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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Pope at Odds with the Church's Bottom Line

There has been a great deal of talk recently from Juan Perón's Pope about the evil of "unfettered capitalism."  Where that exists, or has existed in at least a century, we'd like someone to tell us.  In any event, it appears the Pope is now at odds with the Church's own bottom line.  Reuters reports:

Reuters/Reuters - Pope Francis gestures as he talks during a special audience with members of "Eucharist Youth Movement" in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, in this August 7, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/Files

BOSTON (Reuters) - Pope Francis heartened environmentalists around the world in June when he urged immediate action to save the planet from the effects of climate change, declaring that the use of "highly polluting fossil fuels needs to be progressively replaced without delay." 

But some of the largest American Catholic organizations have millions of dollars invested in energy companies, from hydraulic fracturing firms to oil sands producers, according to their own disclosures, through many portfolios intended to fund church operations and pay clergy salaries.

This discrepancy between the church's leadership and its financial activities in the United States has prompted at least one significant review of investments. The Archdiocese of Chicago, America's third largest by Catholic population, told Reuters it will reexamine its more than $100 million worth of fossil fuel investments.

Read more at Reuters >>


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