Embracing global solidarity

For more than 60 years, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has provided emergency relief overseas. But the guiding principles underlying the organization's work have evolved over time-particularly over the last decade-as staff members have adopted a new view of their role in supporting people in need worldwide. In CRS' early years, its focus was on corporal works of mercy: providing food, drink, clothing, and other material goods. Although the organization's breadth of services and geographic presence expanded throughout the latter part of the 20th century, it wasn't until the mid-1990s that the agency questioned its foundational principles and made an organization-wide move toward change. The impetus for change was the 1994 Rwandan genocide crisis. CRS staff members were deeply affected: not only were their aid programs destroyed; they also lost friends, colleagues, and family members. CRS staff realized that unless they addressed the justice issues underlying their beneficiaries' concerns, their aid would have minimal impact. Changing the way the organization approaches relief has been an extensive process. Staff members developed a strategic plan, held retreats and workshops to define the concept of justice, educated colleagues worldwide on the new approach, facilitated "Justice Reflections" to explore the basics of Catholic social teaching, and developed guiding principles and a vision. Despite challenges, CRS is successfully transforming itself into an agency that not only provides physical relief but also strives to help build a culture of justice, peace, and reconciliation.