SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

INVESTMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE

UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF

CATHOLIC BISHOPS

Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

were developed by the Committee on Budget and Finance of the United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops (USCCB). They were approved by the full body of the USCCB at its

November 2021 General Meeting and have been authorized for publication by the undersigned.

Rev Michael J. K. Fuller

General Secretary, USCCB

The USCCB does not endorse the services or products of any financial advisors and investment

firms.

Scripture excerpts used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, Revised Edition,

reserved.

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT GUIDELINES

FOR THE

UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

November 2021

INTRODUCTION

The Apostle Peter teaches: “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as

good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pt 4:10). To be good stewards of the economic gifts and

institutions we have, they must be directed and used in ways that do precisely as St. Peter says.

His successor, Pope Francis, has elaborated on this point, noting that, too often, economic

progress is defined only by increased production and profit. “Put simply, [then,] it is a matter of

redefining our notion of progress. A technological and economic development which does not

leave in its wake a better world and an integrally higher quality of life cannot be considered

progress.”

As “my predecessor Saint Paul VI reminded us,” quoting from Populorum

progressio, Pope Francis said, “authentic development cannot be restricted to economic growth

alone but must foster the growth of each person and of the whole person.”

With the purpose of carrying out these instructions, we have developed these guidelines

for socially responsible investment.

They build and expand upon earlier guidelines developed

and used by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB or Conference). In order

to function effectively and to carry out its mission, the Conference depends on a reasonable

return on its investments and is required to operate in a fiscally sound, responsible, and

accountable manner. The combination of religious mandate and fiscal responsibilities suggests

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, no. 194.

Pope Francis, Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Members of the Council for Inclusive

Capitalism, (Monday, 11 November 2019) quoting Pope Paul VI, Populorum progressio, no. 14,

http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2019/november/documents/papa-

francesco_20191111_consiglio-capitalismo-inclusivo.html.

Note: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) does not endorse the services or

products of any financial advisors and investment firms.

the need for clear policies to guide the Conference's investments and other activities related to

corporate responsibility. As in the past, we will apply these guidelines when exercising our role

as stewards of the resources entrusted to us by the People of God in order to further the mission

of the Church.

Many dioceses, eparchies, and religious communities have also been seeking to

apply these guidelines through their own policies on corporate responsibility. We hope that they

are helpful to others who wish to be both ethical and responsible to the common good in the

investments they make.

PART ONE: PRINCIPLES FOR USCCB INVESTING

I. SOCIAL DOCTRINE

Over thirty years ago, the Catholic Bishops in the United States wrote on how to proclaim

the Gospel “in the midst of a complex and powerful economy.”

Our predecessors noted that

“economic decisions have human consequences and moral content; they help or hurt people,

strengthen or weaken family life, advance or diminish the quality of justice in our land.”

proclaim the Gospel in such a complex economic world, they concluded, requires a prudent

strategy where decisions are made by following the moral teaching of the Church. In her teaching,

the Church offers crucial and valuable principles to apply to specific situations and questions.

These are not the only principles to be followed, but they offer a good beginning of how

to start. From a Catholic perspective, ethical and socially responsible investing, as the strategy has

come to be known, requires us to evaluate specific investments in terms of how those companies

or entities protect life, promote human dignity, act justly, enhance the common good, and provide

care for the environment. These are broad categories, but they are also necessary human values.

As Pope Francis reminds us, “All true values, human values, are non-negotiable. … Jesus gave us

a set of key words with which he summed up the grammar of the Kingdom of God: The

See Code of Canon Law, cc. 222, 1254, 1261 and 1284 § 1; and Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches,

cc. 25, 1007, and 1028 § 1.

National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, Introduction, (1986), no. 1.

Economic Justice for All, Introduction, no. 1.

Beatitudes. They begin with the hope of the poor for fullness of life, for peace and fraternity, for

equality and justice.”

II. PRINCIPLES OF STEWARDSHIP

It is true that most “shareholders today exercise relatively little power in corporate

governance. Although shareholders can and should vote on the selection of corporate directors

and on investment questions and other policy matters, it appears that return on investment is the

governing criterion in the relation between them and management. We do not believe that this is

an adequate rationale for shareholder decisions.”

The entangled web of corporate relationships that is today’s economy almost makes it

impossible to know all the effects investing in a single company, specific security, or investment

fund can produce. Nevertheless, we must do all we can to assure that we invest in those

corporations and institutions that promote human dignity and enhance the common good.

“Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It

means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the least

fortunate.”

What this means in terms of investments is that revenue should not be gained if it is

gained by unjust means, comes at the expense of human life, reduces the human dignity of

others, or leads to the destruction of our common home. Investment strategies are to be based on

Catholic moral principles as outlined in the teachings of the Holy See and the statements of the

USCCB. Companies, securities, or investment funds that produce a significant amount of

revenue from immoral activities should not be invested in. Defining what constitutes a

significant amount is a matter of prudence as defined in the policies below.

Two principles of stewardship must guide the path of socially responsible investing:

Pope Francis, Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020), 52.

Economic Justice for All, no. 306.

Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, 27.

Principle 1:

The Conference should exercise responsible financial stewardship over its

economic resources. In practical fiscal terms, this means obtaining a reasonable

rate of return on investments. A reasonable rate of return is considered one that

matches the level of the market or at the least allows the Conference to meet its

fiduciary responsibilities and maintain its mission. This requires prudence and

caution in terms of the risks taken or not taken.

Principle 2:

The Conference should exercise ethical and social stewardship in its investments.

Socially responsible investment involves investment strategies based on Catholic

moral principles. These strategies are based on the moral demands posed by the

virtues of prudence and justice. They recognize the reality that socially beneficial

activities and socially undesirable or even immoral activities are often

inextricably linked in the products produced and the policies followed by

individual corporations. Nevertheless, by prudently applying traditional Catholic

moral teaching, and employing traditional principles on cooperation and

toleration, as well as the duty to avoid scandal, the Conference can invest wisely

and ethically.

III. INVESTING STRATEGIES

From these two principles of stewardship, a strategy can be developed to identify

investment opportunities that can meet the Conference’s financial needs while also acting

ethically, following the moral criteria of the Church’s social doctrine. This will require the

Conference to:

First, Avoid Doing Harm

This strategy involves two possible courses of action:

1) refusal to invest in companies whose products and/or policies are counter to the

values of Catholic moral teaching or statements adopted by the Conference of

Bishops,

2) divesting from such companies.

The decision to divest, or to refuse to invest, would be based on the principle of

cooperation and the avoidance of scandal. It would have to be done prudently, with care

taken to minimize the financial impact and possible other negative consequences. In

some cases, Conference policy may not absolutely require divestment, but significant

Conference investments in these areas might cause confusion or scandal. In these cases,

prudence would be the guiding principle.

Second, Actively Work for Change

This strategy involves actively using the Conference's position as shareholder to

influence the corporate cultures and to shape corporate policies and decisions. “As part

owners, [investors] must cooperate in shaping the policies of those companies through

dialogue with management, through votes at corporate meetings, through the introduction

of resolutions and through participation in investment decisions.”

It should be noted

that failure to vote in such situations, or assigning proxies to management, is effectively

counted as a vote for current management and the status quo.

These activities could include dialoguing with corporate leadership, initiating or

supporting shareholder resolutions, working with various religious and other groups who

are promoting corporate responsibility, and writing letters to corporate executives and

board members to advocate specific steps or to support or raise objections to a

corporation's activities or policies.

Economic Justice for All, no. 354.

This approach could also enable the Conference to deal effectively with the reality of

“mixed investments.” One way to be a socially responsible investor is to set limits for

corporations engaged in questionable or objectionable activities, to hold a minimal

position in those companies that fall under the threshold, and then to use one's position as

shareholder to work actively to influence or redirect the activities or policies of the

corporation toward activities and policies which are socially beneficial and serve the

common good. Investments of this type may be tolerated, after careful application of the

principle of cooperation and the duty to avoid scandal, so long as the Conference engages

in active participation and there is a reasonable hope of success for corporate change.

This approach may take years before a satisfactory end is achieved, but the effort is worth

making. Benefits will result from working closely with other like-minded investors. The

Conference, therefore, will vote its proxies and use its opportunities as a shareholder to

support policies in accord with its values and oppose those in conflict with them.

And third, Promote the Common Good

This strategy involves at least two possible courses of action:

1) supporting policies and initiatives in companies owned by the Conference that

promote the values of Catholic moral teaching or positions advocated by

Conference statements while earning a reasonable rate of return;

2) investments that promote community development, which, in some cases, may

result in a lower rate of return, but which nevertheless are chosen because they

give expression to the Church's preferential option for the poor or produce some

truly significant social good.

