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Spring/Summer Issue of JPIC Report now available! April 26th, 2012
The Spring/Summer Issue of our bi-annual print newsletter is now available on-line. (Download the PDF…)
This issue includes articles on Global HIV/AIDS funding, a new organic farm at Oblate headquarters in Washington, the human reality at the US/Mexican border, shareholder advocacy in the financial sector, human trafficking and environmental issues: from biodiversity loss and climate change to OMI JPIC work in solidarity with Bangladeshi colleagues and new solar panels on an Oblate church in California.
Walmart Investors Voice Deep Concerns over Bribery Allegations April 24th, 2012
Shareholders Identified Company’s “Aggressive and Competitive” Growth Strategies as Lacking Ethical Standards in a 1999 Letter to Management
Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) , a coalition of faith-based and responsible institutional investors that have been actively engaging Walmart on social environmental, and governance issues are dismayed by recent reports in the NY Times alleging systematic bribery and corruption beginning in 2005 to facilitate the rapid expansion of their retail operations in Mexico. The Missionary Oblates is an active member of ICCR and engaged in the dialog with Walmart.
Said Sr. Barbara Aires of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, New Jersey who has led the Walmart engagement for over 20 years, “We have a tremendous investment in this company in terms of our time, expertise and yes, capital, and find these allegations deeply disturbing on so many levels. Should these reports be confirmed, we deem this a significant breach of trust and loss of management credibility.”
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Oblates Participate in 10th Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance April 20th, 2012
Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI participated in the 10th Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance held in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 24-25, 2012. He was a panelist in the plenary session on Faith-Based Investment and Social Responsibility.
The Forum brochure offered this summary of the proceedings:
The Tenth Forum features three main parallel sessions, which reflect three major themes within the topic of economic development. These include the Islamic financial sector’s contribution to global economic development, Islamic finance and the development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and faith-based investment and social responsibility. Apart from these three main sessions, there are also parallel sessions on Islamic finance and the Arab Spring movements, global perspectives on Islamic finance, Islamic finance and alternative economic thinking, and current academic research on product development in the Islamic finance industry. With over 50 speakers and 30 nationalities represented, the forum attracts the leading practitioners from academia and the industry to critically discuss the issues highlighted above with a view to proposing sustainable developmental plans for the Islamic finance industry in general. There is no doubt that this rapidly developing field of the global financial system requires a close scrutiny to maximally harness it for the development of the global economy.Learn more about the Islamic Finance Project…
Goldman Sachs Heeds Faith-based Investors April 16th, 2012
Sister Nora Nash with Fr. Seamus Finn before a meeting with Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s most powerful financial firms, has been forced to pay attention to faith-based shareholder advocacy.
The Rev. Seamus Finn, OMI, Director of the OMI JPIC Office was quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal article: “It’s been a difficult transition for …[Goldman to figure] out how to be a public company.” The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate owns 286,000 shares of Goldman, and agreed after discussions with the firm’s investor-relations chief Dane Holmes to withdraw its proposal focused on Goldman’s practices with clients and tax secrecy. Fr. Seamus explained, “They finally recognized that we’re not going away and they have to at least engage us.”
Father Finn has met in the past with John F.W. Rogers, Goldman’s board secretary, with Mr. Blankfein and Goldman’s president, Gary D. Cohn.
Faith and Values-Inspired Investments April 16th, 2012
Both the Jewish and Christian communities from their earliest documents display a debate about the foundational questions of ownership, agency, interest and usury. The Holy Quran also offers some unique teachings. Fr. Finn’s blog on Huffington Post reflects on discussions at the Tenth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, and looks at the relationship between faith-consistent (FCI) and socially responsible investing (SRI).
