took place and the constitution was approved.
Preparation of presidential, legislative and local elections has begun. In any case, these will be held before June 2006. However, several controversies are looming: acceptance of the future results, governance and corruption, reunification of the armed forces and security in the east of the country.

The DRC has benefited from substantial external support in recent years, including for re-establishment of peace and progress towards democracy.
Many countries have participated in funding the United Nations mission and the European Union intervenes in all political, economic and social areas.
The World Bank continues its efforts. Heavily engaged in demilitarisation, the aid it provides - for its scale - is still relatively modest, whilst it awaits conclusion of the electoral process to fully gear up its efforts. However, it is continuing with infrastructure aid, such as the road from Matadi to Kinshasa. For example, it decided to allocate new funding in December 2005: 90 million dollars of budgetary support, and125 million dollars for agriculture, food security, healthcare, water and energy. In September 2005, the World Bank group granted a subsidy of 150 million dollars for the fight against malaria. To date, the World Bank has been engaged in eight projects amounting to a total of one-billion, three-hundred-million dollars. A great deal will remain to be done after the elections regarding rehabilitation of communication routes, hospitals, schools and training centres to enable populations to gain access to a minimum of social rights.
For its part, the Caritas network supports the activities of the Church of Congo. Caritas provides assistance for emergencies, food security, healthcare, AIDS, young people, demobilisation of child soldiers and education, such as the advocacy campaign against rape as a weapon of war. Other organisations, such as Justice and Peace, also give support.
Indeed, the Church is deeply engaged in social fields, but also in the political process with the support of numerous foreign Caritas or Cidse partners, such as Misereor from Germany, CCFD from France, Cordaid from the Netherlands, Cafod from England and Wales, CRS from the United States, Trocaire from Ireland, Development and Peace from Canada, Caritas Germany, Caritas Belgium and Secours Catholique from France.
In close connections with other civil society organisations and other Churches and religious faiths, the Catholic Church participated in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and is deeply engaged in the transition process. A priest is chairman of the Electoral Commission.

The Bishops’ Conference has regularly expressed its opinion in support of the electoral process and reminded everyone of their duties to build a legally constituted state and lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the region. Its declaration of 5 February 2005, “Le Congo belongs to us”, begins by analysing the situation and concludes “ …the country is in danger. Henceforth, any attitude of irresponsibility and resignation is intolerable !”. Then, category by category, it gives a great many indications: “To the Parliament (which should), within the necessary deadlines, draw up a specifically Congolese national constitution (…); (to the) government (which should) hasten unification and effective integration of the army (and), through concrete acts manifest (its) political will to hold elections (…); (to the) people (who should) educate themselves more regarding republican and democratic values ; (to) pastoral agents (who are established in) the pursuit of civic and electoral education to accompany the people until the elections”.
The Bishops’ Conference and Justice and Peace have animated many training courses on democracy, accompanied the process of enrolment on electoral lists and raised awareness of the constitution everywhere, even in the most far-flung parishes. Communities involved in, for example, farming and healthcare projects have also been concerned. At the beginning of 2006 a new programme was underway to prepare the elections and train election observers. The Church’s action is unanimously recognised as being effective and respectful of democracy since, as it says in its own training material, “The Church is marching with the people and has no candidates for the elections”.
Therefore, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local, public, private, religious and lay actors cooperate with the international community and its most diverse institutions. However, the armed clashes in South Kivu, Ituri and Katanga still weigh heavily on the future.

Analysis of this cooperation gives rise to some questions regarding principles.

The principle of collaboration itself is required first of all to integrate skills and resources. With its parish network the Church can disseminate democracy training but it needs financial support for teaching materials and remuneration of the trips undertaken by trainers.
The same applies in the field of advocacy. The Church called on Caritas Internationalis which is engaged in an international campaign aimed at achieving a successful transition and an end to insecurity.

