When the time comes to make the decision to divest in projects that destroy the environment, one of the most frequent questions asked by the people responsible for the economic investments of religious entities is: what fundamental guidelines should guide my work? and what are the criteria to decide where we can invest?
To help these people make ethical decisions, the German Bishops’ Conference has published a guide based on the social doctrine of the Church.
Although it is a document addressed to the local Church, its references, foundations and criteria can be very useful to religious entities in other parts of the world. Catholic entities are diverse, some small and others large; some with more resources, others with scarce resources, but, in general, most of them deposit their economic resources in banks or investment funds.
“Many persons in responsible positions in both small and large church institutions are seeking ways to invest church assets in an ethical and sustainable way. They are responsible for financially facilitating the work of the Church, which has a long-term orientation in most cases. At the same time, they would like to take account of an ethical perspective when managing the assets. This guide aims to support the persons in financially-responsible positions in doing so. At the same time, it seeks to motivate a discussion on ethical aspects of financial investment and draw attention to the processes of weighing up which need to be repeatedly carried out.”
These goals set out by Cardinal Reinhard Mark, of the German Bishops’ Conference, encourage us to share this guiding document.
As indicated in the introduction of this guide: “Pope Francis put it succinctly in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (no. 58): “Money must serve, not rule!” This principle applies to all persons in financially-responsible positions in the parishes, (arch) bishoprics, charitable and church institutions, Orders, Catholic associations, church foundations, banks and aid agencies. They have been made aware of whether and how the Church’s financial investments serve man, not only when the returns are used for the purposes of church institutions, but also when earning the returns themselves. Ethically-sustainable investment offers many possibilities for these persons in financially-responsible positions. It is a form of professional asset management which includes ethical criteria”.
We hope that the interest in this topic will be strong, as a large share of the Church’s credibility depends on it. We hope that all this guide’s readers will gain much from reading it.
