A Conversation with Sean Callahan President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services

A Conversation with Sean Callahan

President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services

Sean Callahan is president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. As a 34-year agency veteran, Callahan has held a wide variety of leadership roles overseas and at agency headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to overseeing the worldwide operations of CRS, Callahan is the first vice president of Caritas Internationalis, the confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories. He sat down with a staff member of the C21 Center to discuss his vocation to international relief work and the role of faith in CRS’s global engagement.

WWhat role did your faith and upbringing in

the Church play in your deciding to go into international affairs and work for CRS?

For me, faith was really about giving back. I was an altar boy with my two brothers, so our local church always knew it could get Sunday morning altar servers just by calling the Callahans. My Boston College alumni parents had instilled the Ignatian values from BC in us. And my aunt and uncle both were Maryknoll missionaries. Unfortunately, they have both passed away. They would come back to the States and show slideshows at our house until late at night. We’d be learning about Guatemala, the Philippines, and other countries. After I did my graduate work, the first thing I thought of was, what can I do to give back? I was finishing school, and there was a gentleman in the lobby at the Fletcher School. As I walked by him, he looked up at me and said, “Is it time for you to give something back?” And I thought, this is strange, because I’ve always had that inside me. I said, “Where are you from?” And he said, “Catholic Relief Services, and I’m interviewing people for a one-year internship. How would you like to go overseas?” We talked for a little while and I wound up interviewing with him the next day. Then I went through the hiring process, and my mother has now finally stopped asking me when I’m going to get a real job!

I’ve always understood that there is a difference with CRS—it believes strongly in working with local populations and not simply going in and dictating what needs to be done for them.

Yes, exactly. That’s what we try to do: listen to the local people, find out what they need, and then move forward. You know, our feeling is that the protagonists in development work aren’t those of us who are coming in, it’s those who are already there.

Our role is to highlight the importance of those local people on the ground and recognize the work they’re doing. Their development is in their own hands.

So when you’re in these dire situations, is there a place for your faith? Can you draw on that faith or are these circumstances so fast-moving and stressful that you have no time to step back and consider the big picture?

I really think that faith is an essential component of it. The tagline of CRS is “faith, action, and results,” and faith comes first. But I do think that in the rush to get things done we can get ahead of ourselves. I was once in South Sudan and we were crossing the Nile River. We went through a bunch of different villages and went to schools and water projects, and we were trying to be respectful of each of the communities and hearing how they were going. But we got to our last group and we were two hours late. We told them that we weren’t going to be able to have the same meeting that we had hoped for. We said, “Could you just tell us how the microfinance has been, because we have to get a boat and get across the river before sundown; otherwise we’ll be stuck.” Then a woman stood up in the middle of the group and said, “Sir, this is no way to start a meeting. We have to invoke the power of God to bless our words and to bless our work.” I thought, wow, she really understands who has brought us together here. Let’s take that time to thank Him, no matter what. So I said, “Would you open with a prayer?” And we did. And I must say, we were in a rush, we were concerned about security, but we realized that it’s not all in our own hands, that it really is in God’s hands. He put her there to let us know that we can learn from the people that we’re serving as well.

Sean Callahan visits with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where CRS supports Church efforts to provide comprehensive humanitarian relief.

: Ismail Ferdous

credit photo for Catholic Relief Services

What do you say to people who would rather prioritize domestic programs over foreign aid and work like CRS is doing?

It’s perfectly understandable that some people have that reaction. But I think if anything has taught us a lesson during this COVID pandemic, before that the Ebola crisis, and of course the ongoing concerns about climate change, it’s that we’re a very small world and that what happens in one part of the world affects all of us. At home and abroad, when we look at these things, we see that they impact the poorest among us the most. And so I think we should look at our neighbors here in the U.S., but also our neighbors overseas and see that those lives are just as valuable as our lives.

I hope that we all can support the work that goes on in the United States, through Catholic Charities and other organizations. But I think as a Church, we’re bigger than just looking in our own backyard. We really need to look at the world community and how we fit into that. We need to respect the human dignity of all our sisters and brothers.

It strikes me that there’s a close connection between this philosophy and issues of racial justice. Those challenges aren’t limited to inside the borders of the United States, are they?

There’s no question. It’s all about respecting the human dignity of every human being. Through that respect, we want to help everyone to thrive and to contribute. Of course, there are racial issues that we see in the United States that we must address. In other countries, it could be a tribal issue. It could be a religious issue. It could be a language issue. And so we, as an organization, are trying to respect the differences we see among our colleagues, our partners, and all of the participants in our programs. Related to that, more and more of our leadership is diverse in the countries in which we serve. Of our 8,000 employees, probably 7,500 are from the countries in which we serve.

We have all been watching the humanitarian situation in Ukraine with great concern. What are your priorities there at this time [April 2022]?

CRS has benefited from working with Caritas Ukraine for the past eight years. We are working together to support emergency efforts inside Ukraine by providing access to food, water, shelter, security, and psychosocial care. It is a chaotic and devastating situation, but our Ukrainian colleagues are courageous and their strong faith and our solidarity are helping them through this crisis. We are not only looking at the immediate response but we are looking to the longer term for stabilization of the population and then we are hoping to participate in the reconstruction/rehabilitation of those most affected. We are also working closely with our European partners in Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, and others to assist mainly women, children, and elderly who have been forced to migrate. Our teams on the ground welcome these victims of the violence, and we are working to ensure their safety and security until they can return to their homes.

And all these efforts require resources. I know that our readers are aware of the financial needs of CRS. What else would you tell people they could do to help CRS’s mission?

Obviously the financial contributions are indispensable, but equally as important are two other areas. First are the thoughts and prayers and demonstrating solidarity to people around the world. I would say the other area is for people to become educated citizens and influence their local and national governments. For example, with COVID—the U.S. has been very generous with vaccines, but there are still countries where the vaccination rate is below 10%. And so, to become educated and advocate for what you feel is right, and to help us all promote that human dignity, that’s so important.

Telling one’s elected officials can make a difference?

Yes, I don’t think people realize how important that is. When you advocate like this, you’re not really saying you should give more money to CRS. You’re saying this child should have an education. This mother should have food for her children. And that’s a bipartisan issue. I think CRS is a special place where our goal is one to be bold in our aspirations, humble in the way we do things, and a force that unites people.

In all of this, are there things that give you hope?

There certainly are. The inspiration, the courage, and the dedication of the people we work with. We really see the Gospel message in action around the world. And it’s not only being done by Catholics, but it’s being done by Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and others. And I don’t mean that they’re spreading religion, but they see these needs and they reach out. So, I get inspired by my colleagues. I get inspired by our local partners and the people we work with. They often have very meager resources, but they are so generous in reaching out to people that it’s truly an inspiration that I think many of us can follow. ■