CARITAS Zambia is a Catholic Organization that is an integral structure of the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC). The Episcopal Conference (or Bishops Conference) is a permanent grouping of Bishops of a given nation or territory that jointly exercises certain pastoral functions on behalf of the Christian faithful of their territory. This they do to promote the greater good which the Church offers humankind,
especially through forms and programmes of the apostolate which are fittingly adapted to the circumstances of the time and place.
In order to effectively carry out its mandate of evangelisation, ZEC has established operational structures among which are Episcopal Commissions, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and the Catholic Commission for Development (CCD). The Bishops’ Conference is served by a National Secretariat (the Catholic Secretariat) which anchors the work of various Commissions under the Conference.
For a long time, the Commission for Justice and Peace and Commission for Development were anchored and animated from the Catholic Secretariat departments of Justice and Peace and Development respectively. In 1999/2000, ZEC undertook a process to review and restructure the Catholic Secretariat. Among the outcomes of this process was the decision to merge the two departments of Justice and Peace and Development into a semi autonomous Church Social Centre called the Catholic Centre for Justice, Development and Peace (CCJDP. In 2007, CCJDP was renamed Caritas Zambia but continued to be at the service of the Episcopal Conference and the Commissions of Justice and Peace and Development. The legal status of Caritas Zambia is thus held within the legal status of the Zambia Episcopal Conference.