Collaboration, namely working together on common areas, is undoubtedly one of the ways to exert influence on the concepts and practices of international financial institutions. Caritas starts from the principle that it is necessary to contribute towards evangelising relations regarding respect for one another’s roles, the roles of state and international organisations responsible for politics, justice and the common good, and the role of the Church engaged in the animation and promotion of love and charity.
This collaboration, both with a wide range of international institutions and with governments and their administrations, is a challenge. The risk of being manipulated still exists for Caritas and civil society NGOs.
But is Caritas an NGO? The situation varies from country to country. Caritas is always a Church organisation, and in some cases is organised and governed by national laws, and by canon law as the direct instrument of a Bishops’ Conference in others. Yet the Church complies with national legislation.
The risk of manipulation is countered by consistency with the identity and holistic vision of Caritas whose action, whatever the legal status established by the local Church, aims at development of the economic, political, cultural and spiritual dimensions of the whole person. If Caritas is an NGO, it is a special one whose agents, employees and volunteers must be professionally competent and animated by their relations with their neighbours, their brothers and sisters in God; if Caritas is not an NGO, it has many of the characteristics of one.
And negotiation is always possible to enter into contracts with complete freedom, which is. for example, the specific case in relations with UNAIDS: the memorandum of understanding between this UN agency and Caritas takes account of its identity.
A meeting on AIDS is being held in Geneva this week organised by Caritas Internationalis and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is being attended on the one hand by Catholic agencies and organisations with representatives from the Holy See and Bishops’ Conferences, and on the other by international organisations including the World Bank. The meeting aims to take stock of the situation and actions as the appearance of medicines risks diminishing prior engagement regarding healthcare and treatment, education and prevention, and collaboration and funding.

With the World Bank and international financial institutions, which have an effective presence in Congo, several issues have been dealt with in recent years.

Poverty reduction strategies
Faced with the failure of structural adjustment, the NGOs that met together for the great Jubilee 2000 campaign have jointly proposed to give priority to the fight against poverty among development actions. During the 1990s it was likewise the case with international institutions, such as the OECD (whose international development goals were subsequently taken up by the international community and called the Millennium Development Goals) or the World Bank whose annual global development report in 1990 focused on poverty. The Catholic networks (Caritas Internationalis and Cidse) participated in this Jubilee 2000 movement and in 1998 published a document entitled Putting Life Before Debt in which they called for debt cancellation to be linked to investment in human development [20].
One of the results of the Jubilee 2000 campaign was the G7 meeting in Cologne in June 1999 where it was decided to centre development on the fight against poverty and entrust its implementation to international financial institutions. This led to the creation of the Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS), the outcome of a civil society demand in which it was proposed to participate.
The Caritas network therefore decided to grasp the opportunity that was offered to it to invest in the PRS process. It does this by working with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, conveying its reflections and assessments to them via meetings, organisation of seminars and also documents [21].
Within the scope of training Caritas members from countries concerned by Poverty Reduction Strategic Papers (PRSP), localised collaborations may be set up with resident missions of international financial institutions as well as with embassy cooperation departments.
A reflection is currently developing with the World Bank Institute to identify possible means of collaboration on matters regarding the training of partners.

The reform of international financial institutions (IFI)
This is another challenge that drives Catholic organisations. This issue is tackled within the framework of global governance [22], but special attention has notably been paid to IFIs [23] with a series of proposals regarding restructuring of boards of directors with a distribution of seats allowing for better representation of developing countries; the promotion of multiple approaches for equitable development in the face of the Washington Consensus, which James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank at the time said was “fortunately dead” [24] at a meeting of civil society organisations held in Paris on 14 May 2003; and the need to ensure that the role of the IFIs within the global institutions system respects the primacy of international legislation regarding human rights and economic and social development. Indeed, Catholic networks deem that reform of the IFIs should be based on a number of principles, such as solidarity, subsidiarity and priority given to the poor.
The Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness [25] has a more social emphasis within the perspective of the Millennium Development Goals. Strongly influenced by the World Bank, it aims to increase the volume and improve the quality of aid. The declaration insists on improving the process and lists a dozen indicators for 2010, such as the existence of development strategies in beneficiary countries and management systems in beneficiary states and among donors.

Monitoring the issue of debt and the financing of development
The debt issue continues to dominate a large part of relations with the IFIs, as it has effectively constituted a vital trigger for development of advocacy practice and influence among Catholic networks as well as for a concrete relationship with said institutions. In this field too, a number of documents enable tracking of these relations [26].

