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posted by CoolHand on Friday October 06 2017, @12:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the eco-pope dept.

More than 40 Catholic institutions are to announce the largest ever faith-based divestment from fossil fuels, on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi.

The sum involved has not been disclosed but the volume of divesting groups is four times higher than a previous church record, and adds to a global divestment movement, led by investors worth $5.5tn.

[...] Assisi's mayor, Stefania Proietti – a former climate mitigation professor – told the Guardian: "When we pay attention to the environment, we pay attention to poor people, who are the first victims of climate change.

"When we invest in fossil fuels, we stray very far from social justice. But when we disinvest and invest in renewable and energy efficiency instead, we can mitigate climate change, create a sustainable new economic deal and, most importantly, help the poor."

Are they putting their money where their mouth is, or making a smart economic bet?


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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 06 2017, @05:30PM (3 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday October 06 2017, @05:30PM (#578154) Journal

    That is kind of what it looks like from the outside.

    Visiting the Middle East is a useful exercise for people who want to get a flavor of what Christianity was before the Catholic church. The cave churches in Capadocia where Christianity gained its first toehold and really took off, exude a raw kind of spirituality, sort of like a Woodstock moment for the early religion, that you won't detect at all in the Vatican. It was really diverse as well--the iconography from one cave church to another was much, much different, even though the doorway of one was literally 10 yards away from the doorway of another. It must have been a terrifying and exhilirating time for those early Christians.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday October 06 2017, @08:22PM (2 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Friday October 06 2017, @08:22PM (#578313) Journal

    Yeah? Lemme throw some cold water on that for you: the Christians were just another shrieking hysterical largely-illiterate backwoods doomsday cult. If it hadn't been for the Romans the religion would have all but died out in the early fifth century. As it is, their numbers were far lower--and the persecution far less severe--than we are popularly told.

    Know who early Christians were most like? Today's alt-right. There, I fucking said it. Bunch of angry, disenfranchised hicks who'd rather burn the whole place down than do anything to help their situation. You REALLY need to study more ANE and Roman history.

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    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday October 07 2017, @11:53AM (1 child)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Saturday October 07 2017, @11:53AM (#578546) Journal

      I think you're projecting your current frustrations with politics onto the subject. One of the early centers of Christianity was Ephesus. It had a chance there because the town hosted the temple of artemis, which generated a lot of income from pilgrims coming to make offerings for fertility. It being a cult dominated by priestesses, women in general had better status in the incredibly absolutist patriarchy of the Roman world. Christianity at the time accorded equal status to women, which was lapped up by the Ephesian women. Soon the artemisian cult had been supplanted by Christianity.

      That's right: the early church thrived because it was feminist (at least by the standards of the time).

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      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday October 08 2017, @07:17PM

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday October 08 2017, @07:17PM (#578939) Journal

        Yeah, and early Islam was feminist by the standards of the time too. What's your point? You're confusing historical success with truth.

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        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...