It is common practice for churches to invest some funds in businesses so that what comes through the collection plate is increased to cover basic costs of running a church or buying a Mercedes for the pastor.

Sometimes, if not very often, the church is not aware into what their investment company has put its money.

The biggest porn palace in Boston’s pre-redeveloped Combat Zone, The Pilgrim, although it had been the Home of Vaudeville when first built, had eventually became a huge pornographic movie house, an ornate opera house with sticky floors. The revelation of ownership was embarrassing when the investors sold the building and the public learned who had owned it.

Usually, though, they invest in something more related to corporate businesses like oil companies.

Obviously, mistakes like the theater business need to be avoided, so the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has come up with updated guidelines.

The guidelines for investments have not been updated since 2003, and in those 18 years a lot has happened, and the landscape of investments has changed greatly. USCCB has its own money to invest, roughly $270 million in 2020, as well as that of other Catholic institutions, so recently the bishops met in Baltimore, the home of the Baltimore Catechism (“Who made me?”) and updated the investment guidelines.

What a company makes, or what a real estate investment is used for should be major topics of discussion. Does the potential investment contribute to the good of mankind and does it respect the God given responsibility to be good stewards of his creation? Does it aid in the Corporal Works of Mercy and follow Christ’s teachings on our love of neighbor being a love of Him.

After all, the final guidelines say,

“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.”

It also includes among criteria whether or not the investment avoids doing harm, actively works for change, and promotes the common good.

The topics covered in the investment guidelines are divided into five parts: protecting human life, promoting human dignity, enhancing the common good, pursuing economic justice, and saving our global common home.

The draft of the final policy calls for engaging with companies regarding climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, environmental protection, water depletion, human rights, racial and social discrimination, human trafficking, hate speech in social media, discrimination or infringement on religious freedom, privacy and civil liberties, yet it there are caveats that could automatically rule out investments no matter how tightly they hold to the criteria.

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The guidelines also state the need to urge companies

“to advocate for an understanding of marriage or sexuality that is consistent with church teaching and natural law.”

And, to this end:

 “Other companies where investments would not occur include those involved with pornography or sexual exploitation or those that ‘directly participate in the performance of sex reassignment surgery or in the administration of drugs or hormones for the purposes of delaying normal puberty or of changing the body of an individual to correspond to a sex discordant with biological sex.’”

So where to put their tax-exempt money?

Simple answer: companies that already discriminate, or companies where the church believes there’s a strong possibility to get them to start.

Definitely not, however, companies that recognize and respect all people and do not create an atmosphere or promulgate practices that discriminate against anyone capable of doing a job.

Churches love to throw the snippy question at anyone who accepts a woman’s right to choose, “What if the aborted person was the one who was to cure cancer?”

Question could also be asked, “What good could your investment have made in helping a company cure cancer, but you withheld it because the company saw everyone as equal?”

While wanting to engage with companies regarding climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, environmental protection, water depletion, human rights, racial and social discrimination, human trafficking, hate speech in social media, discrimination or infringement on religious freedom, privacy and civil liberties, when three of those, human rights, social discrimination and hate speech in social media includes them, Transgender people are excluded, and Same-Sex Marriages needs to go.

We will teach you to hate. We will assume you already have Jesus.

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