Catholic Bank Invests In The Contraceptive Pill
PAX Bank is a Roman Catholic bank in Germany. It buys stocks in BAE Systems, tobacco and Wyeth.
Wyeth? You know, the American firm that make the contraceptive pill.
Pope Benedict XVI, a Catholic, has called birth control a “grave sin“.
TheĀ bank – Pax means peace – seeks to make profit for its members and has a code of ethics:
PECUNIA ET PAX – THE ETHICS CODEX OF THE PAX BANK – An independent ethics advisory board for the Pax Bank was formed in 2002.
The Pax Bank works with the knowledge that money is a resource which must be earned, expertly administered, and responsibly multiplied, but whose purpose is not fulfilled until it is used for goals beyond the profit motive of the individual and that serve the common good.
The Pax Bank must hence mediate between Church missions, commercial dealings, and ethical requirements. It recognizes its Church origins to the same degree as its economic tasks, viewing corporate responsibility and ethical commitment as a unified whole.
A spokesman for the ethical bank thanked journalists for bringing the controversial investments to its attention.
As the code states:
The goals and benchmarks of personal conduct and cooperation with partners and clients must be made transparent.
Amen.
Posted: 5th, August 2009 | In: Money Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink