Catholic institutions liquidate shares and bonds related to fossil energies

European bishops decide to liquidate shares or bonds related to fossil energies.

An initial group of Catholic investors, including European Episcopal chapters, has established a disinvestment in all funds, stocks or bonds that have to do with fossil fuels, from oil to coal.  

This is an important step that comes five years after the publication of the encyclical “Laudato Si”(a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Catholic Church), in which explicit mention is made of removing from its portfolio shares or bonds related to companies, or multinationals, linked to fossil fuels. The 'green' financial path urged by Pope Francis is on an increasingly clearer path, imposing economic reflection on Catholics.

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The main religious institutions have announced their disinvestment from fossil fuels.  In particular, Comece, the Commission of EU Episcopal Conferences, has communicated its commitment in this direction, taking into account that in several countries of the European Union, many dioceses have already converted and moved their savings elsewhere.

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Soon, 47 religious organizations will begin to adopt these guidelines, encouraging Catholics to avoid investing in companies that damage human or social ecology (for example, through abortion or the arms trade), or environmental ecology (for example, through the use of fossil fuels).

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At the same time, emphasis was placed on supporting industries that protect jobs and human health, such as the clean energy industry, as indicated in the Church's social teaching.  This month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the words of Pope Paul VI, who said that "everything is linked ... according to the Creator's desire for love," and warned against "leading to a real ecological catastrophe” . 

To date, a total of almost four hundred religious establishments have disinvested in fossil fuels.