Anti-Personnel Landmines and Cluster Munitions: The Catholic Ban List

Some weapons are considered so inherently problematic that Catholic teaching supports their total prohibition, not just restrictions. Anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions fall into this category, and the USCCB Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines reflect that position by excluding companies still involved in producing them.

This is one of the clearer exclusion categories. The moral reasoning is straightforward, the international legal framework is well-established, and the list of involved companies is relatively short. But the details matter if you actually want to implement the screening properly.

Why these weapons are different

Most weapons, even deadly ones, can theoretically be used within the bounds of just war theory. You can use a rifle to defend a civilian against an armed attacker. You can use an artillery shell against a legitimate military target. The question with most weapons is how they're used, not whether they should exist.

Landmines and cluster munitions are different because their harm extends indefinitely beyond the moment of use.

An anti-personnel landmine placed during a conflict in 1985 can still kill or maim a child walking through a field in 2026. The weapon doesn't know the war is over. It doesn't distinguish between soldiers and farmers. It just waits.

Cluster munitions scatter dozens or hundreds of small submunitions across a wide area. A significant percentage fail to detonate on impact, leaving unexploded ordnance that can persist for decades. Countries like Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam still have millions of unexploded cluster bomblets from American bombings in the 1960s and 1970s. They're still killing people now.

The Catechism paragraph 2314 states that "every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man." Landmines and cluster munitions create exactly this kind of indiscriminate destruction, just spread out over decades rather than concentrated in a single attack.

The international legal framework

The Ottawa Treaty (Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction) was signed in 1997 and came into force in 1999. It prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Over 160 countries have joined.

Notably, the United States has not ratified the Ottawa Treaty, though the Obama administration adopted most of its provisions as policy and the Biden administration took further steps toward compliance. Russia, China, and India have also not joined. But most of the international community supports the ban.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in 2008 and came into force in 2010. It prohibits all use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. Over 120 countries have joined. Again, the United States, Russia, China, and several others have not ratified, though U.S. policy has shifted toward compliance for most cluster munition types.

The Catholic Church has supported both treaties. The Holy See is a party to both conventions, and Vatican diplomacy was active in pushing for them. This means Catholic moral teaching and international humanitarian law are aligned on this specific issue, which creates a clear basis for investment screening.

The involved companies

Active landmine and cluster munition producers are a relatively small group, partly because of treaty pressure and partly because the market has shrunk as countries destroyed stockpiles.

Textron (TXT) was the most prominent U.S. producer of cluster munitions through its Textron Systems subsidiary. The company produced the CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon, a cluster munition designed to be more discriminating than older versions. Textron announced it would stop producing cluster munitions in 2016 after the U.S. government declined to approve an export license. The company exited the business entirely. For Catholic investors, Textron can be considered in the clear on this category as long as you're confident the exit was complete.

General Dynamics (GD) has produced cluster munition components in the past. Its current exposure is more limited, but Catholic investors should verify case by case.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) has historical exposure to various cluster munition systems through missile and rocket artillery programs. Its current exposure varies by product line.

Raytheon (now RTX) similarly has had various cluster munition exposures that have been reduced over time but may persist in some product lines.

BAE Systems (BAESY), the UK-based defense contractor, has produced cluster munitions historically. The UK is a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, so BAE has worked to exit these businesses, though legacy exposure may remain.

Rheinmetall (RNMBF), the German defense contractor, produces various military systems. Germany is also a party to the cluster munitions convention, so Rheinmetall's exposure has been limited.

Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman have various exposures from propellant, rocket motor, and ordnance businesses.

The situation with Russian and Chinese defense contractors is different because those countries aren't parties to either treaty, and their domestic defense industries continue production. This matters if you're looking at emerging market investments, though most U.S. retail investors don't have direct exposure to Russian or Chinese defense stocks.

The moral cooperation analysis

How should Catholic investors think about companies with historical or indirect exposure to these weapons?

Direct current production. Categorically excluded. There's no proportionate reason for material cooperation with the ongoing production of weapons the Church supports prohibiting.

Recent exit (within the last 5 years). Subject to prudential judgment. Some Catholic fund managers continue to exclude companies with recent exit due to concern about re-entry. Others accept that the exit has been meaningful.

