Lord Khan of Burnley meets with Catholic charity leaders

Source: CSAN

Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) was pleased to host Lord Khan of Burnley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at their recent Jubilee leadership residential in London

Lord Khan expressed his concern for the full recovery of Pope Francis, and was privileged to be the first minister of the new Government to meet the Pope following the General Election in July 2024. In his visit to the Holy See, he also met Alistair Dutton, the British-born Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis.

Lord Khan was clear that the role of faith and belief communities is integral to the well-being of the nation, both in relieving and accompanying those in need of immediate help, as well as the contributions they make to community resilience and cohesion. In the period since his appointment last year, Lord Khan has been able to visit and meet with over 80 religious communities.

Having visited towns and cities in England affected by the riots last summer, he shared how he was encouraged by the power of cross-community action in bringing people together and healing divisions. He remains committed to partnership working with various groups to bring about the common good. Despite the many challenges facing the current Government, he believed engaging the grassroots would bring benefits to all of society. As a practising Muslim, Lord Khan was fasting during Ramadan, and he wished those present a fruitful Lent, emphasising the need for spiritual renewal in this Jubilee year.

Raymond Friel, CEO of Caritas Social Action Network, said, "we were delighted to welcome Lord Khan to our conference. We both agreed to commit to dialogue to further explore the ways in which we can work together for the common good, through building communities of welcome and support."

Caritas Social Action Network is an agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. We host 51 member charities in our network and represent the Catholic community's participation in the Church's social mission and the relief of suffering of those in our nations. Rooted in Christ and inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, we work to build a society of love, solidarity, and justice. CSAN are based in London, UK. Learn more at: www.csan.org.uk or follow @CSANonline on X.