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By: Christopher Cox, Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment

Inspired by Leo XIII’s foundational encyclical Rerum Novarum, our latest post challenges Catholic investors to translate Catholic Social Teaching into transformative shareholder engagement. Learn how faith-rooted stewardship can drive sustainable, ethical investment strategies and honor the dignity of workers everywhere.
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.”
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.
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