As the Church pursues a path of renewal, several key Curial offices are taking steps in the same direction. GHR is supporting these efforts in various ways, building capacity to effectively execute Pope Francis’s vision. The Foundation’s work is largely focused on supporting the Vatican in retooling and building quality relationships with local Church and secular organizations. In practice, this looks like research and analysis to understand the needs and potential solutions for professionalizing staff, managing resources, listening and responding to local needs, and working collaboratively across dicasteries.
On this trip, the GHR team met with several Vatican leaders , each holding a vision of what success looks like in terms of Curial reform. They offered insights into their day-to-day work, sharing examples of the challenges and opportunities they have encountered in advancing internal change and external service. In addition to building shared understanding, the discussions were also a chance for GHR’s Board and Staff to offer encouragement and convey the foundation’s ongoing commitment and support.
Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, shared, “Flexibility is the most important characteristic of our work with GHR. You give us space to make mistakes, the ability to learn, to train, to change. Often with donors you have to show the good and not the weaknesses. What’s best with GHR is that we can share weakness and get help.”
GHR works closely with the Catholic Church and our partners answering an urgent call to action from Pope Francis, to transform global development from a system of extraction to one of inclusion—paving the way for the most vulnerable to survive, thrive and drive systems change. Learn more about our work supporting the global Church here.