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Pope Francis Encourages Attendees at Impact Investment Conference June 20th, 2014
The Holy Father met with participants of a Vatican-sponsored conference on impact investing – investments designed to serve the common good. The Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace organized a two-day sharing of strategies around impact investing – what is it, how it can help the poor and how to develop it further. Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI spoke at the conference on Tuesday.
The Pope said: “It is important that ethics once again play its due part in the world of finance and that markets serve the interests of peoples and the common good of humanity. It is increasingly intolerable that financial markets are shaping the destiny of peoples rather than serving their needs, or that the few derive immense wealth from financial speculation while the many are deeply burdened by the consequences.” His remarks reportedly offered a good summary of the issues, opportunities and challenges involved in impact investing.
Read Pope Francis’ address to conference participants here…
Big banks must clean up their mess June 17th, 2014
“Hannah Senft, Candy Savannah and Ron Taylor have been neighbors for more than 20 years in Georgetown South, a community of 800 town homes in Manassas, Virginia. It’s a diverse, working-class suburban neighborhood about 30 miles from the White House.”
“And it’s being decimated.”
Thus begins a powerful Op Ed calling for requiring banks to rebuild communities they destroyed through predatory loans and resulting foreclosures published today in the The Hill, a daily newspaper/On-Line news site read extensively by Congress, their staff, and other Federal officials. The Oblate JPIC Office has been working with VOICE to try to get JP Morgan to agree to participate in the rebuilding of the devastated Northern Virginia communities.
The Op Ed details the suffering still experienced by communities hit by numerous foreclosures, but says: “… there is a sliver of hope: In November 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) secured a $13 billion settlement from J.P. Morgan Chase over its issuance of toxic mortgage-backed securities, including $4 billion for consumer relief. VOICE worked with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), federal officials and other allies to include an option in the settlement for the bank to fulfill this obligation through grants to capitalize community equity restoration funds.”
Click here to read more »
Investor Coalition Successfully Urges Natural Gas Companies to Address Fracking Impacts June 17th, 2014
Under pressure from a coalition of investors for the fifth year in a row, major oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil, EQT, and Occidental Petroleum agreed to report on steps being taken to mitigate the adverse environmental and community impacts of their hydraulic fracturing operations.
The coalition of investors, which includes faith-based and socially responsible investors, as well as major public pension funds, filed shareholder proposals at Chevron, ExxonMobil, EQT, EOG, Pioneer Natural Resources, and Occidental Petroleum earlier this year, raising concerns about the risks associated with the impacts of company hydraulic fracturing operations. In response to corporate commitments, shareholders withdrew the proposals at ExxonMobil, EQT, Occidental Petroleum, and Pioneer Natural. Nearly a third of shareholders voted in favor of the proposals presented at EOG and Chevron’s annual meetings of shareholders.
The Missionary Oblates co-filed on the fracking proposal with Chevron, and has engaged a number of oil and gas companies on emissions reductions
Click here to read more »
“Investing for the Poor: How Impact Investing Can Serve the Common Good in the Light of Evangelii Gaudium” June 16th, 2014
The Vatican is convening a two-day conference on of impact investing – investments that directly benefit the poor. Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI is one of the conference speakers.
Read the Impact Investment Conference Program
See who is speaking at the conference…
From Stewardship to Power: Religious Organizations & Their Investment Potentials June 11th, 2014
A new report from 3iG (International Interfaith Investment Group) makes the case that if negative screening is all that faith-based investment portfolios do, they are missing a major opportunity. Read the full report on ISSU.