In the first case, the Conference can support companies and financial institutions which,

in addition to their fiscal merits and investment advantages, have strong records in such

areas as labor relations, support of people of color and underprivileged communities,

efforts to uphold the integrity and flourishing of families, affordable housing, ethical

development of vaccines, renewable energy, respecting the life of the unborn and the

conscience rights of religious believers.

In the second case, the Conference already has positive experience with community

development investments through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

(“CCHD”). Given the purpose of the funds which the Conference holds, and, in some

cases, its fiduciary responsibilities, opportunities for investing in community

development initiatives with lower rates of return will probably be limited to CCHD's

efforts or other special initiatives.

IV. CONFERENCE DIRECTIONS

In carrying out these strategies, the Conference will:

a) build on its current efforts and monitor closely how Catholic teaching and Conference

policies are advanced or undermined in the marketplace and by corporate actions. The

Conference will also make use of the growing resources that regularly monitor

corporate responsibility issues and stay in contact with networks of investors who

share similar concerns.

b) work closely with its investment advisors, to articulate clearly its goals and policies in

this area and assist them in carrying them out. A tool that has proven useful for others

is a set of instructions for voting proxies on issues of concern to the client.

c) apply common sense and prudence in the application of the strategies outlined in

these guidelines. Conference policies and Church teaching will set the basic direction

while the strategies employed, their scale, timing, and pace will depend on the

considered judgments of the Committee on Budget and Finance, and USCCB staff

(including those with specific expertise, such as from the departments of Doctrine,

Justice, Peace & Human Development, Pro-Life, and Migration), along with external

consultants.

d) review the relevance of these guidelines every three years. During this process the

Conference may request investment advisors to report on how they implement the

guidelines. These reports would be given to the Committee on Budget and Finance

and reviewed by those committees with specific expertise mentioned above, in letter

“c.” Such reports should include examples of how they engage, screen, and vote

proxies on behalf of the Conference, with a focus on active ownership that produces

real-world outcomes at scale and that addresses systemic challenges of importance to

the Conference. Through regular dialogue with asset managers, the Conference can

discuss, establish, and measure the achievement of long-term goals.

PART TWO: SPECIFIC CONFERENCE INVESTMENT POLICIES

The following investment policies cover five major categories:

I. Protecting Human Life

II. Promoting Human Dignity

III. Enhancing the Common Good

IV. Pursuing Economic Justice

V. Saving Our Global Common Home.

Many activities and products can fall into these categories, and the policies below are not

meant to be an exhaustive list. They do, however, represent a way of thinking about investments

that conform to the principles outlined above, in Part One.

In addition, while not reducing the importance of each of these categories, they should not be

considered in isolation or independent of each other. Rather, socially responsible investing is a

holistic framework that sees economic development intrinsically linked to integral human

development and good stewardship of God’s creation. This holistic framework flows from the

unified moral vision of the Church’s teaching. As Pope Francis noted, “There is an interrelation

between ecosystems and between the various spheres of social interaction, demonstrating yet

again that ‘the whole is greater than the part.’”

I. PROTECTING HUMAN LIFE

“The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life

itself. This is true of life from the moment of conception until its natural end.”

A) Abortion, Euthanasia, and Assisted Suicide

“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured

abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that

is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral

law….”

“[E]uthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God since it is the deliberate and morally

unacceptable killing of a human person. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and

upon the written word of God….”

“Euthanasia and assisted suicide are always the

wrong choice.”

Policy I. 1: The USCCB will not invest in any company whose activities include direct

participation in or support of abortion, euthanasia or assisted suicide. Direct participation

involves the manufacture of materials that are produced and/or marketed for the specific

purpose of abortion (including abortifacients), euthanasia, or assisted suicide as well as

companies that perform abortions or facilitate assisted suicide or euthanasia.

Pope Francis, Laudato sí, no. 141.

Pope Benedict XVI, Address to Austrian Authorities and Diplomatic Corps, (7 September 2007). See

also, Pope John XXIII, Pacem in terris, no. 11 and Pope Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris, no. 27.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2271.

Pope John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, no. 65.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Samaritanus bonus, (14 July 2020), no. V.1.

Policy I. 2: For companies where it is discovered that there is some tangential

connection to abortion, euthanasia, or assisted suicide related issues, the USCCB will

engage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder

resolutions to eliminate this connection.

