Pope Francis speaks in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 15, 2022. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Nov 22, 2022 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
Why did Pope Francis dismiss the entire leadership of the Church’s worldwide charity arm Tuesday?
What role will Pier Francesco Pinelli play as temporary administrator of Caritas Internationalis, appointed by papal decree on Nov. 22?
A key date to understanding the move and how it aligns with the pope’s broader reforms is Oct. 15, 2022.
On that day, Pope Francis received in audience at the Vatican Father Giacomo Canobbio and delegates of Bain Capital. The financial investment firm is where Pinelli previously worked. And Canobbio is the priest who, without announcement, was appointed by Pope Francis to the role of commissioner of the Pontifical Lateran University.
Both appointments are typical for the pontiff and his preferred modus operandi: Pope Francis sends an inspection or appoints a commissioner whenever he wants to reform something.
The papacy of commissioners
There were no apparent reasons for appointing a commissioner to Caritas Internationalis — just as there were no apparent reasons for appointing a commissioner at the Pontifical Lateran University.
However, Pope Francis has previously ordered a number of inspections.
Bishop Claudio Maniago was made the inspector of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, after which the pope appointed Archbishop Arthur Roche as prefect of the dicastery. Next, Bishop Egidio Miragoli inspected the Congregation of the Clergy, which was still in progress when the pope appointed the Korean bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik — later created cardinal— as prefect of the dicastery.
At the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis appointed several commissions.
One such body was the commission of reference on the administrative-economic structures of the Holy See, known by its Italian acronym COSEA. Another was CRIOR, the commission for studying the Institute of Works of Religion reform, commonly known as the Vatican Bank.
Their work, once completed, resulted in the extensive overhaul of the Vatican’s financial departments and the new Institute of Works of Religion statutes, promulgated in 2019.
However, the appointment of a commissioner in Caritas Internationalis has another clear precedent: the inspection of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development.
The inspection took place in July 2021 and was led by Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago. The team also included Sister Helen Alford, vice-rector of the Pontifical Angelicum University, an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences; and Pinelli, the new administrator of Caritas Internationalis.
Pinelli’s profile
A trained engineer and experienced manager, Pinelli has worked with several institutions as well as a consultant for management and investment firms.
According to Vatican rumors not officially confirmed but provided to CNA from multiple sources, Pinelli was also involved in restructuring what is now the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.
A press release from the dicastery said Pinelli was an engineer “with a more humanist than technical way of proceeding” and that he was “formed in Ignatian spirituality,” a man who “from an early age was active as a volunteer working with recovering drugs addicts, in development cooperation, support for missionary works, and catechesis.” The statement also noted that he is married with three children and three grandchildren.
The release also emphasized that “in 33 years of work,” Pinelli had gained managerial experience in different sectors, including a large energy company.
Having worked both as a project manager for energy companies and as a management consultant for Bain, Pinelli also has experience working with religious and secular works and institutions, according to the release.
Obviously, his formation and positions in some Jesuit institutions may have played a role. It seems likely that Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, the current prefect of the dicastery, had a word in involving him and others.
However, it is still hard to assess which issues are at stake. It seems clear that the pope wants to reform Caritas Internationalis, including its statutes and bylaws.
Founded in 1951, the Catholic confederation is made up of 162 charitable organizations based in 200 countries around the world. Its headquarters are located on Vatican territory in Rome, and the Vatican oversees its activity.
According to Czerny’s dicastery, “no evidence emerged of financial mismanagement or sexual impropriety”; however, “deficiencies were noted in management and procedures, seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale.”
Pinelli’s task
The reform of the statutes will be the first task of the new commissioner.
Pinelli will be assisted by Maria Amparo Alonso Escobar, Caritas Internationalis’ head of advocacy, and by Jesuit Father Manuel Morujão, who will provide personal and spiritual accompaniment to Caritas employees, according to Pope Francis’ decree.
In May 2023, the next Caritas Internationalis general assembly is expected to be held in Rome, with the appointment of the new president, general secretary, and treasurer. By then, the reform process will likely be completed.
Caritas Internationalis will undergo a review “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.”
However, a reform of the statutes already took place in 2019 and was approved by the pope with a rescript of Jan. 13, 2020.
As for the change of the statutes of Caritas Internationalis, it was simply a matter of passing the competencies from the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which no longer exists, to the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, which has absorbed its functions.
As for the rules of procedure, these changes were not communicated. But they generally accepted some of the requests approved by the Caritas General Assembly, which envisaged encouraging the presence of women within the highest representative bodies and including two young people in the same representative bodies.
In particular, there was talk of the Representative Council of the federation, abbreviated with the name RE.CO., the acronym for Representative Council. These indications have now been implemented and will become operational.
The structure of Caritas Internationalis was thus “adjusted” and adapted to the reform of the Curia.
However, the statutes of Caritas Internationalis remained confirmed in the structure as Pope Benedict XVI reformed them in 2012. Those statutes strengthened the collaboration between Caritas Internationalis and the Holy See and clearly outlined the competencies of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Not only that: the new structure of Caritas Internationalis gave greater coordination to departments and bodies connected to the Holy See, which also concerned doctrinal aspects.
