Thursday, December 1, 2022

Vatican reform and what the changes at the top of Caritas tell us about this pontificate

 

Vatican reform and what the changes at the top of Caritas tell us about this pontificate


The dramatic sweeping aside of those at the top of the organisation that coordinates the Church’s work to serve the poor and to promote social justice shows that Pope Francis is willing to be ruthless and creative in his drive for renewal.

Caritas, a network of 162 aid, development and social services agencies serving the poorest and most vulnerable communities across the globe, is sometimes described as the “jewel in the crown”. It is a living, breathing example of the Church putting the message of the Gospel into action. The announcement that Pope Francis has removed the president of Caritas, its direct­or and the entire senior leadership team and placed its head office under temporary administration has come as a bombshell.

Francis’ drastic move is intended to tackle serious leadership problems that had become impossible to ignore, but it has much wider ramifications. It shows his willingness to take tough action when necessary to reform key institutions in the Church – even if it means the removal of a charismatic and much loved figure. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, now the president emeritus of Caritas, has often been spoken of as a successor to this Pope. Following his dismissal, that looks less likely.

Caritas Internationalis is one of several Catholic organisations and curial departments based in the Palazzo San Callisto, an extra­territorial property of the Holy See in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood. There are around 30 staff. The dramatic sackings do not directly affect the work of local Caritas agencies, which include Cafod, CSAN, Sciaf and Trócaire. But although it does not control their day-to-day work, Caritas Internationalis leads and co­ordinates the Caritas confederation.

And being part of the Caritas family – one of the largest NGOs in the world with a unique on-the-ground presence in more than 200 countries – lends these local agencies scale and prestige. Any tarnishing of the crown jewels is likely to be felt across the confederation. The independent review of the “workplace environment” at Caritas Internationalis found “real deficiencies” in “management and procedures, seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale”.

A statement from Caritas explained that a panel of independent experts, including two psychologists, had carried out a review to ensure that Caritas’ central operation was aligned with “the Catholic values of human dignity and respect for each person”. The statement stressed that no evidence had emerged of financial or sexual impropriety during the process. The latest accounts show that in 2021 Caritas Internationalis had an income of €5,878,041 (£5,095,586), and an expenditure of €4,128,148 (£3,578,630); just under half the income comes from the member agencies, which contribute fees related to their size and turnover.

Caritas will now be led by a temporary administrator, Pier Francesco Pinelli, an experi­enced management consultant who had been one of those involved in the review of the Caritas workplace. He will be supported by Maria Amparo Alonso Escobar, the head of advocacy at Caritas, and Fr Manuel Morujão, a Jesuit priest, who will offer personal and spiritual accompaniment to staff. Pinelli’s 33-year career has included stints working at Bain & Company, with the Italian government and as chief executive and then chairman of ERG, an Italian energy company. He and his team will be in charge until May 2023, when the Caritas general assembly is due to meet and elect a new president, secretary general and treasurer.

The management deficiencies have not been spelt out in detail. People close to the Caritas operation have told me that many of the staff had serious reservations about the leadership of Aloysius John, the secretary general. One spoke of a “chaotic and toxic environment” at Caritas’ headquarters, while another said it was a place where a culture of “bullying and incompetence” had been allowed to develop. Staff were sometimes reduced to tears and felt bullied and demoralised. I understand that at least 12 people have submitted formal complaints during John’s three-and-a-half-year tenure, and a stream of senior figures have left the operation. They include Andrew Azzopardi, who held the post of head of ­safeguarding and integrity from June 2019 to June 2020.

“Justice is served,” Azzopardi, who now leads a safeguarding commission which works with the Church in Malta, wrote on Twitter after the removal of John and his team was announced. “A huge thanks to the commission who oversaw this process. The message from [the Pope] is crystal clear: there is no tolerance of bullying or abusive behaviour by people in leadership. Now Caritas can have the leadership it deserves.” I have contacted John and asked him to comment on what has been said about his leadership and the ­circumstances of his removal from office; he said he was unable to respond but hoped to do so at a later date.

Problems with Aloysius John’s management style were evident even before he was elected secretary general after a second round of ­voting at the May 2019 Caritas assembly. One source close to Caritas told me that John, originally from India but a French citizen, struggled to be elected in the first round of voting because he had alienated people during his previous role as head of institutional ­development and capacity building at Caritas. A few months after John’s election, he faced a serious crisis. A CNN report revealed that Fr Luk Delft, a Belgian Salesian priest, had been appointed in 2015 to lead Caritas in the Central African Republic despite a 2012 ­criminal conviction in Belgium for child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography.

