Delegates at the Caritas Internationalis meeting in Rome last week were praised for working with Vatican reforms and accepting Francis’ exhortation that their worldwide network of aid charities should be more than ‘compassionate NGOs’ Pulling up an umbrella pine-lined drive to a Renaissance-inspired palazzo set in its own park, it was easy to forget the destination was a conference called to address poverty. The decision to base the twentieth Caritas Internationalis General Assembly at the sleek, newly refurbished Church Palace hotel was a slightly ham-fisted one that jarred with the worldwide aid agency’s agenda of combating inequality. The organisers had seemingly tried to play down this unfortunate juxtaposition by using the building’s former name, Domus