Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI is among church leaders and financial experts meeting from November 11-12 at a London, England summit organized by the head of the Vatican Bank on making investments more ethical and more effective.
From October 1st through the 4th the 2024 RCRI Annual Conference was held in Orlando Florida with the theme, “People of God Walking Together on a Synodal Path.”
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.
Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI was among the speakers, presenting on the panel “Meeting the Challenge of Mensuram Bonam” (Meaning ‘a good measure,’ investing in line with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching)
The session was a Christian Brother Investment Service (CBIS) -hosted panel discussion focused on educating Catholic asset owners/managers on implementing the call to action of Mensuram Bonam. The panel covered the practical implementation of Mensuram Bonam, highlighting real-world applications, challenges faced, and lessons learned. Additionally, the discussion delved into high-level concepts surrounding Mensuram Bonam, exploring its potential impact on Catholic—and faith-consistent investing.
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.
Recently, I had the honor to represent SGI at the Mensuram Bonam (For Good Measure, Luke 6:38) Conference hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in Rome. The conference drew about 120 people from around the globe to reflect upon the document and the state of faith-consistent investing. Participants included clergy and religious and lay persons who serve within religious congregations, archdioceses and dioceses, asset advisors and managers, banks, foundations, and faith-based investor coalitions.
The conference gathered us a few days after the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality concluded, and so we dialogued, in the synod’s spirit, with deep listening to others alongside a commitment to co-responsibility. The conference aimed to to prompt collaborative learning and reflection on Catholic Social Thought, using Mensuram Bonam as a source and guide in faith-consistent investing. We shared lessons, ongoing questions, best-practices, and dreams. Practically, the conference identified certain future collaborations to advance the faith-consistent investing movement.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) members had a significant role in the conference. Fr. Séamus Finn O.M.I. was one of the organizers.
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
