Catholic institutions leasing out drilling rights to oil and gas companies; goes against Pope’s call on climate change

Dioceses and other catholic institutions in the United States are reportedly leasing out drilling rights to oil and gas companies to boost their finances. The news just comes after Pope Francis announced that doing away with highly-polluting fossil fuels is an urgent moral duty that will help the fight against the 'menace' of climate change.

Already, in one of the archdioceses in Oklahoma City, Reuters has found leasing documents showing three new oil and gas leases signed by church officials after the Pope’s encyclical.

Since 2010, as many as 235 oil and gas leasing deals have been signed by almost 56 Catholic institutions in Texas and Oklahoma, Reuters revealed after it reviewed county documents. It should be noted that none of the leases in Texas were signed after the Pope’s announcement.

However, it remains unclear whether production on the church leases was through fracking or if it involved more conventional drilling methods. Based on the lease documents, church authorities who struck deals with energy industries received royalties ranging from 15 to 25 percent of the value of what is taken out of the ground.

Catholic institutions in the U.S. are not barred from making such a deal or investing in the energy industry. According to the guidelines of The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) on ethical investing, Catholics and Catholic institutions are forbidden from investing in companies related to abortion, contraception, pornography, tobacco and war.

Mickey Thompson, a consultant and former director of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, believes that there could be other legal or fiduciary reasons for churches to lease out drilling rights as they receive mineral rights through donations. "There may be some kind of inconsistency here between what the pope has said and what the Church is doing in U.S. oil and gas country," he added.

A U.S. archdiocese in Chicago has direct links to the fossil fuels industry, which it has decided to put under review. In Texas, dioceses granted oil leases in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.

A spokesman named Pat Svacina from the Diocese of Forth Worth said that from the leases it holds, the diocese has received US$31,661 (AU$44681.06) in the 2015 fiscal year. However, he refused to comment on whether the leases would be reviewed in accordance with what the Pope has said.

Svacina said that cancelling a lease that was already in production was not easy. "The Diocese always reviews the viability and desirability of renewing a lease at the conclusion of a current lease," he added.

As churches tend to keep their finances classified, information from other Catholic institutions in Oklahoma and Texas showed oil and gas leases have produced a small percentage of revenue in recent years, likely because of the plunge in energy prices.

Reuters also found that through oil and gas royalties, the revenue of an archdiocese of Oklahoma City increased by 2 percent or US$1.6 million (AU$2.26 million) over the period of 2010-2013. This figure rose up to 5 percent in 2012, or gained US$704,399 (AU$994071.49), according to the audited statements. Many other Texas and Oklahoma institutions declined to share their data.

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