By Matters India Reporter
Rome, May 16, 2023: Caritas Internationalis has elected a Scottish layman as the secretary general of the humanitarian and development arm of the Catholic Church.
Alistair Dutton has worked in the organization since 1996 and has more than 25 years of experience in the humanitarian field, reports vaticannews.va.
The election took place May 15, two days after the organization elected Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo as its president.
A statement released by Caritas explains that Dutton will lead the Caritas Confederation, which includes 162 national Caritas member organizations, until 2027.
Dutton, currently the executive director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), has led projects in more than 70 countries. From 2009 to 2014, he served as the Humanitarian Director of Caritas Internationalis.
Addressing Caritas’ delegates attending the General Assembly, he said, “serving Caritas over the last three decades has been a great privilege for me. Caritas has been my home, my family, and my vocation.”
He promised to “listen humbly, to reflect thoughtfully, and to build bridges. I promise to use the convening power of the Secretary General to drive the confederation forward together.”
Dutton began working with Caritas in 1996.
He said his journey with Caritas has taken him all over the world – from the war in Kosovo, Darfur, Iraq, Liberia and Syria; to tsunamis in Asia, earthquakes in Haiti, India, Indonesia and Chile.
He has also dealt with the aftereffects of conflicts born of greed and the exploitation of wealth in Africa; waves of displacement in the Middle East; and the devastation caused by the climate emergency and extreme weather: cyclones and floods in Pakistan, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh; food crises in many countries in Africa; and the frightening reality of sinking island states in the Pacific.
In 2014 Dutton was also the CEO of the Sphere Project, the international humanitarian standards body. From 2005 to 2009 he headed the Humanitarian Programs Unit for Africa of Christian Aid.
On May 15, Caritas Internationalis elected Kirsty Robertson as its new vice president. She has been the CEO of Caritas Australia since 2019. Roberts previously held various positions at Caritas Australia including Pacific Programs Coordinator and Communications Group Leader and was CEO at Mary MacKillop.