B) In Vitro Fertilization

“The Church moreover holds that it is ethically unacceptable to dissociate procreation

from the integrally personal context of the conjugal act: human procreation is a personal

act of a husband and wife, which is not capable of substitution. The blithe acceptance of

the enormous number of abortions involved in the process of in vitro fertilization vividly

illustrates how the replacement of the conjugal act by a technical procedure – in addition

to being in contradiction with the respect that is due to procreation as something that

cannot be reduced to mere reproduction – leads to a weakening of the respect owed to

every human being”

Policy I. 3: The USCCB will not invest in companies that utilize in vitro fertilization for

either assisting conception or for research.

C) Embryonic Stem Cell and Fetal Tissue Research

“No objective, even though noble in itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to science, to

other human beings or to society, can in any way justify experimentation on living human

embryos or fetuses, whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother's womb....

To use human embryos or fetuses as the object or instrument of experimentation

constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings having a right to the same

respect that is due to the child already born and to every human person.”

Policy I. 4: The USCCB will not invest in companies that engage in scientific research

on human fetuses or embryos that results in the end of pre-natal human life or makes use

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dignitas personae, (8 September 2008), no. 16.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae, (22 February 1987), no. 4.

of tissue derived from abortions or other life-ending activities and/or develops products

and services from such research.

D) Human Cloning

“Human cloning is intrinsically evil because it reduces human procreation to a mere

manufacturing process, producing new human beings in the laboratory to predetermined

specifications as though they were commodities.”

Policy I. 5: The USCCB will not invest in companies that engage in scientific research

whose purpose is the cloning of human beings and/or develops products and services

from such research.

E) Access to Drugs and Vaccines

“On an ethical level, if there is the possibility of curing a disease with a drug, it should be

available to everyone, otherwise it creates injustice. Too many people, too many children

are still dying in the world because they are denied access to a drug that is available in

other regions, or a vaccine.”

Policy I. 6: The USCCB will actively encourage companies through corporate dialogues,

proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to undertake or participate in

programs designed to make life-sustaining drugs and vaccines available at affordable

prices in both the United States and in low-income countries, consistent with our Catholic

values.

Policy I. 7: The USCCB will actively engage companies through corporate dialogues,

proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to develop life-sustaining drugs and

vaccines that do not rely on any cell lines procured from abortions.

USCCB, On Embryonic Stem Cell Research, (June 2008).

Pope Francis, Address to the Members of the “Banco Farmaceutico” Foundation, (19 September 2020).

II. PROMOTING HUMAN DIGNITY

“Society as a whole, acting through public and private institutions, has the moral

responsibility to enhance human dignity and protect human rights.”

A) Human Rights

“Any well-regulated and productive association of [people] in society demands the

acceptance of one fundamental principle: that each individual [human being] is truly a

person. As such [each person] has rights and duties…. These rights and duties are

universal and inviolable, and therefore altogether inalienable.”

Policy II. 1: The USCCB will engage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to direct their efforts to protecting and

promoting human rights – as understood by Church teaching

– and supply chain

transparency. The USCCB will consider divesting from companies whose activities are

known to persistently violate the human rights of their workers or contract with

companies or governments who persistently violate human rights until sufficient action

has been taken to correct these human rights violations. Some tools in evaluating and

recommending changes are the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and

Human Rights,

and the International Labor Organization’s Conventions,

insofar as

these resources do not contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Policy II. 2: The USCCB will encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to provide sufficient wages, decent

working conditions, and other social benefits that enable their employees and families to

Economic Justice for All, Introduction, no. 18.

Pope John XXIII, Pacem in terris, no. 9. See also Economic Justice for All, no. 80.

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, (2004), Part

One, chapter 3, section IV.

See https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf.

See https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/introduction-to-international-labour-standards/conventions-

and-recommendations/lang--en/index.htm.

meet basic human needs while abiding by the rule of law and safeguarding against

environmental degradation particularly among developing countries.

B) Discrimination

“Forms of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex,

race, color, social conditions, language or religion must be curbed and eradicated as

incompatible with God's design.”

Policy II. 3: The USCCB will engage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions toward implementing policies and

practices to ensure they do not discriminate against people based on their sex, race, skin

color, language, or religion.

