Forgive and unite to serve in love

Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has urged members of the Church’s international confederation of charities — Caritas Internationalis — to work together in service to people in need.

May 19, 2023


ROME: Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has urged members of the Church’s international confederation of charities — Caritas Internationalis — to work together in service to people in need.

The cardinal celebrated the opening Mass on May 11 for the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis, which took place in Rome, May 11-16.

In his homily, Cardinal Czerny urged Caritas members and volunteers to put love at the forefront of their lives, encouraging them to “remove vanity” and the “desire to put ourselves above others.”

The Cardinal delivered his homily in St. Peter’s Basilica almost six months after Pope Francis issued a decree removing the top leaders of the Church’s humanitarian outfit in a move to “improve its management rules and procedures.”

“Listen to the gentle invitation – to encounter, to gather, to forgive, to unite, as you have been struggling to do these last five-and-a-half months. All this rooted and grounded in love, in the caritas which is your name and mission and mystery,” said the Cardinal.

He explained that every organisation, even ecclesial federations, goes through times of conflict and struggle when it is “not hard to keep track of wrongdoings.”

“Love forgives and excuses every offence, to that we let the Father’s love embrace us. Love ‘keeps no records of wrongdoings,’ Paul criticises the wrong kind of bookkeeping,” he added, citing St Paul’s Hymn to Love.

Cardinal Czerny also told Caritas Internationalis members to remind themselves of the mission that they have received from the Church, saying that charity and love go hand in hand.

“As Caritas, in making that loving and generous gift, you must remind yourself, as the Holy Father says, of the mission that you have received from the Church itself,” he said.

“It is a difficult path, to be sure, but surely worth taking — with one another, in love for the poor, and in union with the Church,” the Cardinal added.

Cardinal Czerny explained that charity is the most “sublime” way to know God and understand the Christian faith and that even the most generous service means nothing without the virtue of love.

“Love is what makes us ‘to be’. When we embrace God’s love and love as God loves and remain in God’s love, we understand the meaning of our own lives,” the Cardinal said.

“Love is forever, here and hereafter, and so Jesus tells us this is where we must ‘remain’,” he added.

Cardinal Czerny closed his homily with a reminder of the Caritas Internationalis’ threefold task — to proclaim the Gospel with good works, to exercise the commitment to charity of their local Church, and to seek unity.

“Help the lay people carry the Church’s message of love into the political, social, and cultural realms,” he urged.

“Love, love, love. Continue to be that Society of Love for all our siblings, everywhere, always,” the Cardinal said.

Caritas Internationalis is the umbrella organisation for 162 official Catholic charities operating in 200 countries and territories around the world. Its general assembly, attended by some 400 delegates representing national and local Caritas organisations, was to elect a new president, secretary-general, executive board and fill other leadership positions.

In November 2022, Pope Francis issued a decree suspending the secretary-general and other top officers of Carita, citing “deficiencies” in management and procedures “seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale.” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was also removed as Caritas president but remained in the organisation to assist the temporary administrator appointed to oversee the transition.

In his address to Caritas delegates May 11, Pope Francis explained that what distinguishes Caritas from other aid organisations is its “ecclesial vocation,” which offers charity in communion with the Holy See and in line with the Catholic Church teaching.

From its conception, he said, Caritas was meant to mediate “between the universal and particular churches” and support “the involvement of the entire people of God in the work of charity.”

“Take care to train competent lay persons capable of bringing the Church’s message to political and social life,” he told the delegates.

“The challenge of a mature and conscious laity is as timely as ever, since their presence reaches all those spheres that directly touch the lives of the poor,” the Pope said. “They can express with creative freedom the Church’s maternal heart and concern for social justice thanks to their involvement in the challenging work of unjust social structures and promoting the happiness of the human person.”

Pope Francis also encouraged the delegates to remain united and learn to value their differences.

“Your confederation embraces many different identities. Experience your diversity as a treasure, pluralism as a resource,” he said. “Compete in showing esteem for one another, and allow conflicts to lead, not to division, but to encounter and growth.” -- Vatican News/ NCR

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