In recent years, Church networks have primarily focused on the following themes: participation of the poorest, the fight against poverty and its link with the cancellation of debt to the benefit of human development; integration of development components in a process that is now called sustainable development; in the Poverty Reduction Strategies, the idea of polycentric development, which is therefore adapted to each country, with each country taking responsibility for it in its sponsor-supported plans; and international taxation and its redistribution. And if only one course of action were to be considered, it would be working together, with others.
Certain positions held by Catholic networks are often well accepted and understood by IFI leaders; others are also taken up and supported by other NGO networks, which gives them greater strength. Also, the support of Pope John Paul II, especially regarding the debt issue, had a significant impact on international developments.

The question of funding civil society activities, which is so important in the case of the DRC, arises in multiple aspects. Regarding development, a recent Cidse study highlights, on the one hand, that “development policy is increasingly being integrated and subordinated to security concerns, a military logic and short-term political and military policies,” and on the other that “military forces assume a much greater role in peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and development activity” [27].

Regarding financial flows, civil society organisations are in very different situations.
Regarding international aid, they receive only a fraction of public development aid [28]. Their own private funds have increased substantially, rising from 7 billion dollars in 2000 to 11 billion dollars in 2004, compared with their share of public aid, which amounted to 5 billion dollars in 2004. The insufficiency of the response in the face of extreme poverty in so many countries has to be recognised.
Regarding social and medical aid etc., the situations in rich and intermediate countries are too diverse to allow for an overall analysis. In some cases the state, and the regions and authorities or public or joint services provide almost all the efforts provided. In other cases such aid is entrusted either to the commercial private sector which is funded by its customers and social protection systems, or to the more social non-profit sector which is funded by public and private social protection systems, direct subsidies or provision of services. Multiple systems and mechanisms coexist around the world.
And to further complicate analysis, some countries finance their social protection mainly through taxation, and others mainly through social security contributions linked to professional activity.

In both situations - social and medical aid, and international aid - one of the great strengths of Catholic organisations is that, due to the extremely widespread coverage of their networks, they are able to reach an enormous amount of people, especially among the poorest. Therefore, they are able to tackle poverty at close range, and are generally capable of analysing and thus drawing up easily verifiable assessments, thereby contributing a different vision of macroeconomic views. Their strength lies in bringing an understanding of the link between micro and macroeconomics.
Public actors, such as countries and national and regional governments, and a wide range of international organisations, support the actions of NGOs and private, non-profit socio-medical services, and are even unable to do without them in their management of the general interest and common good. Thus in Pakistan the Church is in the process of recovering formerly nationalised schools.
The legitimate inclination of financers to be more demanding with regard to management, even though this may lead to some bureaucratic excesses, is a useful factor in improving the governance of private organisations. Moreover, such organisations, whether from the North or the South, increasingly do likewise when they successfully make their presence felt by imposing responsible standards of management and organisation on their partners. In the end this leads to a win-win situation, giving rise to actions and programmes that are effective in all aspects.

Advocacy action is not usually hindered by financial dependence on public authorities. Such authorities appreciate analyses and intellectual contributions from experienced partners and those who make assessments and proposals based on their actions that are closer to the realities of people’s lives.
The Caritas network is currently engaged in several advocacy actions: “Caritas fights poverty, exclusion, intolerance and discrimination. More importantly, it empowers people to participate fully in all matters affecting their lives, and it advocates on their behalf at national and international forums” [29]. When the vulnerable, the marginalised and those excluded from society advocate in defence of their own rights, they move forward along the path to recovering their dignity. By getting out of their subjugated state, they become actors who are associated with creation.
On the trade front, the World Trade Organisation meeting in Hong Kong at the end of 2005 was extremely disappointing. Caritas Internationalis and Cidse [30] called on countries from the North to reform their farming subsidy systems in order to end dumping of their products on global markets and rebalance the agreement on agriculture, thereby enabling developing countries to protect their borders. The main problem regarding, for example, the cotton issue is that the Hong Kong final statement did not set a precise deadline for reduction of support to producers in rich countries, which distorts trading relations. Yet such support is far greater than export subsidies. The association of African cotton producers declared: “We do not subscribe to the consensus reached and we will continue to demand elimination of all internal support in developed countries”.

