This month, David Byrne, CSAN’s new Communication and Programmes Officer, had a chat with Mark Choonara who was recently appointed Director of Caritas Southwark. Mark is a long-term friend of CSAN and the wider Caritas network, having served as the CEO of Daughters of Charity Services for almost 10 years prior to his newest venture. In their conversation, Mark and David discussed Mark’s distinguished career in the charities sector and explored some of his hopes and plans for the future with Caritas Southwark.
DB: You’ve spent a lot of your career working at the intersection of homelessness, community engagement, and faith-based action. What drew you to this role as Director of Caritas Southwark at this point in your journey?
MC: “The past decade of working for the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul has been a hugely formative experience. Through seeing the impact of our Vincentian Charism, which is so closely aligned to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and similarly grounded in the teaching of Matthew 25:40, I’ve begun to more fully understand what the Gospel in action can really mean, particularly to some of the more vulnerable and marginalised members of our society.
Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly involved with Caritas, first as a participant in CSAN’s Aspiring Leaders programme, then returning twice as a facilitator for subsequent programmes. Over the past year or so, I’ve also been a participant in
Caritas Europa’s Executive Leadership programme, which has given an insight into the incredible work taking place in both Diocesan and national Caritas agencies across Europe and has provided a real sense of both inspiration and solidarity. When the opportunity came up to join the Caritas movement, particularly in an Archdiocese with the reach and potential of Southwark, it felt like the right time to make the move.”
DB: Much of your recent work has been shaped by the Vincentian tradition through the Daughters of Charity. How do you understand the distinctive contribution that Catholic social action brings to responding to poverty and exclusion today?
MC: “It feels as though there is the potential for Catholic Social Teaching to have something of a moment just now. Rerum Novarum was published at a time of enormous social upheaval and provided a radical response to the challenges of the time. We’re facing a whole different set of social change and challenges now, but the core principles remain as relevant, and desperately needed, as ever.
So many of the challenges we’re facing are linked to disconnection and discontent, and Catholic Social Teaching provides the basis for such a comprehensive, love-filled response to this. I have a real confidence that a redoubling of our collective commitment to CST can provide the foundations of a shift in how we can organise some aspects of our society.”
DB: You’re building on the foundations laid by John Coleby as Caritas Southwark has taken shape over recent years. What feels most important to you to carry forward, and where do you sense new opportunities emerging?
MC: “John has laid some wonderful foundations in place in Southwark, for which I’m incredibly grateful. Many people will remember the impact John had in leading Caritas Westminster, and he brought that same dedication and energy to the creation of Caritas Southwark for its first couple of years. He’s built some very positive relationships, and delivered more than most people could have in that time. He’s also had the great support of Michael Heaney within the team, whom I’m delighted to now be working with.
At present, I’m taking a little time to learn about the progress we’ve made to date, and to look to build on this. Whilst I have a number of issues on which I’d like to see us make progress, above all I’m keen for it to be led by the needs of the communities we seek to serve, and the desire and commitment of our parishioners to meet these needs.”
DB: Southwark is a large and diverse Archdiocese, with a wide range of parishes, charities, and community initiatives. In these early months, what are you most keen to listen for as you get to know the people and projects involved?
MC: “It’s a huge Archdiocese, spanning the whole of South London and Kent, which brings with it a highly diverse range of needs, opportunities, and communities to serve. I’m still very much at the listening and learning stage of settling in.
Part of the work we’re undertaking is to foster closer collaboration to the work of three commissions: Caritas Southwark; Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation; and the Commission for the Promotion of Racial and Cultural Inclusion, so I’m working closely with all those who’ve been involved in the work of these commissions so far to look at our next steps. I’m also keen to spend as much time as possible in the parishes; you can’t fully understand a challenge at an abstract level alone, so listening to people’s experiences is key for me at this stage.”
DB: Your background spans frontline delivery, programme development, and strategic leadership. How do you hold together the need for clear strategy with staying close to the lived experience of people facing poverty or exclusion?
MC: “It’s a great question, and something that Pope Francis wrote so beautifully about, how the role of encounter is so central to our faith in action. I’m a big believer in the need for ambitious and transparent strategies, effectively communicated, in order to drive the change and deliver the impact that is needed, but you can’t become disconnected from the people you’re there to serve, otherwise what’s the point? Writing to the Daughters of Charity, St Vincent de Paul said: “A Sister will go ten times a day to visit the sick, and ten times a day she’ll find God there.” It seems fair to say he was onto something there.”
DB: At CSAN, our Senior Migration Officer, Fiona Ranford, has been working on two exciting new Innovation Projects with the network. One of these is focused on developing strategies for empowering the voice and impact of lived experience. What do you think we need to be mindful of as we take this work forward?
MC: “That’s a fantastic question. I think it’s such an easy thing to do badly, without any ill intent. There are certain trailblazers out there, who are designing structures appropriately to make sure that all voices are heard and heard well.
But more than just listening well, and responding properly, it is vital that the voices of lived experience are valued as peers and collaborators. Those who are on the receiving end of services should not merely benefit from them but be empowered to shape those services and their development. Ideally, their input should contribute not merely to the operation and delivery of key services, but also the strategy and vision which guide organisational policy and its implementation.
Bringing such a vision to life requires some creative rethinking of the way that we as charitable organisations operate. For example, appointing service users to the board of trustees or board of advisors ensures that their lived experience is being represented at the highest levels of power, and can be valued as a unique form of expertise which will undoubtedly improve the quality of service provision.
DB: Finally, Mark, what’s your favourite principle of CST and why?
MC: “It’s so hard to choose one, because they complement each other so well. But I don’t think you can talk about CST without solidarity. For me, it’s the fundamental Gospel value, rooted in love of neighbour.”
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