Regina Lynch, executive director of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for appointing Cardinal Kurt Koch as the new president. Cardinal Koch, 75, succeeds Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, 81, who led ACN since 2011. Lynch acknowledged Cardinal Piacenza's significant contributions, including his support for initiatives like the One Million Children Praying the Rosary and Middle East campaigns. Koch, also the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, has a background in ecumenical and interreligious relations, which is crucial for ACN's mission.
14 days ago
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Cardinal Kurt Koch, aged 75, as the new president of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a pontifical foundation supporting persecuted and suffering Christians worldwide.1 2 3 This follows the retirement of Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who has led the organization since 2011 as its first president under pontifical status.1 2 3
Regina Lynch, ACN's executive director, expressed gratitude to the Pope for the appointment in a statement dated November 27.1 2 3 She emphasized anticipation for Koch's leadership in advancing the foundation's global mission.1 2 3
Cardinal Piacenza, now 81, served as a "steady and trusted mentor" during his 14-year tenure at ACN.1 2 3 Lynch highlighted his strong support for key initiatives, including the One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign and efforts in the Middle East.1 2 3
Under Piacenza's guidance, ACN focused on aiding suffering and persecuted Christians, solidifying the organization's role as a vital Catholic charity.1 2 3 His contributions were praised for providing consistent direction to the international foundation.1 2 3
Cardinal Koch currently serves as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.1 2 3 He has led the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism since 2010 and has collaborated closely with ACN over the years.1 2 3
His expertise in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue is seen as particularly relevant to ACN's work.1 2 3 This experience will support the foundation's efforts in regions where Christians and Catholics form minorities.1 2 3
The appointment underscores Pope Leo XIV's commitment to ACN's objectives, as noted by Lynch.1 2 3 Koch's background aligns with the need for fostering unity amid global persecution of Christians.1 2 3
ACN anticipates enhanced guidance under Koch to sustain and expand aid to vulnerable faith communities worldwide.1 2 3 This transition occurs amid ongoing challenges, including authoritarian threats to religious freedom highlighted in recent ACN reports.3
Assess ecumenical experience as a criterion for Catholic charity leadership
In Catholic teaching, leadership in charitable organizations—such as Caritas Internationalis or Aid to the Church in Need—must embody Christ's love as an expression of the Church's mission to serve the poor and witness to unity among Christians. While core criteria for such leaders emphasize deep faith, moral integrity, professional competence, and a heart formed by encounter with Christ, ecumenical experience emerges as a significant, though not strictly mandatory, asset. It strengthens the effectiveness of charitable work by fostering collaboration across Christian denominations, countering division, and amplifying the Gospel's call to universal love. Drawing from papal encyclicals, conciliar documents, and guidelines on ministry, this assessment evaluates ecumenical experience as a criterion that aligns with the Church's ecumenical commitment, enhances practical service, and promotes the "dialogue of charity" as a path to deeper unity.
Catholic doctrine prioritizes leaders whose actions are rooted in faith working through love, ensuring that charitable service remains an authentic expression of ecclesial communion rather than mere humanitarianism. As outlined in Deus Caritas Est, those responsible for the Church's charitable activity must be "moved by Christ's love," with hearts conquered by divine charity that awakens love for neighbor. This criterion, inspired by St. Paul's words—"the love of Christ urges us on" (2 Cor 5:14)—demands personnel who live no longer for themselves but for Christ and others, witnessing to God's love without ideological agendas. Similarly, Intima Ecclesiae Natura mandates selecting personnel who "share, or at least respect, the Catholic identity" of charitable works, combining professional competence with exemplary Christian life and ongoing theological-pastoral formation.
Reflections on Deus Caritas Est reinforce this by stressing that charity administrators must be animated by agape—a self-giving love nourished by Christ—rather than a generic desire to "do good." Such formation awakens the capacity to respond to human needs with a "formation of the heart" that sees where love is required and acts accordingly, independent of proselytism or partisan ideologies. For lay leaders, documents like Princeps Pastorum highlight the need for "solid Christian formation, both intellectual and moral," to equip them for executive roles in apostolic works like Catholic Action. The bishop, as primary overseer, ensures these qualities through coordination and support for initiatives that express practical charity as part of the Church's mission.
These foundational requirements focus on personal holiness and ecclesial fidelity, but they implicitly open the door to ecumenical dimensions, as charity is not isolated but communal, extending the Church's outreach to all in need.
The Church views charitable service as a privileged arena for ecumenism, where cooperation among Christians manifests the unity Christ desires and bears witness to Him as Servant. Vatican II's Unitatis Redintegratio (cited extensively in related documents) teaches that joint efforts in relieving afflictions like poverty and injustice "set in clearer relief the features of Christ the Servant." Pope John Paul II echoed this in addresses to Caritas assemblies, describing charitable action as a "terrain of dialogue œcuménique" that unites Catholics with other Christians against poverty, fostering integral human development without discrimination. In regions of conflict or need, such as Eastern Churches or Sudan, collaboration in aid programs builds mutual trust and relativizes divisions, serving the encounter of Churches as a "vehicle privilégié pour l’unité."
