The Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are recommending that their colleague priests divest from any stock investments they may have with PetroChina-PTR and China Petroleum-SNP (Sinopec) through Fidelity Investments.

An editorial in the Feb. 5 Los Angeles Times indicates that these two oil companies have given billions of dollars to the Sudanese government. The government has in turn diverted a large percentage of the oil revenues to purchase arms that have been used to finance genocide.

The Council of Priests also wrote to Fidelity Investments urging the company to divest itself of all holdings in PetroChina and China Petroleum.

"While ethically responsible investors are recognizing and addressing the problem of investing in companies which help to support the government of Sudan and fund the genocide in Darfur, Fidelity has increased its investments in Chinese oil companies doing business in the Sudan," wrote council officers Father Richard Martini, Msgr. Stephen Downes and Father Alex Aclan in a letter to Edward Johnson, Fidelity chair. "Our faith calls us to speak out on behalf of the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed."

"We believe that there are other socially responsible companies in which investors can earn an acceptable rate of return," continued the letter. "We hope that Fidelity can find these types of companies. If not, we will seek out funds that invest in a way that respects the dignity of each person."

The matter also has been taken up at the Archdiocesan Finance Council to ensure that the archdiocese does not have any investments with the two Chinese oil companies.