The Association of Catholic Priests has called on the Catholic Church to immediately cut links with Allianz insurance.
It comes as prominent sport stars made a similar call to the GAA to drop the company as a sponsor after the insurance company was among a series of companies listed in a report by UN special rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.
Allianz insurance was listed in the report published in June this year on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the UN as being among companies and corporations Ms Albanese said were involved in sustaining and paying for Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.
The Association of Catholic Priests said “questions are now being asked of Allianz” following the report.
“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 statement said.
The association said that this Sunday, bishops are leading a “day of prayer and reflection for Gaza” and it referenced a pastoral letter from Archbishop Eamon Martin in which he calls for “a renewed commitment by the international community for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.
“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,” the statement added.
The UN report found that as a global insurance company, Allianz invested large sums in shares and bonds implicated in the occupation of Palestinian territories.
In a statement yesterday, Allianz said: “Our long-standing partnership with the GAA is about supporting Irish sport and communities.
“Allianz Ireland is part of a global group, and while the wider group operates internationally across insurance and investment, as a matter of principle, we do not comment on individual customers or business matters.
“What we can say is that all Allianz business decisions are guided by strict legal standards and world-leading ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles.”
The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to follow and report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
