Ascension Health investments appear to reject Vatican guidance
Summary
A report by National Nurses United (NNU) claims that Ascension Health’s investments—in its Master Pension Trust—include hundreds of millions of dollars in industries that conflict with the Vatican’s 2022 guidance, Mensuram Bonam: Faith-Based Measures for Catholic Investors. These holdings cover weapons manufacturers, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, mining, fossil fuels, environmentally harmful banks, and exploitative labour sectors. NNU urges Ascension to increase transparency, publish its investment criteria, divest from problematic sectors, and release lists of holdings and divestments. These investments have recently been rallied against nurses at St. Agnes Hospital.
Relevance
This article raises important questions consistency between mission statements and financial practices, and underscores how financial stewardship is increasingly seen as integral to the moral identity of Catholic health care.