Caritas Latin America and Caribbean

Contents

Caritas Latin America and Caribbean (Spanish: Cáritas América Latina y el Caribe; Portuguese: Cáritas América Latina e Caribe) is a network of Catholic nonprofit organisations active in Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the seven regions of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation.[1]

Its name is used both for the regional secretariat and its network of 22 member organisations, but the secretariat is also known as Secretariado Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Caritas (SELACC).[2]

Work

The role of Caritas Latin America and Caribbean is to foster peer exchange and learning among its member organisations, and to speak with a unified voice. The secretariat (SELACC) is also engaged in advocacy, for example concerning the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean Summits[3] as well as in the institutional capacity strengthening of its member organisations.[2][4]

Membership and structure

Unlike other regions of Caritas Internationalis, such as Caritas Europa with its secretariat in Brussels, or Caritas Africa with its secretariat in Lomé, the secretariat of Caritas Latin America and Caribbean is decentralised, albeit legally registered in San José, Costa Rica. This means that the staff is located in the offices of its various member organisations across the continent.

The member organisations are the national Caritas organisations of Latin America. These are subdivided into regional subgroups: Camex for Central America, Caribe for the Caribbean island organisations, Bolivariana for north-eastern South America and Cono Sur for the Southern tip of the continent as well as for Brazil.[5]

The country offices of other Caritas organisations, such as of the American Catholic Relief Services or of Caritas Switzerland, are not members of Caritas Latin America and Caribbean.

List of member organisations

Sub-regionCountryMember organisation (English name)Established
CaribeAntillesCaritas Antilles?
Cono SurArgentinaCaritas Argentina1956
BolivarianaBoliviaCaritas Bolivia1958
Cono SurBrazilCaritas Brazil1956
Cono SurChileCaritas Chile1956
BolivarianaColombiaCaritas Colombia1956
CamexCosta RicaCaritas Costa Rica1963
CaribeCubaCaritas Cuba1991
CaribeDominican RepublicCaritas Dominican Republic1961
BolivarianaEcuadorCaritas Ecuador1961
CamexEl SalvadorCaritas El Salvador1960
CamexGuatemalaCaritas Guatemala1962
CaribeHaitiHaiti1975
CamexHondurasCaritas Honduras1959
CamexMexicoCaritas Mexico1973
CamexNicaraguaCaritas Nicaragua1960
CamexPanamaCaritas Panama1970
Cono SurParaguayCaritas Paraguay1958
BolivarianaPeruCaritas Peru1955
CaribePuerto RicoCaritas Puerto Rico1969
Cono SurUruguayCaritas Uruguay1962
BolivarianaVenezuelaCaritas Venezuela1963

Leadership

Presidents

Regional Coordinators

  • 2003–2007: Francisco Gerardo Hernández Rojas[9]
  • 2007–2011: Antonio Sandoval[10]
  • 2011–2023: Francisco Gerardo Hernández Rojas[9]
  • 2023–present: Nicolás Meyer[11]

References

  1. 1."Where we work: Latin America & Caribbean". caritas.org. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  2. 2.[2.2]"Informe cuatrienal SELACC 2019-2023.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  3. 3."A partnership of hope for the good of our peoples and a more fraternal world". comece.eu. 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  4. 4."Marco estratégico 2024–2031". caritaslatinoamerica.org. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  5. 5.López, Miroslava (13 May 2023). "Cáritas América Latina y el Caribe tiene nuevo presidente". vidanuevadigital.com. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  6. 6."AMERICA/HAITI – Continental Caritas Meeting concludes with election of new direction, next meeting in Argentina". Agenzia Fides. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  7. 7."New president of Caritas Latin America elected". Catholic News Agency. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  8. 8.Merlo, Francesco (23 November 2021). "Caritas on aid in Latin America and Caribbean: Solidarity is our mission". Vatican News. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  9. 9.[9.2]Chaves Leiva, Lisandra (2 August 2023). "Sacerdote costarricense designado director de un centro del CELAM". iglesiacr.org. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  10. 10.Uranga, Washington (26 March 2007). "Bargalló va del Cáritas local al latinoamericano". Página 12. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  11. 11."In a global resource struggle, is the EU ready to take Latin America, Caribbean seriously?". Euractiv. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.