The new secretary general of Caritas Internationalis comes from Scotland and has a quarter century of experience in the humanitarian sector. Alistair Dutton, president of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), was elected at the general assembly last May 15 and will lead the 162-Caritas Confederation for a four-year term.

Dutton's election comes two days after that of Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi as the new president of Caritas Internationalis. It closes a transition that had begun on Nov. 22, 2022, when Pope Francis decided to commission the top management of Caritas Internationalis. The new secretary-general will have to pursue the hypothesis of revising the Statutes of Caritas Internationalis, by the relatively recent being established in 2012 and amended in 2019, which was already defined in the commissioning.

Dutton had immediately appeared to be a firm name, having also served as director of humanitarian projects at Caritas Internationalis. His candidacy went along with that of Cristina Calvo, consultant for Caritas Latin America.

Just after the election, Dutton said, "Serving Caritas for the past three decades has been a great privilege for me. Caritas has been my home, my family, and my calling. I promise to listen humbly, reflect thoughtfully and build bridges. I promise to use the convening power of the Secretary-General to move the Confederation forward together."

Dutton's work at Caritas began in 1996, and he has been involved in humanitarian projects in some 70 countries. The new secretary general recounted, "From the war in Kosovo, Darfur, Iraq, Liberia, and Syria; to the tsunami in Asia, earthquakes in Haiti, India, Indonesia, and Chile; conflicts born of greed and exploitation of wealth in Africa; waves of migration in the Middle East; the devastation caused by the climate emergency and extreme weather phenomena: Cyclones and floods in Pakistan, Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh; food crises in many countries in Africa, from the Sahel to Somalia, from Sudan to Zimbabwe; and the frightening reality of island states sinking into the Pacific."

In 2014 Dutton was also the CEO (managing director) of Project Sphere, the international humanitarian standards body. From 2005 to 2009, he was head of Christian Aid's Africa Humanitarian Programs Unite.  

In addition to Dutton, the AGM elected Kirsty Robertson, CEO of Caritas Australia since 2019, as the new Vice President of Caritas Internationalis.

Robertson previously held several positions at Caritas Australia, including Pacific Programs Coordinator and Communications Group Manager. She was CEO of Mary MacKillop Today and has held numerous leadership roles in other aid and development organizations.

This article was originally published on ACI Stampa.