14 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Year in Review 2022 It is a changing world in which we live. Key documents referred to in stewarding the temporal goods of the Diocese grow in number each year. A current topic of particular interest to many of us is ethical investing. If someone asked me about ethical investing ten years ago, I would have referenced the Catholic Ethos and the screening out of investments in the tobacco or gambling industries which, of course, are at odds with Catholic social teaching. Today, the question requires a much more complex answer. Today, ethical investing includes considerations of renewable energy and new technologies that lighten the footprint left on this planet by humanity. Corporates now have new measures and accountabilities that consider environmental, social and governance or “ESG” as a set of standards for a company’s behaviour. Investors today screen potential investments according to ESG and how they meet their ethical framework. A recent paper from the Vatican also turns its focus on investing and says, “No investment of money is morally neutral; either God’s kingdom is being advanced by the assets we deploy, or it is being neglected and undermined”. This is a big statement to unpack and apply to our investment decision making. This new key document with regard to investing is the “Mensuram Bonam” (For Good Measure). This document uses the principles of Catholic social teaching and definitive church pronouncements on issues such as abortion, nuclear weapons and the death penalty. The document calls on bishops’ conferences and other Catholic investors to develop investment frameworks that are consistent with the Catholic Ethos. These investments should not only seek to achieve financial returns, but also work for the Common Good. At the local level the Diocese together with its investment advisors apply an Investment Framework to ensure we balance our investment decisions with a keen eye on what’s good for mankind and the planet we share. Faith-consistent investing has elements found in “socially responsible investing,” strategies focused on ESG and “impact investing”, which aims to promote a particular good or set of goods. Faith-consistent investing goes much further in terms of moral responsibility because it is based on Catholic social teaching with its vision of the human person. This past year has seen a number of parishes reach out for information to assist them with their investment decisions. The Investment Framework is a useful document from which to develop a framework that meets the particular circumstances of the parish. Please make contact at the Chancery if you would like to receive a copy. There have been a number of initiatives with a focus on environmental sustainability completed in the past year, such as the Diocesan Investment Policy Framework, Solar power panel installation and participating as a Catholic Earthcare organisation. Another small step in the work undertaken locally was to register CAMERON FRASER From Diocesan Business Manager
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