The executive director of Sciaf, the overseas aid agency of the Scottish bishops, has been elected as head of Caritas Internationalis six months after the Pope sackedthe leadership team amid allegations of bullying and harassment.
Alistair Dutton, a former Jesuit novice who has worked for Sciaf since 1996, was chosen to serve as Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis at a general assembly meeting in Rome.
He will lead the Caritas Confederation, which includes 162 national Caritas member organisations, until 2027.
His election comes two days after Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo was elected as the new President of the humanitarian and development arm of the Catholic Church.
Mr Dutton said: “Serving Caritas over the last three decades has been a great privilege for me. Caritas has been my home, my family and my vocation.”
He added: “I promise to listen humbly, to reflect thoughtfully and to build bridges. I promise to use the convening power of the Secretary General to drive the confederation forward together.”
Mr Dutton has worked on projects in 70 countries and has also served as humanitarian director of Caritas.
“My journey with Caritas has taken me all over the world,” he said. “From the war in Kosovo, Darfur, Iraq, Liberia and Syria; to tsunamis in Asia, earthquakes in Haiti, India, Indonesia and Chile; conflicts born of greed and the exploitation of wealth in Africa; waves of displacement in the Middle East; and the devastation caused by the climate emergency and extreme weather: cyclones and floods in Pakistan, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh; food crises in so many countries in Africa from the Sahel to Somalia, the Sudan to Zimbabwe; and the frightening reality of sinking island states in the Pacific.”
On the same day, Kirsty Robertson, chief executive of Caritas Australia since 2019, was elected as the new Vice President of Caritas Internationalis.
The new appointments mark the start of a new era for the organisation following the dismissal of the entire top team by a decree of Pope Francis in November.
Among those who dismissed was Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a man viewed as a possible strong papal candidate.
Cardinal Tagle, who was nominally president of Caritas but not involved in the day-to-day operations, continued to advise the charity as it prepared for the new staff elections.
Founded in 1951, Caritas International is a Vatican-based confederation working in more than 200 countries, with more than a million staff and volunteers, including Cafod in England and Wales, Sciaf in Scotland and Trócaire in Ireland. Its self-described mission is “to work to build a better world, especially for the poor and oppressed”.
Complaints by former and current members of staff that led to the sackings included verbal abuse, favouritism, and general human resources mismanagement.
The press release from the Vatican in November said: “After a review of its operations by an independent panel, the management of Caritas Internationalis (CI) has been put under temporary administration in order to improve its management norms and procedures – even while financial matters have been well-handled and fundraising goals regularly achieved – and so better to serve its member charitable organizations around the world.”
“No evidence emerged of financial mismanagement or sexual impropriety, but other important themes and areas for urgent attention emerged from the panel’s work… Real deficiencies were noted in management and procedures, seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale.”
It stressed that the measure would “have no impact on the functioning of member organisations and the services of charity and solidarity they provide around the world; on the contrary, it will serve to strengthen such service”.
Cardinal Tagle said in response to the decree that the papal intervention was “a call to walk humbly with God and to a process of discernment”.
(Photo of Alistair Dutton courtesy of Vatican News)
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