Home News Caritas Internationalis elects Scottish humanitarian worker as new secretary general

Caritas Internationalis elects Scottish humanitarian worker as new secretary general

Alistair Dutton is currently executive director of Caritas Scotland and has over 25 years of experience in the humanitarian field

Alistair Dutton from Scotland has been elected new secretary general of Caritas Internationalis on May 15, two days after Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo was elected president of the Catholic Church’s charitable organization.

Dutton is currently executive director of Caritas Scotland and has over 25 years of experience in the humanitarian field having led projects in more than 70 countries, read an announcement from the organization. He has served as humanitarian director of Caritas Internationalis from 2009 to 2014.

“Serving Caritas over the last three decades has been a great privilege for me,” he said in an address before delegates attending the organization’s general assembly.



“Caritas has been my home, my family, and my vocation,” he added. “I promise 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,” said Dutton.

Dutton began working with Caritas in 1996. He was was the CEO of the Sphere Project, the international humanitarian standards body, in 2014. From 2005 to 2009 he was head of the Humanitarian Programmes Unit for Africa of Christian Aid.

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; 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 so many countries in Africa from the Sahel to Somalia, the Sudan to Zimbabwe; and the frightening reality of sinking island states in the Pacific.”

Also on May 15, Caritas Internationalis elected Kirsty Robertson as new vice president. She has been the CEO of Caritas Australia since 2019 and previously held various positions at Caritas Australia, including Pacific Programs Coordinator and Communications Group Leader. – with a report from Vatican News

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