A new index tied to Catholic values as expressed in the US bishops’ 2003 document ‘Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines’ has been adopted by S&P Dow Jones indices.
The index will help Catholic investors avoid investing in firms such as those marketing pornography, weapons sales, embryonic stem cell research and child labour.
The US bishops’ guidelines urge Church organisations to invest in firms that embody the Church’s moral and social teachings, highlighting the need to “do no harm” and “promote the common good”.
The guidelines also call for investments that promote community development, especially in poorer communities and nations.
Pope’s ecumenism ‘sets him apart’
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told German internet portal katholisch.de that Pope Francis’s approach to ecumenism sets him apart from his predecessors, including Benedict XVI.
According to Koch, while previous popes stressed dialogue on theological matters, Pope Francis puts more emphasis on praying together, joint activities and encounters. He said theological dialogue alone will not get us any further.
The Pope wanted an evangelising Church that takes the gospel message out to the world, and he “wants us [Christians] to do everything together that we can do together,” Koch said.
He added that Pope Francis gives the highest priority to ecumenism. The Pope “continually underlines that we cannot wait until we are one [Church]. We must work together now; we must walk along the same path, bear the same witness and pray together. Sisterliness and friendship between different Christian churches and communities as well as bearing witness are very high priorities for Pope Francis.”
End Gaza’s blockade
Thirty-five international aid agencies, including the Catholic charities Pax Christi and Trócaire, are organising an online petition demanding an immediate end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Close to half a million people have already signed the petition.
Cafod, the Catholic aid arm of the Bishops’ Conference in England and Wales, was not a signatory, but it called for an urgent review of the mechanism that allows building material into Gaza. At the current rate it will take 30 years to rebuild.
Pope to visit three African capitals
In November, Pope Francis will visit the capitals of Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic.
Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, apostolic nuncio in Kenya, told Vatican Radio that the papal tour will begin in Nairobi. The Pope will travel next to Kampala, Uganda; his trip will conclude in Bangui, in the Central African Republic. The programme has not been finalised.
Support Christians in the Middle East
The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil, Iraq, called for the killing of Syrian and Iraqi Christians to be declared as a genocide.
“This is very important for us,” said Archbishop Bashar Warda. “You cannot accept this in the 21st century while everyone is watching. I would like Americans to take responsibility. Do not wait 20 years and look back at what happened and say, ‘I’m sorry we did not do something decisive’,” he added.
Islamic State “is evil,” he said. “The way they slaughter, rape and treat others is brutal.
“They have a theology of slaughtering people.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)