-     Economic measures

The religious life takes many economic measures, so we must not forget that when we begin with finance, we always end by doing something concrete. It is appropriate, therefore, to look at some of the various Religious Institutes’ arrangements and see how they respect the criteria already indicated. The economy (financial management) of a congregation must serve the Kingdom and therefore cannot have profit, gain or personal benefit as a “fundamental rule”; rather it must be based on love, expressed in the form of justice, sharing, giving and serving.

50.      Sharing possessions within the religious congregations is a requirement that is growing in strength. There is no doubt that putting everything into a common pool is a prophetic sign for this globalised world in which we live, a world deeply marked by individualism and personal gain. How can we achieve this? How can we redistribute our assets on the basis of the needs of the people in the Institute and those of its overall mission? The communion of assets takes different forms. Some are clearly in line with the scriptural “and they shared all that they had”, and this may equally be the case at local, Provincial or international level.

51.      Give intelligent support to cancelling or reducing the foreign debt of poor countries: encourage ethical investment.

52.      Invest the funds we have well. How? Great strides have been made both in formulating investment criteria and in using the resulting income.

53.      Help the communities, works or provinces in the Third World. What criteria should we use? How can we save the mission in these places? Such aid can be given in a way that guarantees the subsequent independence of the communities that work in poor areas and poor countries.

54.      Work to make people aware of and sensitive to the evils of neo-liberalism and its consequences, and not to be afraid to speak out against such evils. Of course, having spoken out, it is important that in our daily lives we do not go on living according to criteria that are really neo-liberal.

55.      Place great importance on good financial management: know the main elements of today’s economy and banking systems, avoid deception and usury, excessive gain and undue accumulation [of wealth or property].

56.      As regards the management of assets in our communities and in our works in poor countries and the Third World, it is important not to imitate procedures that belong to places where there are greater resources. These new foundations are faced with an important challenge: their treasurers must be autonomous and must acquire a wide range of experience in administration and management.

57.      We must be aware of the bodies that promote social and economic change, that defend human rights and protect the ecology, sometimes by means of pressure on Governments and multinational companies. We must be part of those bodies and give them our support.

58.      Sometimes we must work in minor ways to bring about change in the world economy: we must give the proper value to local products and we must buy them; we must put our money into ethical investments, refusing to invest for excessive returns... We must put the interests of people before those of our financial situation; we need not always be motivated by profit. So we must invest in “non-profit” organisations.

59.      We must be aware of the criteria and issues dealt with by Canon Law in relation to the assets of a Religious Institute, and we must make sure that they are more widely known and applied. They are full of wisdom and experience.

60.      We must establish in our own congregation economic structures that are appropriate to this moment in the history of the Consecrated Life.