Historical production that ended long ago. Generally not a basis for exclusion if the exit has been documented and sustained.

Component supply without end-product manufacture. Depends on whether the components are specifically designed for cluster munitions or are dual-use.

Textron is an interesting case study here. The company's exit from cluster munitions was public, deliberate, and driven partly by concerns about humanitarian compliance. Some Catholic investors continue to hold the stock (though Textron has other issues that keep it off some screens); others maintain a cautious posture.

Why engagement is hard here

For most moral issues, the USCCB guidelines prefer engagement over divestment where possible. Own the stock, file shareholder resolutions, push for change.

For landmines and cluster munitions, engagement has limited usefulness. The weapons are produced under government contracts, usually for foreign military sales. Companies don't have much flexibility to exit unilaterally because exit can trigger contract penalties or national security concerns.

What engagement can do is push companies to resist reentering the market, to advocate for treaty compliance, and to ensure that any current production meets the strictest humanitarian standards. These are meaningful contributions even if they don't eliminate the underlying concern.

For retail Catholic investors, divestment is the practical answer. You're not going to file a shareholder resolution that changes Lockheed's core defense contracts. But you can decline to own the stock and therefore decline to benefit financially from the production.

The humanitarian context

One thing that can get lost in the policy debate: landmines and cluster munitions kill and maim thousands of civilians every year. According to the Landmine Monitor report, over 5,000 people were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded remnants of war in 2024, with about 80 percent being civilians and a disproportionate number being children.

The specific victims include farmers working their own fields, children walking to school, women gathering firewood, and refugees returning home after conflicts. These aren't hypothetical harms. They're daily realities in Cambodia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Ukraine, and dozens of other countries.

Pope John Paul II addressed this directly in his 1997 message for the World Day of Peace, calling landmines "perfidious weapons" that "threaten the lives of innocent people long after the conflicts have ended." Pope Francis has similarly spoken about cluster munitions and landmines as weapons incompatible with human dignity.

When Catholic investment guidelines exclude companies producing these weapons, they're not making a political statement. They're refusing to profit from instruments that maim children in countries the investors will never visit. That's a serious moral claim that deserves to be treated seriously.

How to screen effectively

If you want to make sure your portfolio doesn't include landmine or cluster munition exposure, here's a practical approach:

First, check your direct equity holdings against the major defense contractor list. Lockheed, Raytheon (RTX), Northrop, General Dynamics, and Textron have all had exposure at various times. Verify current status through their most recent 10-K filings and public statements.

Second, check your ETF holdings. iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA), Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA), and other defense sector ETFs typically include excluded companies. If you want defense exposure without the specific moral issues, you generally can't use these ETFs.

Third, consider Catholic-screened defense-free funds. Most Catholic mutual funds exclude the major defense contractors entirely, which addresses the landmine and cluster munition category indirectly. Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund (AVEDX) and similar funds take this approach.

Fourth, use positive screening. Invest in companies actively working on humanitarian demining, unexploded ordnance remediation, or peace-building initiatives. This is the "do good" pillar of the USCCB guidelines in action.

The broader principle

The landmine and cluster munition exclusion is a small category in terms of number of affected companies, but it represents a larger principle: some weapons are inherently incompatible with human dignity and can't be morally produced regardless of circumstances.

This principle extends to other categories. Nuclear weapons got added to the "absolute prohibition" category by Pope Francis in 2017. Chemical and biological weapons have been in the category for decades. The list isn't static; it reflects evolving moral understanding of which weapons can never be justly used.

Catholic investors who take the landmine and cluster munition exclusion seriously are implicitly accepting this principle. They're saying that some products can't be owned, regardless of revenue, regardless of diversification benefits, regardless of whether the company also does other good things. The moral weight of the product trumps the economic logic.

That's what makes Catholic investing distinct from generic ESG investing. ESG funds often include defense stocks because they score well on governance metrics or because the screening methodology doesn't weight weapons heavily. Catholic investors don't have that flexibility. The moral framework is clearer and the exclusions are firmer.

It costs you something to invest this way. You give up some diversification, you accept some tracking error, you have to do more research. But you also get something: a portfolio that isn't complicit in specific harms you know the Church opposes. That's what the USCCB guidelines are ultimately offering, a chance to make your ownership reflect your convictions.