Priests call on Catholic Church to cut ties with Allianz over Israel links
James Cox
Priests have called on the Irish Catholic Church to cut ties with Allianz over its links to Israel and "the appalling human rights abuse being inflicted on the Palestinian people".
The insurance company was among a series of companies listed in a report by the UN special rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.
In a statement, the Association of Catholic Priests cited the pressure on the GAA to cut ties with Allianz, and urged the Catholic Church to sever its ties with the German insurance giants.
The statement reads: "A similar demand is likely to emerge when the long and close commercial relationship of Allianz and the Catholic Church in Ireland becomes clear. For decades, Allianz has been the trusted friend of the Catholic Church – even to the extent of enjoying representation on the Allianz Board – with Catholic Church properties in Ireland including places of worship, schools, cars, etc almost all being insured by Allianz as a matter of course."
The priests cited this coming Sunday's ‘Day of Prayer and Reflection for Gaza’, which will be led by Archbishop Eamon Martin.
They added: "In the light of that ‘Reflection’ and because the present sense of outrage in the Irish Catholic Church at what’s happening in Gaza will be increased exponentially by the revelation of the Irish Catholic Church’s connection with Allianz and Allianz’s connection with the state of Israel, we ask that the response of the Irish Catholic Church should be immediate and far-reaching in cutting our links with Allianz.
"Nothing less is acceptable as Irish Catholics will now be conscious of the Allianz connection – albeit by extension – and of our connection with the plight of the children we see on our television screens.
"The ACP also encourages all Catholic religious Congregations and dioceses to exercise high levels of due diligence in carefully scrutinizing their investment portfolios to determine if any part of their investments is helping to sustain the appalling human rights abuse being inflicted on the Palestinian people."
