Earth is More Valuable than Money
Through a joint project of the Laudate Si Movement, the World Council of Churches, the ecumenical Operation Noah, Green Anglicans and GreenFaith, 35 faith institutions from six countries with more than $1.25 billion (in USA dollars) in combined assets announced their divestment from fossil fuel companies. The institutions included five Catholic dioceses in Ireland and two in Canada.
In 2020, the Vatican called on Catholic institutions to divest from fossil fuel companies given their harm to the environment.
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, stated, “We all share responsibility for the problems facing our world, but equally, we share responsibility for finding the solutions.”
The Congregation of the Sisters of Peace who have a portfolio managed in the United Kingdom fully divested their portfolio of all fossil-fuel companies. As stated by their leadership, “We have a fiduciary responsibility to the earth. Today we see the ethical use of our financial resources through the lens of our vow of poverty. We decided it was morally imperative to divest fully from fossil fuels rather than profit from activities which hasten the climate crisis.”
Investing in impact funds, green bonds, and holding large corporations accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis is the ongoing work of responsible investors such as our own congregation, the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix.
Below is a prayer that expresses the longing of each of us for a better world community which is respectful of all of creation.
Prayer to build an inclusive world community
Mary, our Mother, you taught your son Jesus
the prophetic values expressed in your Magnificat.
Be with us now, and stay with us during this perilous time
when our world is gripped by fear, division, inequity and exploitation.
Open us to healing ourselves and our world
by rejecting individualism and consumerism,
and reclaiming our unity with each other and all of creation.
We ask that you help us move away from
our impoverished need of amassing material things
to a deep recognition of the richness of
solidarity with and love for
our sisters and brothers everywhere,
and the exquisite beauty of your creation.
Give us the grace and insight we need
to build an inclusive world community that values human dignity,
and a global economy where no one is invisible or “thrown away”.
Give us the courage to insist that basic human needs must be provided for:
that the needs of the many take priority over the privileges of the few;
that access to meaningful work is available to all.
Guide us to build an economy that moves us
in deliberate and meaningful ways toward justice and equality
and safeguards the integrity of creation.
Help us to create a community of companions who share these values.
Enable us to find creative ways to overcome our divisions
and work together to build an economy based on
abundance, communion, inclusion and justice:
a beloved community committed to building the kingdom of God.
Amen. Let it be so!
Author Unknown
Ann Kasparek