Deus Caritas Est explicitly affirms the Catholic Church's readiness to cooperate with other Churches' agencies, sharing a "fundamental motivation" for true humanism rooted in God's image in every person. This extends to interreligious efforts where appropriate, but ecumenical partnership is highlighted as essential for effectiveness—pooling resources for refugees, health care, or disaster relief advances solidarity and counters the "anti-culture of death." Pope Benedict XVI praised the "irreversibility of the ecumenical option" in contexts like Oriental Churches, where charity must grow alongside formation to support ecclesial life amid migration and instability. Recent Dicastery documents frame this as a "dialogue of charity," not mere preparation for doctrinal talks but "theology in action" that opens new horizons for unity through shared witness.
In practice, this means charity leaders who lack ecumenical experience may still fulfill core duties if guided by faith, but those with it can elevate service from isolated efforts to a unified Christian response, amplifying impact and evangelization.
For lay ecclesial ministers, including charity leaders, formation must include ecumenical sensitivity to equip them for the Church's commitment to unity. The USCCB's Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord specifies that lay ministers under the bishop's leadership should be "well acquainted with the Catholic principles on ecumenism" from Unitatis Redintegratio, the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, and Ut Unum Sint. Key elements include hermeneutics (distinguishing faith's deposit from formulations), the hierarchy of truths (weighing doctrines' relations to core mysteries), and fruits of dialogues (common ground and progress). This formation distinguishes ecumenism (aiming at full communion) from interreligious dialogue (mutual respect and peace), preparing leaders to collaborate without compromising Catholic identity.
The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism urges diocesan structures—like ecumenical commissions or officers—to include lay experts who animate initiatives, maintain contacts, and integrate ecumenism into organizations' statutes and activities. Pope John Paul II stressed priestly formation in ecumenism to inform the faithful about dialogues, ensuring no opposition between internal renewal and external unity-seeking. For charity-specific roles, addresses to ROACO and Caritas emphasize that leaders' formation should communicate the "dynamisme évangélique de la charité," including ecumenical openness to unite efforts in justice and peace.
Ecumenical experience—gained through joint projects, dialogues, or commissions—thus verifies a leader's ability to navigate these realities. It is not listed as a universal prerequisite like faith or competence, but documents like The Bishop and Christian Unity present it as fostering a "people disposed to dialogue" through love of truth, charity, and humility, essential for removing obstacles in service. In Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity, such experience enables "ample prospects" for ecumenical action in aid, leading to deeper human unity. Where sources touch on leadership selection (e.g., for catechists or ministers), prior experience in related apostolates is valued alongside maturity and enthusiasm.
Ecumenical experience stands as a highly recommended criterion for Catholic charity leadership, particularly in global or collaborative contexts, because it directly supports the Church's dual mandate of service and unity. Its strengths lie in promoting "practical ecumenism"—coordinated action against modern ills like migration, inequality, and conflict—which John Paul II called a "dynamic road to unity." Leaders with this background can facilitate exchanges of gifts, as in The Bishop of Rome, where ecumenical relations deepen understanding of Church structures like primacy and synodality. In charity, it ensures transparent, non-proselytizing aid that witnesses to undivided Christian love (cf. Jn 13:35; 1 Cor 13). For instance, in Sudan's aid coordination or Eastern Churches' support, experienced leaders build trust across denominations, enhancing equity and effectiveness.
However, it is not an absolute requirement; core sources prioritize Christ-centered love and Catholic fidelity over ecumenical credentials. Overemphasis could risk diluting identity if not paired with solid formation, as warned in Deus Caritas Est against ideological influences. In smaller, local charities, it may be less critical than immediate competence in addressing needs like family support or health care. Nuances arise in diverse contexts: more recent documents (post-Vatican II) give precedence to ecumenism as irreversible, but earlier ones like Princeps Pastorum focus on general apostolic zeal. Where sources disagree on emphasis—e.g., universal vs. contextual—pastoral prudence under the bishop guides application.
If sources fall short (none explicitly mandate ecumenical experience for all charity roles), they remain relevant by consistently linking charity to unity-building, suggesting it as a prudential criterion for selection.
In conclusion, ecumenical experience enriches Catholic charity leadership by embodying the Church's vision of love as a bridge to unity, making service more impactful and evangelically authentic. While not the sole or primary qualifier, it aligns profoundly with teachings from Deus Caritas Est to contemporary Dicastery reflections, urging formation programs to cultivate it for leaders who can truly urge others onward in Christ's compelling love.