Policy II. 4: The USCCB will engage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to develop and maintain policies toward

equal opportunities, pay, and leadership opportunities – including inclusion on corporate

boards – for women, people of color, and people with disabilities. The USCCB will also

encourage companies to develop specific goals to become more diverse, including within

the membership of their corporate boards. The USCCB should also seek out investment

opportunities in companies owned by people of color and women as well as companies

whose practices or business relationships demonstrate diversity and racial justice.

C) Pornography and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

“Pornography dehumanizes the persons depicted, making them into objects of use. Those

who produce and distribute pornography harm the common good by encouraging and

even causing others to sin. They do serious harm to the women and men who consent to

be in pornographic material.”

Guadium et spes, no. 29.

See Guadium et spes, no. 29. To aid in defining discrimination, see also

https://www.eeoc.gov/discrimination-type insofar as this resource does not contradict the teaching of the Catholic

Church.

USCCB, Create in Me a Clean Heart, (November 2015), p. 6.

Policy II. 5: The USCCB will not invest in a company whose sole purpose is to appeal

to an indecent interest in sex or to incite sexual excitement through the production of

sexually explicit films, videos, or internet sites or services. The USCCB will also actively

encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy voting, and support of

shareholder resolutions to disengage from receiving revenue from the distribution of

these products or services.

Policy II. 6: The USCCB will advocate through corporate dialogues, proxy voting, and

support of shareholder resolutions company initiatives to promote responsible, marriage

affirming and family-oriented program content development by media, technology, and

telecommunications companies.

D) Human Trafficking and Forced Labor

“The trade in human persons constitutes a shocking offence against human dignity and a

grave violation of fundamental human rights…. Such situations are an affront to

fundamental values which are shared by all cultures and peoples, values rooted in the

very nature of the human person…. In particular, the sexual exploitation of women and

children is a particularly repugnant aspect of this trade and must be recognized as an

intrinsic violation of human dignity and rights.”

Policy II. 7: The USCCB will actively engage companies through corporate dialogues,

proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to effectively address human

trafficking and forced labor by developing codes of ethics that follow the Palermo

Protocol of 2000, insofar as this resource does not contradict the teaching of the Catholic

Church,

and identify high risk areas for human trafficking and forced labor along their

supply chains and partner companies and make necessary changes.

Pope John Paul II, Letter to Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran on the Occasion of the International

Conference “Twenty-First Century Slavery – the Human Rights Dimension to Trafficking in Human Beings, (15

May 2002). See also Guadium et spes, no. 27.

See https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.aspx.

E) The Human Person

“Valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be

able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different. In this way we

can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the

Creator, and find mutual enrichment. It is not a healthy attitude which would seek ‘to

cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it.’”

Policy II. 8: The USCCB will not invest in companies that directly participate in the

performance of surgeries or in the administration of drugs or hormones for the purposes

of delaying normal puberty or modifying the body’s appearance and/ or functions in

order to express an identity incongruent with one’s biological sex.

Policy II. 9: The USCCB will also actively promote through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions additional disclosure from companies on

these activities.

F) Marriage, Sexual Integrity, and Family

“Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through

the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, . . . . is realized in a truly human way

only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and a woman commit themselves

totally [in marriage] …. This totality which is required by conjugal love also corresponds

to the demands of responsible fertility …. directed to the generation of a human being.”

Policy II. 10: The USCCB will encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to advocate for an understanding of

marriage or sexuality that is consistent with Church teaching and natural law.

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, no. 155.

Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia, no. 56.

Pope John Paul II, Familiaris consortio, no. 11.

G) Contraceptives

“The Church...teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic

relationship to the procreation of human life.”

Policy II. 11: The USCCB will not invest in companies that manufacture contraceptives

or derive more than 10% of their revenue from the sale of contraceptives, even if they do

not manufacture them.

III. ENHANCE THE COMMON GOOD

“The obligation to ‘love our neighbor’ has an individual dimension, but it also requires a

broader social commitment to the common good.”

Vatican II defines the common good as “the

sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members

relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment.”

A) Reducing Arms Production

“At issue is whether the development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and

the enormous and growing possibilities offered by new technologies, have granted war an

uncontrollable destructive power over great numbers of innocent civilians. The truth is

that ‘never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be

used wisely’.”

Policy III. 1: The USCCB will not invest in firms that derive any revenue from the

production of weapons inconsistent with Catholic teaching on war (e.g., biological and

chemical weapons, landmines, nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, etc.).

