NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Daniel Steininger admits he thought twice about the timing. As Catholic leaders meet in Rome to address the growing sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. church, Steininger is on the road to pitch a new Catholic mutual fund.

Catholic Equity Fund, which debuted April 2, tracks the S&P 500 but excludes companies in the index that do not adhere to pro-life beliefs. The fund will also push for workplace improvements at the companies it invests in, whether it is for better pay, fair compensation or financial accountability. One goal, said Steininger, is to help avoid Enron-like catastrophes.

"People are upset about the abuses of the Catholic church, and we're just as upset about the abuses of Enron," said Steininger, chairman of The Catholic Funds, a small family of funds based in Milwaukee. "We're saying, in light of the scandal, it's time for (Catholics) to invest accordingly."

The Catholic Funds recently merged three of its small equity funds to create Catholic Equity Fund. The three merged funds are: Catholic Equity Income; Catholic Large Cap Growth and Catholic Disciplined Capital Appreciation. The three were in the top third of their categories in the last 12 months but all were tiny in size, with less than $7 million in assets each, according to Morningstar. All three were less than three years old.

Besides an abortion screen, the funds excluded weapons producers, preferring to invest in stocks such as Microsoft.

Catholic Equity Fund, with about $15 million in assets, is more narrowly defined, excluding just six S&P 500 stocks. It does not invest in Manor Care, Tenet Healthcare, HCA Inc., Healthsouth, Health Management Associates and Wyeth, because of the abortion issue.

Beyond that, it will keep pushing for improvements in the workplace at companies in the S&P 500.

Already, as part of the fund's activist stance, it sent a letter on April 17 to all of the companies in the index informing them of its intention to fight for fair treatment of employees; fair "but not excessive" compensation of management; and better board oversight.

There are 17 funds that invest according to religious principals, according to Morningstar. They generally shun the so-called "sin stocks" -- companies that sell alcohol, tobacco and pornography. The funds include Amana Income and Amana Growth, which adhere to Muslim tenets. (Click here for more on the Amana funds.) Other funds follow the teachings of the Mennonites, Seventh Day Adventists and Christian Scientists, Morningstar said.

The returns vary depending on the investing style, but many of the funds have held their own. The fundamentalist Noah Fund, a large value offering with $11 million in assets, is down 4.6 percent year to date as of April 22, putting it in the top third of its category, according to Morningstar. Aquinas Growth Fund, a large growth fund that adheres to Catholic teachings with about $60 million in assets, is down 1.6 percent, putting it in the top 12 percent of its group.

But you will pay to invest with your religion. While the average expense ratio for a mutual fund is around 1 percent, Noah Fund charges 2.2 percent and Amana Growth charges 1.5 percent.

As for Catholic Equity, Class C no-load shares have annual expenses of 1.2 percent. That might not seem as bad as other religious funds, but it's leagues away from Vanguard 500 Index, which will cost you 0.18 percent.

The fund is not tackling the sexual abuse question, and management has faith in the church leadership to resolve the problem quickly, Steininger said.

Steininger said U.S. Catholics are furious at the church leadership for its handling of the crisis but they remain committed to their faith. (Click here for CNN.com's coverage.)

"This is a 2000-year-old church and it's been in far worse messes than this before," Steininger said. "The Catholic church has made mistakes before, and they eventually figure things out."

When asked whether the scandal would eclipse the message of his fund, Steininger said it was helping the fund get attention. "People are going to read this story. They're going to read anything with the word 'Catholic' in it."