Pope Francis removes Tagle, other leaders from Caritas Internationalis

Pope Francis removes Tagle, other leaders from Caritas Internationalis

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 23) — Pope Francis has ordered the removal of Caritas Internationalis leaders, including Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as president, and appointed a temporary administrator, citing the need to “revise the current regulatory framework” for the renewal of the confederation.

“It would appear necessary to revise the current regulatory framework to make it more appropriate to the statutory functions of the organization, and to prepare it for the elections to be held at the next General Assembly,” read a copy of the decree released by the Vatican on Wednesday.

Secretary General Aloysius John, who was elected in a contested vote in 2019, was also among those ousted from the leadership of the confederation of Catholic relief and social services organizations.

“With the entry into force of this measure, the Members of the Representative Council and the Executive Council, the President and Vice Presidents, the Secretary General, the Treasurer and the Ecclesiastical Assistant shall cease from their respective offices,” the decree added.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, in a Nov. 22 statement, clarified an independent review found “no evidence emerged of financial mismanagement or sexual impropriety.”

However, “deficiencies were noted in management and procedures, seriously prejudicing team-spirit and staff morale,” said the dicastery which supervises Caritas Internationalis.

It also said the changes do not affect the 162 national development and relief organizations and the “services of charity and solidarity they provide around the world.”

“On the contrary, it will serve to strengthen such service,” it said

The next general assembly, where the governance is elected for a four-year term, is scheduled to take place in May 2023.

According to the Decree, Pope Francis has appointed Pier Francesco Pinelli as Temporary Administrator (Commissario straordinario in the original Decree) of Caritas Internationalis.

Tagle will be assisting Pinelli in preparation for the general assembly.

The Pope also appointed Maria Amparo Alonso Escobar and Rev. P. Manuel Morujão, S.J., as support to Pinelli “for the personal and spiritual accompaniment of the employees.”

“With the entry into force of this measure, the Members of the Representative Council and the Executive Council, the President and Vice Presidents, the Secretary General, the Treasurer and the Ecclesiastical Assistant shall cease from their respective offices,” the Decree added.

Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See, said Tagle read the decree in its entirety in English at the organization’s plenary meeting in Rome and members applauded when he introduced Pinelli and Escobar to the assembly.

He also thanked John, who was not in attendance, as well as members of the Executive Council and all the leadership.

“This is a call for walking humbly with God and a process of discernment, confronting our unfreedoms and following the spirit of freedom, [and] at the same time, the walking together of different cultures in their unique expressions of humanity,” Tagle was quoted as saying.

The Cardinal also noted the increasing challenges faced by Caritas in caring for the poor and marginalized all over the world. He said for that reason, the decree states that the Secretariat can hopefully prepare to assist members and operate in a manner consistent with best practices and Gospel value, Vatican News reported.

Tagle was first elected to head Caritas in 2015, making him the first president from Asia. He was reelected in 2019 and was supposed to end his term in 2023.

Founded in 1951, Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations, operating in more than 200 countries and territories globally.