Vatican officials have prevented the secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis from seeking a second four-year term.
Lesley-Anne Knight, a British citizen born in Zimbabwe, did not receive
the necessary approval, or "nihil obstat" ("nothing stands in the way"),
in January when she submitted her name as a candidate to continue in
the position with the church's worldwide aid and development
organization.
No specific reason for the denial was offered by the Vatican in a statement released late Feb. 18 in Rome.
"The Holy See wants a change in the way it works with Caritas and says
this requires a change in the person of the secretary-general," the
statement said.
"The Holy See has therefore not granted Mrs. Knight the nihil obstat to seek another mandate," the statement said.
The Vatican acknowledged "the professional work done and achievements of
Mrs. Knight" but said nothing more about its relationship with the
secretary-general.
Elections for the position of secretary-general and international
president, which is held by Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, are set for late May in Rome during Caritas
Internationalis' quadrennial general assembly.
Submitting the names of candidates for the two positions is normally
considered routine within the Vatican. However, the Vatican acted to
block Knight's candidacy.
In an attempt to keep Knight's candidacy alive, the Caritas
Internationalis bureau -- Cardinal Rodriguez, Knight, the organization's
treasurer and seven regional presidents -- met Feb. 5 and asked
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, to discuss
the issue, according to the statement.
Although representatives of Cardinal Bertone met several times with
Cardinal Rodriguez, bureau representatives or members of the Caritas
Internationalis Candidates Committee, the initial decision remained
unchanged, the statement said.
"The bureau deeply regrets the decision of the Holy See," the Vatican
statement added. "The bureau thanks Mrs. Knight for the professional
work, her accomplishments and commitment to Caritas Internationalis. The
bureau is very grateful she will continue until the general assembly."
The Candidates Committee will begin seeking candidates for the secretary-general position, the statement added.
The Tablet, a British magazine covering the Catholic Church, reported
Feb. 18 that an unidentified official with a Caritas member agency
suggested Knight may have been rejected because she had made comments
that were "critical of the Vatican machine, has made no secret of it and
has failed to be discreet."
The magazine quoted a second unidentified Caritas source as saying that
Vatican officials were concerned that Knight had not done enough to
instill a Catholic identity or to develop a sense of evangelization
within Caritas programs.
Tensions between Caritas and the Vatican have surfaced at times over the
years. The Tablet cited difficulties with the Pontifical Council Cor
Unum, the church's charity-promotion agency. German Cardinal Paul Josef
Cordes, past president of the council, designated Caritas member
Catholic Relief Services to coordinate the church's relief efforts in
Haiti after the devastating January 2010 earthquake.
The Tablet reported that Cardinal Cordes never consulted with
Knight or her office before announcing the decision two weeks after the
disaster and said Knight made no secret of her displeasure with the
choice.
A CRS spokesman referred all questions to Caritas Internationalis.