Have you ever thought about how many Catholics are in this country? You might be surprised to know that the number is somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 million! Yes, its true – Catholics make up almost 25% of the population of the United States.
When you consider that only 40% of the population voted in the last presidential election, the potential influence of Catholics in our country is astounding. While the idea of influencing politics immediately comes to mind, there is another less obvious area of life where Catholics can have a big influence — the economy.
The US Catholic bishops actually issued a personal invitation to all Catholics to do just that in the form of a pastoral letter written in 1986, entitled Economic Justice for All.
In our every day life, it is easy to see how our path to holiness is deeply entwined with our family life, as we perform the role of spouse, parent, sibling or child. The bishops make the point that our economic life is also part of how we live out our faith and achieve holiness. Their goal in writing the letter was to look at economic life through the eyes of faith in order to help Catholics live their faith in the marketplace; as consumers, citizens, workers, and owners. We must realize that we are each economic actors every day.
Every dollar we put into the economy, by purchasing goods and services or investing in a company's stock through a mutual fund, annuity, or direct purchase, serves a purpose. We are enabling companies to make a profit, expand their business, and donate to charities.
Do we think about what activities we are supporting by the way that we spend our money? Are we aware of what the companies we support are doing with their earnings, how they treat their employees, or if they are harming the environment?
We are responsible for the economic decisions we make and the outcome of those decisions. The bishops say in Economic Justice for All 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."
Given the size of our Catholic population, we can go a long way to ensuring economic justice for all by recognizing our economic power and choosing to support companies through our purchasing and investing that enhance our life together as a community.
If you are currently invested in mutual funds, evaluate them and see what companies they are invested in. Do those companies have any OSHA violations? Do they make violent video games? Are they paying a just wage to their employees? How much cash compensation do their board and CEO make?
If you aren't comfortable with the answers to those questions, it's time to look for a new place to invest.
"Followers of Christ must avoid a tragic separation between faith and everyday life" — Economic Justice for All
[Trinity Fiduciary Partners (Trinity) is a Registered Investment Advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can contact Trinity at (866)716-0077. Some of the information given in this publication has been produced by unaffiliated third parties and, while it is deemed reliable, Trinity does not guarantee its timeliness, sequence, accuracy, adequacy, or completeness and makes no warranties with respect to results to be obtained from its use.]