The rationale behind Benedict XVI’s reform
It is noteworthy that the 2012 reform was part of a more extensive project by Benedict XVI to accomplish Pastor Bonus’s provisions fully.
Pastor Bonus was the apostolic constitution that regulated the functions and tasks of the Curia offices, and Praedicate Evangelium now replaces that.
However, the reform came after a governance crisis. In 2011, the Secretariat of State did not approve the renomination of the former secretary general, Lesley-Anne Knight. (However, her work was praised by the president of Caritas Internationalis at the time, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga.) As a result, she was replaced by Michel Roy, a Frenchman who worked with Secours Catholique — the Caritas in France.
Knight’s non-confirmation also stemmed from the new approach given with the subsequent reform of Caritas Internationalis.
It was an approach that derived from the formulation of Benedict XVI’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate. In the encyclical, Benedict XVI stressed that human development and foreign aid could not be separated from the demand for truth. The encyclical also pointed to the fact that many international organizations were promoting abortion, contraception, sterilization, and euthanasia.
This was an approach that Knight did not fully share, as she publicly explained to the media at the time.
While some approved of Knight’s departure, others were disappointed. Despite a robust generational change in Caritas Internationalis in recent years, these divisive feelings may have lingered in the background and fueled some complaints about “management and procedures.”
What will the new reform look like?
The tone of the dicastery’s press release suggests that the reform will be more managerial. But, above all, it is a substantial change in philosophy from the reform of Benedict XVI.
In short, it could be another paradigm shift by Pope Francis, comparable to some degree to his restrictions of the Traditional Latin Mass.
From this point of view, Pope Francis has identified several people to help complete his changes to the Church’s structure.
In carrying out the reform, the pope does not hesitate to demote someone like Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, current president of Caritas, who now finds himself mandated to “liaise” with Pinelli and his staff for the upcoming general assembly.
Tagle was rumored to be appointed the next prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops. Even if these rumors were to be confirmed, Tagle’s public image has now been compromised by the Caritas decision. This will also weigh in a future conclave.
Pope Francis, however, is completing his goals. As he said in one of his homilies in the days of the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020 — and also in a meeting with the Candia Foundation in April — he remains critical of humanitarian organizations that do good work but spend 60% of their budget on wages. The pope called on them to keep costs to a minimum, “so that most of the money goes to the people.”
[…]
It is good that they met over the suffering caused by the Ukraine invasion. Schisms are best solved when men turn to the Lord for counsel.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths
Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
Lord Jesus walk with us so as we stumble you lift us up.
Hmmm. Did their ‘bilateral interaction’ include a game of Tiddlywinks? The world goes on, little knowing and not at all caring what either ‘leader’ thinks or said.
Some of us do care what they think and say. This is why we comment on nthem.
OOPS. My earlier comment failed to reference Joe Bukuras’ report in CWR: “Three hurt when Catholic charity’s van struck by artillery fire in Ukraine”
Unfortunately, Patriarch Kirill is on the side of the war criminal Putin; and Putin is the singular reason for the war and the killings in Ukraine that include innocent families, women and children. When Russian bombs target residential buildings and hospitals, then those involved in whatever capacity, ie., by being actively engaged in the war or by supporting it, become criminals.
‘Bright as the sun, fair as the moon, terrible as an army set in battle array ..’ –
the above image of the little shared chuckle of the Brothers 🙂 , ? an occasion of the Holy Spirit recalling in their memory , their own boyhood innocent devotion to The Mother ..memories of hearing about Fatima .. the irony of both being brought to a historical island that was under communism , to help bring forth good will , in the blessing of many who suffered under the rebellion , to hear the whispering –
‘ do not be afraid ‘ …
even as the world screams the opposite – to be afraid of life and of holiness ..
Rereading the accounts of the Fatima apparition can be an occasion of being more appreciative of the ongoing work the Bl.Mother does in many hearts , a glimpse of the suffering of the Holy Popes in trying to carry out their related roles, amidst all the misunderstandings ,the mountains of prideful divisions , accusations of being negligent etc : etc : .
Yet , they have The Mother as the model , in doing God’s Will , in gentle , patient steps as at Fatima , calling The Church to echo Her Heart to invite all, to instill more trust that All the Bishops of the world – of Germany too can join , at the heart level at the least for now .. to help do away with the spirit of apostacy and rebellion that manifest in myriad ways .. for the ‘children ‘ all over too to chuckle
as in those Irish smiles .. both the born and to be born , blessed to be in ‘snake free ‘ lands amidst saintly lives .
http://www.comingofthekingdom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/44-Saints.pdf
The Pontiff Francis, in his recent Havana Accord with Kirill, joined his voice with Kirill in expressing mutual contempt for Eastern Rite Catholics in Ukraine, who they labelled with the contemptuous title “Uniates” (a term of derision deliberately used by Kirill and Pontiff Francis).
In their eyes, the Eastern Rite Catholics in Ukraine are to be condemned because they want to preserve their Eastern Christian liturgy and theology and culture, while pledging to be in communion with the Pope in Rome, apparently to signal the importance to them of unified teaching authority on faith and morality.