While the Salesian Order was responsible for the oversight for Delft, Michel Roy, Caritas’ former secretary general, said he had been informed in 2017 that the Belgian cleric should not be in contact with children. The case ­highlighted the urgent need to review and strengthen Caritas’ safeguarding and ­governance structures. Some believe the organisation still has more work to do in this area. Despite complaints from members of staff, there was an “unwillingness or inability to do anything” by those responsible for the governance of Caritas. The president and the most senior executive officers at Caritas Internationalis are elected for four-year terms by a general assembly, which also elects a ­representative council which is responsible for governance of the confederation’s work.

The council has an “executive board” of seven members which is responsible for implementing decisions made by the council and oversees the secretary general’s work. The executive board includes the president and two vice presidents (all as ex officio members), three members appointed by the Holy See and one elected by the representative council. According to Caritas guidelines, the president is responsible for handling any complaints made against the secretary general and must decide what action should be taken following an investigation. Although Cardinal Tagle is no longer ­president, he will assist Caritas’ temporary administrators and liaise with local churches and national Caritas organisations.

In a ­statement released last Friday, Pinelli stressed that the 65-year-old Filipino prelate “represents a point of reference for my work and his support is precious” and that he would play a major role in the coming months. But this leaves ­unanswered the question: ­why didn’t the cardinal take action earlier to tackle the problems with Caritas’ senior management? Usually preferring to be known as “Chito” rather than “Your Eminence”, Tagle has immense gifts as a ­theologian, a humble pastor and a compelling communicator. He was elected president of Caritas in 2015 and re-elected in 2019, and he has excelled as a public advocate of Caritas’ work. He was not responsible for the day-to-day running of the Caritas head office; until early 2020 he was leading the Archdiocese of Manila before moving to Rome to head the Congregation for Propagation of the Faith, now the Dicastery for Evangelisation.

The prefect of Propaganda Fide, known as the Papa Rosso (the “Red Pope”), leads one of the Holy See’s largest bureaucracies, with responsibility for the Church’s mission territories, including a key role in the nomination of bishops. Combining the presidency of Caritas with leading the work of Propaganda Fide is an almost impossible workload; it’s also said by some in Rome that Tagle has not shown a willingness to take tough but ­necessary personnel decisions. Where does Cardinal Tagle go next? Francis might move him to the Dicastery for Bishops, as the incumbent prefect, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, is well past retirement age. Tagle could be relied on to identify church leaders who share Francis’ vision. Or he might be asked to succeed Cardinal Luis Ladaria at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

For his part, Tagle has responded to the latest developments with characteristic good grace, describing it as “a call to walk humbly with God”. The independent commission examining Caritas’ head office was ordered by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Develop-ment, which has ultimate oversight of the confederation. Its head is Cardinal Michael Czerny, a Czechoslovakian-born Canadian Jesuit who works closely with Francis. Czerny, 76, whose ministry has seen him work in Canada, Central America and Africa, has significant experience in setting up and leading church projects. In 2002, he founded and directed the African Jesuit Aids Network, which is at the forefront of the continent’s battle against HIV/Aids. Czerny, who has worked in the Vatican since 2010, was appointed as prefect of the human development office at the end of last year and has already restructured and repurposed the entire operation. This followed a review of the dicastery conducted by a team led by Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, which included Pier Francesco Pinelli. A few months after the review was completed, Cardinal Peter Turkson left his position as prefect.

Pinelli’s new role at Caritas suggests that Pope Francis is turning to skilled lay leaders to renew church institutions. The Jesuit Pope has often used lay and ordained experts that he trusts to help him overhaul or review the working of Vatican departments. He often seems to ask Jesuits to help him with his reforms. Pinelli describes himself as “formed in Ignatian spirituality” and is a former vice president of the Jesuit’s Magis Foundation, which supports missionary work. Last week, Pinelli stressed that the changes at Caritas represent an “ecclesial reform promoted by Pope Francis, which includes the overhaul of all the institutions so that they can, each according to its purpose, concretely serve the Church’s mission”. An able and pastorally gifted bishop or a cardinal does not necessarily possess all the necessary skills to lead a complex institution. Effective reform increasingly needs lay and ordained leaders working together. A wider difficulty is that sometimes charismatic and inspiring leaders such as Cardinal Tagle are not at their best in positions which involve difficult governance decisions. It’s a factor likely to be weighed up by the cardinal electors at the next conclave.

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