Pope Paul VI, Humanae vitae, no. 11

Economic Justice for All, Introduction, no. 14.

Gaudium et spes, no. 26.

Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, no. 258.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, no 2314.

The USCCB will not invest in companies that manufacture firearms with the exception of

those companies that only manufacture firearms for hunting and/or legitimate military or

law enforcement organizations.

Policy III. 2: The USCCB will engage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions efforts to limit weapons production, to

limit foreign sales of weapons, and to convert corporate capacity to non-military uses.

For companies that may cause, contribute to, or be linked to warfare, such as technology

companies or financial institutions, the USCCB will actively encourage them through

shareholder engagement and voter proxy to uphold and incorporate human rights

standards as understood by the Church into their business decisions. The USCCB will

also actively promote additional disclosure from companies on their production and sales

of weapons.

B) Addictive Materials or Harmful Habitual Behaviors

“The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess.”

“Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice.

They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to

provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an

enslavement.”

Policy III. 3: The USCCB will not invest in companies whose primary purpose is to

derive revenue from gambling or the production of tobacco or the recreational use of

cannabis.

See https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/violence/upload/Remarks-Bishop-

Dewane-Responses-to-the-Plague-of-Gun-Violence-11-11-2019.pdf.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2290.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2413.

Policy III. 4: The USCCB will encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to move away from the production,

marketing, or distribution of addictive or other harmful materials.

C) Media and Telecommunications

“The media [should be] ‘geared towards a vision of the person and the common good that

reflects truly universal values. Just because social communications increase the

possibilities of interconnection and the dissemination of ideas, it does not follow that they

promote freedom or internationalize development and democracy for all. To achieve

goals of this kind, they need to focus on promoting the dignity of persons and peoples;

they need to be clearly inspired by charity and placed at the service of truth, of the good,

and of natural and supernatural fraternity.”

Policy III. 5: The USCCB will actively encourage through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions media and telecommunication companies,

including social media companies, to employ and enforce guidelines that promote the

dignity of the human person, as understood by Church teaching. The USCCB should

avoid investing in media corporations that have demonstrated resistance to adopting and

implementing a human rights policy that is consistent to Church teaching.

IV. PURSUING ECONOMIC JUSTICE

“[A]ll economic institutions must support the bonds of community and solidarity that are

essential to the dignity of persons. Wherever our economic arrangements fail to conform to the

demands of human dignity lived in community, they must be questioned and transformed.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Africae munus, no. 144.

See Pope John XXIII, Pacem in terris, no. 9. See also Economic Justice for All, no. 80 and the United

Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, insofar as this resource does not contradict the teaching

of the Catholic Church.

Economic Justice for All, no. 28.

A) Encouraging Social, Environmental, and Financial Responsibility

“Ethical responsibility is not just avoiding evil, but doing right, especially for the weak

and vulnerable. Decisions about the use of capital have moral implications.”

Policy IV. 1: The USCCB will strongly encourage companies through corporate

dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to report on social,

environmental, as well as financial performance.

Policy IV. 2: The USCCB will actively promote and engage companies through

corporate dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions the adoption of

corporate social and environmental responsibility guidelines within companies.

B) Labor Standards

“All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and

benefits, to decent working conditions, as well as to organize and join unions or

other associations.”

Policy IV. 3: The USCCB will engage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to provide decent working conditions, just

wages,

employee ownership/ profit sharing, the right to organize, protecting children,

worker-led social responsibility models, and other initiatives aimed at the protection and

promotion of human dignity and economic justice.

USCCB, Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice, (1998), p. 6.

USCCB, A Catholic Framework for Economic Life, (2015), no. 5.

See Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2434, and Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace,

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 302.

Policy IV. 4: The USCCB will advocate and engage companies through corporate

dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to promote just wage and

benefit policies, and worker safety. In addition, the USCCB will work toward the

protection of migrant and seasonal workers.

C) Affordable Housing/Banking

“The Church has traditionally viewed housing, not as a commodity, but as a basic human

right. This conviction is grounded in our view of the human person and the responsibility

of society to protect the life and dignity of every person by providing the conditions

where human life and human dignity are not undermined but enhanced.”

Policy IV. 5: The USCCB will encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to adopt practices for ethical and

responsible banking, including as it relates to corporate lending activities, project finance,

and consumer banking to ensure there are appropriate due diligence and risk management

systems in place to identify and mitigate abuses such as those related to discriminatory

practices and excessive rates and fees and to serve the underbanked or financially

marginalized.

