The practice of charity in the church is as old as the church itself. It has roots in the early Christian community. We read from Acts of Apostles that the Apostles chose “Seven men of good reputation, filled with the spirit and with wisdom and handed over to them the duty to give out food” (6:2-23). In the same spirit, Pope Francis declared: “A Church without Charity does not exist … and referred to Caritas as the heart of the Church”. The practice of charity has changed with times and places. Although in each country Caritas has autonomy for its interventions, it represents only one organized form of charity within the Catholic Church.
The first National Caritas was founded in Germany on 9th/November/ 1897, followed by Caritas Switzerland in 1901, and the United States Caritas and the Netherlands in 1910 and 1924, respectively. In 1924, European Caritas were all organized under the title “Caritas International”. In 1950, during the Holy Year, the Substitute of States for the Holy See, His Grace Archbishop Giovanni Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI, confronted with increasing number of post-war problems and in his desire to assure the Church’s presence in social field, convoked an international meeting of all Catholic organizations involved in charitable and social work. That day saw the birth of a new body called “International Confederation of Catholic Charities”. In 1957, the 10th Executive Committee adopted a similar name for it, Caritas Internationalis (C.I) , with regional/continental structures, such as Caritas Africa and Caritas Europa.
In Uganda,the Uganda Episcopal Conference recognized its social-pastoral ministry and formed the Commission of Social Service & Development in 1958, becoming operational only in 1970, headed by a Bishop under whom an Executive Secretary was appointed to spearhead Social Services and Economic Development of the marginalized in the country. In June 1999, the Conference resolved to name the social Commission for Social Services and Development “Caritas Uganda”, while maintaining the sub-heading of Social Services and Development.
Pope Benedict XVI, who, in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est (#20), recommended that all church’s work of charity must be organized, later affirmed structuring of the socio-pastoral means for effective and coherent work for both national to parish level has become a means for effective and coherent work for both diocesan and national level actions with a common mission and vision. The structuring has also promoted harmonious cooperation, methodological operations and sustainability of interventions.
