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Advancing the Legacy of Pope Leo XIII: A Call to Action for Catholic Investors August 5th, 2025
By: Christopher Cox, Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued Rerum Novarum, the landmark encyclical that laid the cornerstone of modern Catholic Social Teaching. More than a century later, its principles—fair wages, safe conditions, and the right to organize—remain vital. Today, Catholic investors face a renewed moral imperative to uphold these values in a rapidly changing economy.
A New Pope Leo for a New Industrial Revolution
When Pope Leo XIV chose his papal name at his election in May, he signaled a renewed commitment to defend human dignity in the face of new threats and opportunities. In his address to the College of Cardinals, he said:
“Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.”
READ FULL ARTICLE: https://bit.ly/45jR7I7
Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI Join Other Panelists to Discuss Meeting the Challenges of Mensuram Bonam October 9th, 2024
The keynote speaker was Sr. Teresa Maya, CCVI, Senior Director for Theology and Sponsorship in at the Catholic Health Association.
The 2024 program included workshops covering topics related to finance, canon and civil law, and planning for institutes in transition.
Background: In 2022, Mensuram Bonam, a set of faith-consistent guidelines for Catholic investors, was published to provide a foundation for applying faith-consistent criteria to financial stewardship. The document aims to serve as a resource for entities to integrate Catholic Social Teaching into their investment policies.
“Aligning Faith and Finance: A Missionary Priority” December 2nd, 2022
Vatican Tells Catholics How to Make ‘Faith-Consistent’ Investments
New guidelines discourage investment in mining, contraceptives and violent videogames
By Fr. Séamus P. Finn, OMI, Director, OMIUSA JPIC, OIP
Shareholder democracy is essentially about every shareholder taking responsibility for their stock ownership positions and acting on them. In Catholic Social Teaching ownership is anchored on the cornerstones of rights and responsibilities. The Vatican Guidelines referenced in this WSJ article took 6 years to produce and will be a very helpful to both institutional and individual shareholders who want to make this a part of their missionary vocation. It was a special opportunity for me to be able to share our OMI decades of experience in faith aligned investing with the members of the committee that produced these guidelines.
For a link to the Wall Street Journal article visit Omiusa.org
Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI Weighs in on Climate Crisis & Wall Street March 19th, 2021
Reading the writing on the wall’: why Wall Street is acting on the climate crisis
“They are getting pushed by the customer, by the science, by the general public.” — Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI
Wildfires burned nearly 10.4m acres across the US last year. The most costly thunderstorm in US history caused $7.5bn in damage across Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. As the climate crisis swept the globe on a biblical scale it left in its wake a record number of billion-dollar disasters.
And yet out of these ashes has emerged an unlikely savior: Wall Street. After decades of backing polluters and opposing legislation to rein them in, finance says it’s going green.
Responding to Signs of Our Times in the Spirit of St. Eugene De Mazenod February 27th, 2017
Prompted by recent alarming executive actions by the new administration, the U.S. Provincial Fr. Bill Antone, OMI, on February 7 penned a letter to the Province inviting Oblates and Associates to reflect on the challenges of our nation today. The letter begins: “There are many contrasting voices in our nation these days.” It continues, “How can we be engaged?… These times call us to reflect deeply on how our Catholic faith and principles can shed light upon a myriad of questions we face concerning immigrants, ecology, economy, trade, human rights, race, patriotism, church unity, world order, checks and balances, war and peace.”
Early in his message Fr. Bill called on the JPIC office to “assist us, as appropriate, with some resources, reflections and suggestions for action.” Under our Oblate JPIC initiative of Human Dignity we work on issues that promote respect for God’s creation, recognizing that the dignity of the human person is rooted in his or her creation in the image and likeness of God. In this resource we hope to provide you with reflections and actions to encourage your solidarity with a few of these communities: migrants/refugees, trafficking victims and those whose lives are threatened.
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Read Fr. Bill’s full letter here. Solidarity with Refugees and Immigrants Today, more refugees are fleeing wars and persecutions than ever on record. According to UN data, 2015 saw the highest levels of displaced people in history, with 51% of this number being children. Click here for reflections and suggested actions on behalf of refugees and immigrants. Ending Human Trafficking Modern slavery, also known as human trafficking is ‘the illegal trade in people for exploitation or commercial gain.’ It is the second largest criminal activity today, second only to the illegal drug trade, and it is growing. Human Trafficking generates more revenue than Google, Starbucks, Nike and the NFL combined (International Labor Organization (ILO). Click here for reflections and suggested actions on behalf of human trafficking victims. Respect Life Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, the Missionary Oblates JPIC Consistent Life initiative advocates for the dignity of all human life. We believe that life is sacred and should be protected in all stages. As a society, we lack a fundamental respect for human life. Click here for reflections and suggested actions on behalf of people whose lives are threatened.
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