Policy IV. 6: The USCCB will communicate, where appropriate, to its financial

institutions support for initiatives to reach out to the poor by providing access to fair

credit

and other means to help improve livelihoods, the financing of low-income

housing, and increased access to capital for communities of color. The USCCB will

encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy voting, and support of

shareholder resolutions engaged in real estate activities to construct and preserve

affordable housing that serves low-income individuals and families.

USCCB, Homelessness and Housing: A Human Tragedy, A Moral Challenge, (2012), no. 5.

This includes companies whose revenues derive from 10% or more of revenue from predatory lending.

See https://www.usccb.org/resources/backgrounder-predatory-banking-payday-lending.

See Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 341.

D) Impact Investing

“Impact investors are those who are conscious of the existence of serious unjust

situations, instances of profound social inequality and unacceptable conditions of poverty

affecting communities and entire peoples. These investors turn to financial institutes

which will use their resources to promote the economic and social development of these

groups through investment funds aimed at satisfying basic needs associated with

agriculture, access to water, adequate housing and reasonable prices, as well as with

primary health care and educational services. Investments of this sort are meant to have

positive social repercussions on local communities, such as the creation of jobs, access to

energy, training and increased agricultural productivity. The financial return for investors

tends to be more moderate than in other types of investment…. We are truly in need of

this! It is important that ethics once again play its due part in the world of finance and

that markets serve the interests of peoples and the common good of humanity. It is

increasingly intolerable that financial markets are shaping the destiny of peoples rather

than serving their needs, or that the few derive immense wealth from financial

speculation while the many are deeply burdened by the consequences.”

Policy IV. 7: The USCCB will seek opportunities to collaborate with other investors to

invest in corporations, organizations, and other financial initiatives that not only aim at

financial return but also actively intend to address the common good, generating positive

social and environmental change. Examples of this policy can be seen in the work of the

Catholic Campaign for Human Development

of the USCCB and in the work of the

Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative.

Policy IV. 8: The USCCB will seek opportunities to collaborate with other investors to

invest in corporations, organizations, and other financial initiatives that promote and

Pope Francis, Address to the Participants in the Conference on ‘Impact Investing for the Poor’, (15 June

2014).

See, https://www.usccb.org/committees/catholic-campaign-human-development.

See, http://www.catholicimpact.org/.

strengthen communities, focusing on not only their economic effect but their social

impact as well. This can be demonstrated through such activities as having office or

production sites located in areas of economic need, incorporating in all major company

decisions the impact they will have on employees and people of the local communities,

providing an alternative to “pay day loans,” and giving charitable donations or other

forms of support to community-building organizations.

V. SAVING OUR GLOBAL COMMON HOME

“The book of nature is one and indivisible: it takes in not only the environment but also life,

sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development. Our

duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person…”

“The earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the

economy, commerce and production.”

“The right of some to free enterprise or market freedom cannot supersede the rights of

peoples and the dignity of the poor, or, for that matter, respect for the natural environment, for ‘if

we make something our own, it is only to administer it for the good of all’ (Laudato si’, no.

95).”

A) Climate Change

“Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social,

economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal

challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by

developing countries in coming decades.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in veritate, no. 51.

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, no. 32.

Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, no. 122.

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, no. 25.

Policy V. 1: The USCCB will actively invest in companies whose business models are

consistent with the emission reduction goals of the Paris Agreement, insofar as this

resource does not contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Policy V. 2: The USCCB will encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to establish greenhouse gas emission

reduction goals, provide disclosure around low-carbon planning, and mitigate climate

change. The USCCB will consider divestment from those companies that consistently fail

to initiate policies intended to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.

B) Biodiversity

“Caring for ecosystems demands far-sightedness, since no one looking for quick and

easy profit is truly interested in their preservation. But the cost of the damage caused by

such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained.

Where certain species are destroyed or seriously harmed, the values involved are

incalculable.”

Policy V. 3: The USCCB will actively encourage companies through corporate

dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to demonstrate high

standards of protection for living organisms and terrestrial, marine, and other ecosystems.

One resource outlining definitions, principles, and best practices for biodiversity

See

https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf. For the

Church’s support of these goals, see https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-

messages/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200901_messaggio-giornata-cura-creato.html and

https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/environment/upload/USCCB-CRS-Letter-to-

Secretary-Tillerson-on-Care-for-Creation-02-17-2017.pdf.

