The Vatican wants to facilitate opportunities for Catholics to invest in accordance with their Christian values, which is why the IOR, the so-called Vatican bank, has made some changes.
This financial institution has partnered with the American company Morningstar to launch two stock market indexes, that is, benchmarks that measure the performance of a group of publicly traded companies.
In practical terms, this means two lists of companies—one for the United States and another for European zones—with 50 entities in each, were selected specifically for Catholics with respect to the social doctrine of the Church.
For Catholics, this will be of great help in financial planning. On the one hand, it will simplify decision-making process, since the companies have already been screened and investors do not have to research them one-by-one. On the other hand, it ensures that their money is invested in a way that is compatible with their faith.
This is not new; it goes back several years. The Vatican, like any sovereign state, establishes its own investment policies. In 2022, Pope Francis created a specific committee for this purpose.
Led by Cardinal Farrell and made up of international financial experts, its task is to ensure that the Vatican’s investments are ethical, profitable, low-risk, and in line with Catholic values.
Therefore, areas related to healthcare that are not pro-life are excluded, as well as the arms industry, and sectors such as oil, alcohol, or nuclear energy are also discouraged.
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