The Council for Inclusive Capitalism launched a partnership with the Vatican late last year saying that it would be under the moral guidance of Pope Francis. The council consists of global companies (know as “the guardians”) which share a mission to “harness the private sector to create a more inclusive, sustainable and trusted economic system,” according to its website.
The positive impact of the commitments made by these organizations, if achieved, could profoundly change the world even though many of the same guardians in the council have policies in place, donate to causes, or manufacture products that are directly opposed to Catholic social teaching. Feel like digging around go here: https://inspireinsight.com/
Most, or perhaps all the guardians in the Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican are publicly traded and are thus first slaves to Wall Street, to earnings and future prediction of earnings. An incomplete list of the Guardians:
- Mastercard
- SalesForce
- DuPont
- EY
- Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A.
- TIAA
- Merck & Co., Inc.
- The Estée Lauder Companies
- Johnson & Johnson
- Visa
- The Estée Lauder Companies
- BP
- Bank of America
- Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
- The Rockefeller Foundation
- Ford Foundation
Similarly, many of the same companies on the Council for Inclusive Capitalism signed the Purpose of a Corporation (two for one deal?) back in 2019. https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/ourcommitment/
I haven’t read that a standards board was created to measure what the commitments actually mean and whether these businesses will follow through with them. I’m a skeptic of sorts in that words are often easy and cheap while the actions behind each of these commitments can be difficult to implement. Only time will tell if the Council for Inclusive Capitalism and The Statement of Corporate Purpose signed by many large multi-national organizations are merely for show or if Wall Street will prevail over the common good. Speaking of that, here’s a “report card” of sorts on how the Statement of Purpose is going https://337827c9-ebc5-4704-b7bd-0ba2e859ee47.filesusr.com/ugd/f64551_cad4d1c1808343258f2b57fb8fff90d9.pdf
I have sent in an application for Attollo to be a “Steward” (aka just small fry versus guardian of the galaxy status) on the council. I wrote as part of Attollo’s statement of purpose in the application that:
“Attollo’s leadership training is key to attaining the mission of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism: To even care about being TRUSTED, FAIR, RESPONSIBLE, DYNAMIC, SUSTAINABLE and concerned about People | Plant | Governance | Prosperity of all people – one must have a vibrant interior life, an ever-deepening friendship with God, and a genuine love for their neighbor – who as Jesus said – is everyone. If not, life is simply a single-minded pursuit to benefit the self.”
That’s why I’m betting on Wall Street in the long run with regard to the success of these two initiatives as great as they sound. It’s simple. God doesn’t seem to be part of the big picture even though it may be implied with the photos of and in the Vatican on the website. The fact is Wall Street won’t allow God into these initiatives, society won’t allow it either.
The pursuit of self will always triumph on earth when there is no God helping guide the initiative, no matter how noble.