“Promote responsible investments in social and environmental sectors, for example by evaluating

progressive disinvestment from the fossil-fuel sector” (Interdicasterial Working Group of the Holy See on Integral

Ecology, Journeying Towards Care for Our Common Home: Five Years After Laudato Si’, (Vatican City: Liberia

Editrice Vaticana, 2020, p.179.

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, no. 36.

protection is the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

insofar as this

resource does not contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Policy V. 4: The USCCB should avoid investing in companies that have caused specific

instances of biodiversity loss, or whose practices have significantly contributed to

biodiversity loss and have not worked toward correcting or remediating the damage their

operations have caused.

C) Water and Natural Resources

“…it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries

and wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached

unprecedented levels. The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable

limits and we still have not solved the problem of poverty… Fresh drinking water is an

issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting

terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Sources of fresh water are necessary for health care,

agriculture, and industry.”

Policy V. 5: The USCCB should avoid investing in companies whose activities directly

contribute to depletion and/or degradation of available water, without mitigating these

impacts, and in companies engaged in extraction of natural resources that do not

demonstrate formal and/or informal compliance with the principles of the Extractive

Industries Transparency Initiative

insofar as this resource does not contradict the

teaching of the Catholic Church.

Policy V. 6: The USCCB will encourage companies through corporate dialogues, proxy

voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to employ water saving policies and

technologies along with other means of saving water.

See https://www.cbd.int/convention/text/.

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, nos. 27-28.

See https://eiti.org/.

D) Technology

“We have to accept that technological products are not neutral, for they create a

framework which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along

the lines dictated by the interests of certain powerful groups… We have the freedom

needed to limit and direct technology; we can put it at the service of another type of

progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral. Liberation

from the dominant technocratic paradigm does in fact happen sometimes, for example,

when cooperatives of small producers adopt less polluting means of production, and opt

for a non-consumerist model of life, recreation and community.”

Policy V. 7: The USCCB will actively encourage technology companies through

corporate dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to employ and

enforce guidelines that promote the dignity of the human person and protect the

environment. Technology companies have a particular responsibility to ensure that they

promote responsible consumption, employ efficient and renewable energy use, contribute

to the common good, and conform to environmental standards.

E) Environmental Impact

“Efforts to promote a sustainable use of natural resources are not a waste of money, but

rather an investment capable of providing other economic benefits in the medium term. If

we look at the larger picture, we can see that more diversified and innovative forms of

production which impact less on the environment can prove very profitable. It is a matter

of openness to different possibilities which do not involve stifling human creativity and

its ideals of progress, but rather directing that energy along new channels.”

Policy V. 8: The USCCB will actively encourage companies through corporate

dialogues, proxy voting, and support of shareholder resolutions to uphold the highest

environmental standards and to change and remediate practices that negatively impact the

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, nos. 107,112

Pope Francis, Laudato si’, no. 191.

environment either in their operations, or those of their contractors or supply chain, and

in their products or services. This may include, for example, a company’s emissions,

spills, hazardous waste or other forms of pollution, non-compliance with environmental

regulations, damage to ecosystems, concerns over the risks that a company’s

products/services may pose to the environment and public health, or concerns related to

products at the end of their life cycle.

Policy V. 9: The USCCB should avoid investing in companies that are non-compliant

with the three environmental principles (7, 8, and 9) of the UN Global Compact

insofar

as this resource does not contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church.

CONCLUSION

Pope Francis has commented:

Rising levels of poverty on a global scale bear witness to the prevalence of

inequality rather than a harmonious integration of persons and nations. An

economic system that is fair, trustworthy and capable of addressing the most

profound challenges facing humanity and our planet is urgently needed. I

encourage you to persevere along the path of generous solidarity and to work for

the return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human

beings….

An economic system detached from ethical concerns does not bring about a more

just social order, but leads instead to a “throw away” culture of consumption and

waste. On the other hand, when we recognize the moral dimension of economic

life, which is one of the many aspects of social doctrine of the Church that must

be integrally respected, we are able to act with fraternal charity, desiring, seeking

and protecting the good of others and their integral development.

In presenting these guidelines, it is hoped that, by following them, we can actively work

toward developing a just, trustworthy economy that promotes the common good of all.

See https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles.

Pope Francis, Address to the Members of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, (11 November 2019).