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Community members pose for a picture outside the eco-tourism project long house in Indonesia. Photo: Richard Wainwright/Caritas Australia.

Our Network

As a member of the Caritas Internationalis, one of the largest humanitarian networks in the world, we work with communities to drive their own development and build a just world for all. 

Caritas Australia is part of one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks, Caritas Internationalis. It was founded in Germany in 1897 and now has 162 member organisations in 200 countries all over the world, all working at the grassroots in almost every country of the world. 

The Caritas network has a rich history of listening to the most marginalised and vulnerable and working alongside them to transform their own lives. The moral and spiritual principles of dignity, justice, solidarity and stewardship guide the work of all Caritas organisations today.

Inspired by Catholic faith, Caritas is the helping hand of the Church – reaching out to the most vulnerable and excluded, regardless of race or religion, to build a world based on justice and fraternal love.

Caritas Internationalis campaigns

Together We

What happens in one part of our world has an impact on the rest of the planet and on the most vulnerable people. The new Caritas Internationalis campaign is a way to play our own part in caring for our Common Home to make it a better, healthier place to live for present and future generations.

 

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Share the Journey (2017-2020)

The campaign created spaces and opportunities for migrants and refugees to come together with communities, promoting the culture of encounter and learning about each other. The message was “meet a migrant”. 

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70th anniversary of Caritas Internationalis

Hear from Caritas Oceania members as part of the Caritas Internationalis 70th anniversary celebration in 2021 in the webinar 'Promoting Integral Human development - Caritas Oceania in the spirit of the Laudato si''

Caritas Australia is a member of Caritas Oceania - along with Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, Caritas Fiji, Caritas Tonga, Caritas Pacific Islands, Caritas Papua New Guinea, and Caritas Samoa. Together, they work on climate change, emergency response, peace building and development – both in their own countries and in other parts of the world.

In times of crisis, Caritas Oceania's role is fundamental in reaching the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in our region. The strength of the Caritas Oceania family is their solidarity founded in warmth, friendship and genuine dialogue, through talanoa, respectful relationships and storytelling.

Caritas Oceania recognises that climate change, rising sea levels and climate-induced displacement are not theories, but rather real and lived experiences for our region. Fratelli Tutti and Laudato Si' call on us to demand better politics and more effective international institutions so that we can care for our common home and address the structural causes of inequality.  

 

The Caritas Oceania State of the Environment Reports detail the impacts of a changing climate on millions of people across the Pacific, including:

  • Coastal erosion and sea level rise
  • Food and water
  • Extreme weather
  • Offshore mining and drilling
  • Climate finance

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Caritas Oceania Talanoa: Toward our Future Home

Caritas Oceania Online Talanoa, held on 28 September 2021, brought together people of Oceania to share experiences of environmental impact in their countries. It also aimed to inform the State of the Environment for Oceania statement, which was released on St Francis Day, 4 October 2021.

Caritas Oceania Annual Forum Statement 2021

From 26-29th July 2021, representatives from the Caritas Oceania family came together for our Annual Forum. Hear from His Eminence Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, the President of Caritas Oceania, on the joint vision developed by the Caritas Oceania members for the Annual Forum Statement.

Global launch of Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania 2021

The global launch of the environment indicators and final assessment of the 'State of the Environment for Oceania 2021'.