Vatican City, Mar 7, 2011 / 11:50 am
Following public declarations from the outgoing secretary general of Caritas that could cause serious damage to the “prestige” of the institution, the Holy See has confirmed that it is seeking a "new profile" for the international aid agency.
In January, the Vatican's Secretariat of State decided it would not allow Lesley-Anne Knight to run for a second four-year term as secretary general of the Rome-based Caritas Internationalis. Her request for a certificate of approval from the Vatican for official candidacy was declined.
The rare action was taken because “for today's new challenges we need someone else,” explained Cardinal Robert Sarah of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” on Feb. 22. A key issue at this point is to focus on the “Catholic identity” of the organization, he said.
Cor Unum supervises the activities of Caritas Internationalis as well as many other charitable activities worldwide.