Kirill and Pontiff Francis signed their Havana Accord to show their contempt for the desires of Ukrainian Catholics.
Fr. Richard Kiley and Damian Thompson of England discuss this gesture of their contempt in a podcast this month, which I will post in my next comment.
This Havana Accord reveals what matters to men of the ilk of Kirill and Pontiff Francis: Christians are not to be united, but is to remain divided, with the Body of Christ dismembered, and the pieces remaining in their personal control.
On the subversion of the Eastern Rite Catholics in Ukraine by Kirill and Pontiff Francis, and what is called the “sneering” treatment of them by Kirill and Pontiff Francis in their Havana Accord, here is the podcast of Damian Thompson and Fr. Benedict Kiely, both Catholics in England.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/in-ukraine-and-china-a-power-obsessed-vatican-is-betraying-heroic-catholics
Whatever we may assume regarding Russian Patriarch Kirill, his support of Putin is a form of indebtedness for Vladimir’s revival of Russian Orthodoxy from the ash heaps of Stalinist policy. Kirill was a friend of Benedict XVI, the two had an affinity. Although, there’s the issue of justice.
The dogs of war are snarling, bearing their fangs, prepared to leap if the provocation that usually triggers world conflict appears. For Austria Hungary it was Serbia’s presumed unwillingness to assume responsibility for the assassination. An excerpt of Franz Josef’s ultimatum gives a sense of the stakes,
“Serbia recognizes that the fait accompli regarding Bosnia has not affected her rights and consequently she will conform to the decisions that the Powers may take in conformity with Article 25 of the Treaty of Berlin. In deference to the advice of the Great Powers, Serbia undertakes to renounce from now onwards the attitude of protest and opposition which she has adopted with regard to the annexation since last autumn. She undertakes, moreover, to modify the direction of her policy with regard to Austria-Hungary and to live in future on good neighbourly terms with the latter. The history of recent years, and in particular the painful events of the 28th of June last, have shown the existence of a subversive movement with the object of detaching a part of the territories of Austria-Hungary from the Monarchy. The movement, which had its birth under the eye of the Serbian Government, has gone so far as to make itself manifest on both sides of the Serbian frontier in the shape of acts of terrorism and a series of outrages and murders”.
Franz Josef’s demands assumed Serbia’s responsibility for assassination, based on Serbia’s intent to detach the South Slavic territories from Austria Hungary. In comparison during recent negotiations with Ukraine Russia suggested a Sweden form of neutrality, Ukraine permitted to retain its government and its military.
The difference is stark. Nonetheless, the media, pundits, political analysts, virtually everyone [perhaps except for media’s Tucker Carlson] insist we increase armament transfer to Ukraine including first line offensive weapons, to “win the war against Russia”. A seeming impossible expectation unless the world does everything short of sending in its own military.
If this increasing momentum continues, the insistence on providing everything possible growing in virtual rabid fervor will increase the longevity of the war, increase markedly the military casualties on both sides, and increase in far greater proportion the death toll and misery of Ukrainians. Perhaps, result in nuclear conflict [Russia has a measured tactical nuclear capacity, Putin has placed his nuclear systems on high alert] and if applied in Ukraine might erupt into full scale world nuclear war.
This policy of abeyance to a negotiated settlement, and the determination for a Ukraine victory is irrational, and immoral.
So what you suggest is that the west should not arm the Ukrainians who should allow Russia to take over their country. Agreed that this would save many lives etc but what would happen next? The idea that Ukrainian sovereignty would be preserved in any negotiation with Putin’s regime is illusory. And who would be next to suffer from Russian Imperialism? Moldovia, Georgia, Finland, Sweden and then the rest of Europe. It seems that Ukrainians are prepared to die for their independence from a totalitarian state? Is that wrong? Any more that somebody who is prepared to die for their faith? And given the desires of the Ukrainians should the West just stand by and let Ukraine be destroyed or are they wrong in providing arms to the Ukrainians to defend themselves?
Personal pacifism may be admirable but doing nothing whilst one’s neighbour attacked by criminal is hardlyshowing love to that neighbour.
It could be that Kirill is a Russian first and then a Christian, however, let us pray that Pope Francis could get Kirill to see things differently.
Patriarch Kirill expresses beliefs similar to Benedict of the moral collapse of the West evident in W Europe. His ‘stated position’ is that he supports Vladimir’s opposition to Western [decadent] influence pressing eastward. That needless to say doesn’t justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Robert Royal in response to Francis’ visit hoped he [the pope] would elicit a reproval of the invasion, although he seemed to realize that doesn’t seem likely.
The best we can hope for is a Ukraine Russia agreement on the latest proposal that Ukraine adopt a Sweden type neutrality Putin agrees Ukraine retain its independent government and its military. The rest hinges on the status of Crimea [Putin seeks Ukraine’s acquiescence of Russia annexation] and the eastern minor provinces that previously declared independence from Ukraine. For sake of peace I hope they can agree to some form of settlement. Otherwise the killing and suffering continues with possible conflagration.
So the world is supposed to ignore the annexation of Crimea by brute force? And just when did the eastern provinces genuinely vote to become indepenent?