Nuns Outraged by Goldman Sachs (from msn. money and guardian.co.uk)
Goldman Sachs, who claims it is doing “God’s Work”, is being challenged over its pay policies by shareholders invoking an even higher authority: four orders of nuns.
Four orders are all investors in Goldman Sachs and have sent the bank a formal challenge over the excessive ways the bank compensates employees, after it emerged that its five most senior employees were collectively awarded $69.5 million in pay last year.
The nuns – Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston ( founded in Le Puy, France by Jesuit Jean Paul Medaille and recognized in 1650, with their rule based on the tenets of St. Augustine; taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and having an active diocese in Tucson, Arizona), Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (founded in Amiens, France and taking vows of chastity and living under the rule of St. Ignatius of Loyola which includes obedience and poverty) and responsible for founding Trinity Washington University in Washington D. C. in 1897; which by 1997 had become the private college of choice for the women of D.C. Public schools, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia (founded on the rule of St. Francis of Assisi and taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience), and the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel (vows of obedience, stability, and conversion of life; which includes poverty and chastity) – have asked that shareholders demand the board review the company’s executive compensation policies and submit a report of that review by October 1, 2011.
ALL NUNS ARE ASSURED TO KEEP AT LEAST ONE OF THESE VOWS
Nuns sue Morgan Stanley over bad investment deal (www.soxfirst.com) 8/12/2010
It looks like the wrath of God is about to descend on Morgan Stanley with reports that the investment bank is being sued by a group of Irish nuns, notably the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, the Holy Faith Sisters, and the Irish Veterinary Benevolent Fund for failing to satisfy its contractual obligations related to $7.9 million of bonds they purchased, resulting in what became almost the complete wipeout of their investment.
If the Sisters of Charity (taking vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, founded by St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, both of France; this order being associated with Sisters of Charity of Montreal i.e. Grey nuns) website is anything to go by, it looks like Morgan Stanley is in for a tough time and it will be accused of doing the devil’s work.
But then, one can also ask why nuns are investing in financial markets. Or is that God’s work?
In the various branches of the Benedictine tradition (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldomese, and Trappists among others) nuns take vows of stability (that is, to remain a member of a single monastic community), obedience (to an abbess or prioress), and “conversion of life” (which includes poverty and chastity). The “Poor Clares” (a Franciscan order) and those Dominican nuns who lived a cloistered life take the threefold vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Most orders of nuns not listed here follow one of these two patterns, with some orders taking an additional vow related to the specific work or character of their order (for example, to undertake a certain style of devotion, praying for a specific intention or purpose).
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