Caritas Australia CEO Kirsty Robertson named as Vice President of Caritas Internationals

Kirsty Robertson, the CEO of Caritas Australia, has been chosen to serve as the organization's new vice president. Ms. Kirsty was chosen to represent the 162 national Caritas member organizations for a four-year term by almost 400 delegates during the 22nd General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis, which took place in Rome from May 11–16.

She joins the new leadership group that also includes Alistair Dutton, executive director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), as secretary general of Caritas Internationalis and Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, as president.

Bishop Richard Umbers of Sydney hailed Ms. Kirsty’s appointment as "wonderful news" after visiting Timor-Leste in January as a guest of Caritas Australia.

“Kirsty will contribute an Australian voice and her extensive international experience in faith-based assistance and development groups”, he added. "She most recently served as the first female CEO of Caritas Australia."

She has a talent for relating to people and is dedicated to helping them find the answers to the problems they encounter. Ms. Kirsty, who started her career with Caritas Australia in the justice resources team, has more than 20 years of experience in humanitarian relief and development. She has lived, worked, and visited in more than 50 countries, including Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, and Gokyo Valley, Nepal.

Before returning to Caritas Australia in September 2019 to serve as the organization's first female CEO, she had previously served at the Anglican Board of Mission, Act for Peace, and Mary MacKillop for five years as CEO. Along with her new position, she will remain in that one.

The position, according to Ms. Kirsty, was a "wonderful privilege". "It's a wonderful privilege to be taking on this role, a privilege to be serving the members of the Caritas Confederation across the world, a privilege to be serving the Church and all of the supporters of Caritas Internationalis," she said in a statement.

"We are a remarkable confederation, bound together by our commitment to helping the world's needy. It is a particularly significant day for us in the confederation as women.”

"Women are disproportionately impacted by poverty in every way conceivable. As a confederation, we are dedicated to assisting women in leadership roles as well as in villages, parishes, and communities. That dedication is shown in my appointment.

She expressed her congratulations on Alistair Dutton's selection as the Confederation's General Secretary. She remarked, "I think that with him leading the Confederation for the coming years, Caritas is in good hands.”

To correct workplace dynamics that "represented clear and real dangers" to the work and reputation of the global Catholic charity network, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which has some oversight responsibility for the organization, explained that radical leadership changes in Caritas Internationalis were necessary.

The general secretariat employees' complaints about workplace issues prompted a "systematic investigation" of the organization's structures, the cardinal said to the general assembly attendees.

The general secretariat's ability to function correctly was hindered by patterns of workplace relationships and procedures, he said, adding that they also jeopardized the wellness of the workers. Such factors "put the operations, name, and reputation at risk, not only of Caritas Internationalis but also of every Caritas affiliate," according to the statement.

Caritas Internationalis is the global body that unifies the 162 recognized Catholic charities that are present in 200 nations and territories. The organization's general assembly was held May 11–16 in Rome it was there that the new president, secretary-general, executive board, and other positions of authority were chosen.

Cardinal Czerny stated that "the exceptionally good work of Caritas does not justify or excuse serious shortcomings in the general secretariat's daily operations or its treatment of staff."

He compared the group to a patient who was ill and stated that for doctors "not to act decisively and vigorously" in response to their diagnosis "would be a dereliction of responsibility."

In November 2022, Pope Francis issued a proclamation suspending the secretary-general and other important officials. After it was published, Cardinal Czerny's dicastery issued a statement citing "real deficiencies" in management and procedures that were "seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale."

Cardinal Czerny said the action was "not a denunciation," but rather a "necessary call to repair and fine-tune a body that is essential for the whole church." Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was fired from his position as Caritas president, but he remained involved in the organization to help a temporary administrator appointed to oversee the transition.