In the area of peace-building, in Colombia, where three million displaced persons are direct victims of conflict, humanitarian crisis and violation of human rights, Caritas Internationalis supports the position of the Bishops’ Conference which assures that peace is possible. However, it can only be achieved through negotiations and only be supported through social justice.
In Darfur, Soudan, action with Protestant partners has enabled around 500,000 people displaced by raids to be taken care of. It should also be noted that the week of Christian unity begins today.
The Confederation continues to express its firm solidarity with the Palestinian people and shares the vision for the long term of Msgr Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who in his 2005 Christmas message wrote: “To our political leaders, who by their policy can decide for the life or the death of so many in this land, we say : Be builders of life, not of death. (…) It is time to change ways and to take once for all the good decision to reach justice and peace. (…) When injustice, the cause of violence, ceases violence will stop and security will reign”.

Faced with the issues, the individual action of a single organisations is not enough: the example of action in the Democratic Republic of Congo is conclusive.
This is demonstrated by Caritas programmes regarding the fight against people trafficking “in advocating for migration policies and economic policies that reduce vulnerability of people to trafficking” [31]. It is an ecumenical network with association of many partners. [32]
This was also demonstrated in the action following the tsunami in December 2004 when it was necessary to advocate for access to land in order to rebuild houses or to pursue peace and reconciliation programmes in areas of conflict. In Sri Lanka, the first anniversary ceremony associated representatives from all religions.

And what can be done in the face of the overall rise in awareness regarding the need for sustainable human development? [33] The unsustainable nature of our current mode of development and its pursuit seriously put our responsibility towards future generations at stake: depletion and degradation of natural resources, inequality in modes of consumption and denial of the virtue of temperance. We are at the heart of the structures of sin, a notion that was so present in the teachings of Pope John Paul II.

“The Church's social doctrine also makes possible a clearer appreciation of the gravity of the ‘social sins which cry to heaven because they generate violence, disrupt peace and harmony between communities within single nations, between nations and between the different regions of the continent’. Among these must be mentioned: ‘the drug trade, the recycling of illicit funds, corruption at every level, the terror of violence, the arms race, racial discrimination, inequality between social groups and the irrational destruction of nature’” [34].
Sustainable human development calls for the widest possible mobilisation, as was done for the Millennium Development Goals, the world economic and social charter that links all countries, and all public and private international actors. They comprise a common mission built around the eradication of poverty, education, healthcare, the environment, equality between men and women, and global partnership for development.

In the face of such economic issues and the tensions that threaten security, and in line with a “new, on behalf of peace” development, Pope Benedict XVI, in his greetings to the diplomatic corps at the beginning of January 2006, has just appealed to the common sense of the international community, in the footsteps of Pope Paul VI and Pope Johnn Paul II: “The peace (…) is not merely the silence of arms; (…) one cannot speak of peace in situations where human beings are lacking even the basic necessities for living with dignity. Here my thoughts turn to the limitless multitudes who are suffering from starvation. (…) Are these human beings not our brothers and sisters? (…) On the basis of available statistical data, it can be said that less than half of the immense sums spent worldwide on armaments would be more than sufficient to liberate the immense masses of the poor from destitution. This challenges humanity’s conscience”.
This challenge first of all concerns the countries which are primarily responsible for international policies and budgets, then the entire community of political, economic and social actors, the World Bank and financial institutions and international organisations including those of the United Nations for example, such as NGOs, civil society organisations and religious organisations, each with their own identity and nature, and in accordance with their capacities, skills and means.

A quarter of the world’s population lives in dire poverty. Joint action and commitment are needed. The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, by constantly borrowing Alyosha’s phrase in The Brothers Karamazov from Dostoevsky, considers human rights to be those of other men and women, those of one’s brothers and sisters: “We are all responsible for everything and everyone before everyone, and me more than anyone else”.

“Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Corinthians 5:14), according to the holy apostle Paul. This appeal to responsibility unites and challenges all of humanity to animate through “Charity”.

Denis Viénot
Caritas Internationalis
23 January 2006