A conference on “Mensuram Bonam” was held in the English capital, which brought together around ninety financial sector experts and ecclesiastical leaders from sixteen countries. The objective was to think about how the market of Christian investments, especially Catholic ones – approximately 1,750 billion dollars – can be managed according to the principles of the Gospel. We talk about it with Peter Hugh Smith, CEO of Ccla
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Encourage and nurture good communication between the Catholic Church and the financial sector and clarify the real nature of investments, to avoid mistakes and ensure that they are oriented towards the human family, the common good and respectful of justice and ethical standards. This and more was discussed in recent days in London during the “Mensuram Bonam Conference”, an event that brought together around ninety financial sector experts and ecclesiastical leaders from sixteen countries in the British capital. The objective was to think about how the market of Christian investments, especially Catholic ones – approximately 1,750 billion dollars – can be managed according to the principles of the Gospel. “Good measure – he states Peter Hugh Smithamong the organizers of the conference – is the guide document launched by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in 2022 designed for those who operate in the world of finance, both as institutions and as individuals. It contains principles, rather than practical instructions, and I think this is the reason for its goodness and success. If you are an investor in Indonesia or Latin America, both the result you intend to achieve and the means you use to achieve it will be very different from those adopted by another investor intending to do the same in a city like Rome or London.” Among the organizers of the London conference, together with Smith, was Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, French economist and president of the IOR (Institute for Works of Religion). Peter Smith speaks with full knowledge of the facts, holding the position of managing director of Ccla, an investment fund, started seventy years ago, to take care of the administration of assets of parishes and dioceses of the Church of England and which over the years has broadened its scope of action to deal with the management of Catholic heritage and other charities.
What does Ccla do?
We seek to improve the results that can be achieved with Christian finance to make the world a better place. This is the main aim of our work. Not only ours, I add, but also those of the other organizations that participated in Mensuram Bonam, the conference dedicated to the practical study of the pontifical document, including the Dutch investors of Anthos Fund, the American ones of Cbis – Catholic Responsible Investments, Catholic Investment Services and Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors. We are talking about all Catholic and Christian financial realities.
What are the most important results that emerged from the conference?
First of all, enormous enthusiasm and a great desire to put the principles of the document into practice. We have then developed a series of actions that we want to undertake, which however I cannot yet make known at the moment. Before revealing them it is necessary, in fact, to obtain the consent of all the organizations that participated in the conference.
The first summit dedicated to Mensuram Bonam took place in Rome, a year ago, and was dedicated to understanding and discussing the Vatican document. This London conference, just concluded, worked on how to implement Mensuram Bonam.
Catholic financial organizations from all over the world were present and participated. One of the positive results, which should be underlined, is the consensus obtained from all participants on the next steps to be taken.
To what extent are global Christian financial assets aligned with the principles of the Mensuram Bonam document?
It is very difficult to give an exhaustive answer because, working on an international scenario, you have to deal with different institutes, you go from very rich organizations with great economic availability to religious orders with a few thousand euros.
Let us not forget that, often, those who manage these funds, despite intending to operate according to Catholic doctrine, fail to do so.
And this is because it does not have access to services or products that allow this method of investment. And it is precisely in this specific sector that we want to achieve more results.
Next Sunday we will celebrate the World Day of the Poor. What ideas to defeat poverty?
The Mensuram Bonam document teaches us how to best manage our finances. If we remain faithful to his indications, we will see the increase in available funds, available to churches and “charities”, to combat and combat poverty. The company of which I am CEO, Ccla, puts the right amount of pressure on our client companies and on companies in general so that they all introduce the minimum wage, and in my opinion this represents a truly important step to guarantee many people and families decent standards of living.
A concrete step that will be taken after this conference?
I think the most important thing is good communication between the Catholic Church and the financial sector and this was one of the topics we dealt with during our conference. I am convinced that many successes derive from this step. On the contrary, without good dialogue, there can be no real progress.
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