Impact Investment Conference at the Vatican

An article in Crux, a publication “Taking the Catholic Pulse,” provides perspective on the Vatican’s third convening on impact investing and the critical role the church can play in facilitating growth in this area.

This is the third time the Vatican has convened investors, fund managers, and commercial bankers with various heads of Catholic charities and aid-related missions to explore the Church’s involvement in impact investment. It’s sponsored by Turkson’s department, Catholic Relief Services (the overseas development arm of the U.S. bishops) and Caritas Internationalis (the Rome-based federation of Catholic charities around the world).

During several panels and working sessions, the conference will try to provide a platform for a long-lasting conversation not only between the investing side and the enterprise side, but also the public sector, a third key element in fighting inequality that results from an excessive concentration of wealth.

When consulted by Crux, some of the participants argued that the aid and relief organizations the Catholic Church runs are already “ideal vehicles” for impact investment because their focus on livelihood improvement, financial inclusion, environmental protection and public health neatly aligns with the mission of many impact funds.