Posted on 08/08/2005 6:12:28 PM PDT by sionnsar
At its October meeting, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church will debate proposals designed to bring peace to the Middle East, including adding corporations that profit from the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank to its “no-buy” list of stocks. Executive Council meets Oct. 7-10 in Las Vegas.
The stocks of 32 publicly traded corporations, as of May 2005, are labeled “no-buy” by the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) committee of the National Concerns Committee of Executive Council.
Under the SRI guidelines, corporations that “produce tobacco or tobacco-related products may not be held” in the Church’s portfolio, as well as shares of companies “conducting business in Sudan or benefiting the rebel-controlled government” of the SPLA “may not be held.”
The Church also may not own shares in defense contractors if the revenues generated by “defense or military contracts exceeds 50 percent of the company’s total revenue.”
Companies that fall afoul of these guidelines include BP Amoco, Eastman Chemical, Lockheed Martin, Loews, Northrop Grumman, RJR Nabisco, and Union Camp.
The Presbyterian Church USA’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) Committee has taken the lead in targeting corporations for divestment over their support for Israel.
Caterpillar, Citigroup, ITT Industries, Motorola and United Technologies will be engaged by the Presbyterian Church through “dialogue, shareholder resolutions” to change “their business practices which inflict harm on the innocent, and delay movement toward a just peace,” Bill Somplatsky-Jarman of the MRTI Committee said Aug. 5.
”If these dialogues fail,” he noted, “divestment is an option that the General Assembly may consider.”
At the Louisville meeting of Executive Council June 13-16, guests from the Presbyterian Church shared the results of their work in bringing economic pressure against Israel with members of the Council.
To find more news, feature articles, and commentary not available online, we invite you to subscribe to The Living Church magazine. To learn more, click here.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Hm.
More shares for me. Thank you.
People love empty gestures don't they?
It's not about actually accomplishing anything, it's about "feeling good" , good and self-righteous and holier than thou.
Smug, self-righteous, condescending.
Yes, they do. And these fiddle, while Canterbury burns.
These folks are just incredibly arrogant!
We should develop a FreeRepublic list of companies that support traditional values, low taxes, free speech, strong defense and Israel and disseminate the list to conservatives across the world!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.