Specific Apparatus of Vatican Diplomacy – Charity Organisations

Throughout of its existence, the Catholic Church has always tried to protect the most vulnerable members of society. This is proven by the fact that even the earliest Church documents show how the new church tried to alleviate some acute social problems. The religious and secular legal regulations which govern the operations of Catholic charity organisations and the whole institutional structure of these bodies were created by a long historical process which led to the birth of the current web of multiple different Catholic charities. Furthermore, these institutions are not merely NGOs or humanitarian relief agencies. Instead their activities are based upon the activities of the Founder, Jesus of Nazareth, and upon the spirit of the Gospels. Catholic charitable actions are mainly motivated by theological concepts and the social teaching of the Church even if these activities are executed by formal institutions. The current Pope expects a more active participation of national and international Catholic charities in multiple areas like looking after the poor and the refugees and in the struggle for universal peace. International cooperation, partly because of the universal nature of the Church, is not an unknown concept for the Catholic Church. Therefore, its charities are willing to work with every national and international institution, including secular governments, which work to make life on Earth more bearable for mankind. Since many contemporary humanitarian catastrophes take place in war zones, Catholic charities must find acceptable ways of cooperation with the various armed forces operating in these territories. This paper demonstrates the legal framework governing the work of Caritas Internationalis, which is the official charity service of the Holy See and which also acts as an umbrella organization for the more than 160 national Catholic Caritas bodies. In this article I will only mention these national Caritas institutions and any other international NGOs if this is necessary for the better understanding of either the international nature or the international activities of Caritas Internationalis.