Five Catholic religious orders in the UK were among those announcing their divestment from fossil fuel companies, in the recent largest-ever divestment announcement by faith organisations. In total, 47 faith institutions from 21 countries contributed to the announcement.
The UK congregations were: the Mill Hill Missionaries (British Region), the Sisters of the Holy Cross (English Province), the Society of the Sacred Heart (England and Wales Province), the Sisters of St Andrew in England and the Congregation of Our Lady, Canonesses of St Augustine. The full list of participating institutions is here.
The new announcement brings the total number of UK religious orders that have divested to 12, along with three out of 22 Catholic dioceses in England and Wales. Around the world, more than 400 religious institutions have now committed to divest.
In June this year, the Vatican recommended in its first-ever operational guidelines on ecology that all Catholic organisations divest from fossil fuels. During the same week as the announcement, Pope Francis convened the Economy of Francesco, an online conference involving more than 1000 young adults, which explored innovative ways of shaping a sustainable economy.
The announcement coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The UK government faces increasing pressure to demonstrate global leadership on the climate crisis ahead of the UN climate talks (COP26) taking place in Glasgow in November 2021. Faith organisations participating in the announcement strengthened calls for the UK government to end support for fossil fuels overseas and support countries to leapfrog to renewable and efficient energy.
Fr Dermot F Byrne MHM, Regional Representative of Mill Hill Missionaries (British Region), said: ‘Our members have always worked among the poorest and most disadvantaged in Africa, Asia and South America, and the pursuit of social equality and justice has always been a serious priority for us. Concern for what Pope Francis reminds us is ‘our common home’ has to be part of that pursuit. As our numbers decrease worldwide, there can seem to be little that we can do to make an impact, but divestment from fossil fuels is a practical choice that is open to us all and may have far-reaching results. Consequently, we feel that such divestment is in line with Catholic social teaching and the spirit of the present age, and we are happy that we, as a Region, are able to make this small contribution.’
Sr Catherine Lloyd RSCJ, Provincial of the Society of the Sacred Heart (England and Wales Province), said: ‘The Province has actively engaged in reducing its carbon footprint for a number of years as the impact of the climate crisis became more apparent and urgent. After reflecting on our own values and the charism which underpins them, we have actively engaged with our fund managers to divest our investment portfolio of fossil fuels. Hopefully, we are making a contribution to working towards a future which is more sustainable and carbon neutral.’
The Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in England said: ‘As Sisters of the Holy Cross in England, Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si’, has encouraged us to focus on care of creation. For some time, we have been urging our investors to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels... We have realised that engagement with these companies only has limited success. We have now informed our investors that we have decided to completely disinvest from fossil fuels, and thus work towards a zero carbon future.’
Lord Deben, Chair of the UK Committee on Climate Change, recently urged Catholic leaders to play a more active role on the climate crisis when he addressed hundreds of people in a webinar on Catholic investment for an integral ecology. He said: ‘It is hugely important for the Catholic community to be very visible…it must be very determined, and it must be clear that we all ought to be in this together.’
In September, it was revealed that Shell plans to resume oil and gas exploration in the Arctic for the first time since 2015, despite pressure from faith investors and others that has exposed the inherent weakness of the fossil fuel industry.
James Buchanan, Bright Now Campaign Manager at Operation Noah, said: ‘It is hugely encouraging that so many religious orders have divested from fossil fuel companies as part of this announcement. We encourage more religious orders to divest from fossil fuels as a practical response to the climate emergency, especially in this crucial year for climate action ahead of COP26 [the UN climate talks in Glasgow] in 2021.’
How your religious order can get involved:
Could your religious order make a commitment to divest from fossil fuels and participate in a future joint divestment announcement? Please get in touch with Bokani Tshidzu on bokani.tshidzu@operationnoah.org for further information or to register your interest.