Archdiocese Is 1st to OK Divestiture
Leaders of the first Roman Catholic archdiocese to divest itself of holdings in companies doing business in South Africa said they hope to spur the nation’s bishops into endorsing similar protests.
The Baltimore Archdiocese announced plans to rid itself of stock in five companies with investments in South Africa to protest apartheid, that country’s policy of racial separation.
Church leaders said the action should serve as an example for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is meeting in September to address the issue.
The bishops could recommend that the nation’s 184 Catholic dioceses divest themselves of stock in companies with ties to South Africa but the final decision would be left to each individual diocese, church officials said.
Baltimore Archbiship William Borders announced that the archdiocese, which includes 436,000 Catholics in Baltimore and Central Maryland, will divest itself of pension funds and other investments in General Motors, Chevron, Burroughs, Texaco and IBM.
The action is the strongest yet by a Catholic archdiocese in the United States, church officials said.
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