Among the most determined corporate activists in the United States are 80 nuns from a monastery near Kansas City. The Benedictine nuns of Mount St. Scholastica have taken a stand against companies like Google, Target, and Citigroup, among others. They are urging major corporations to implement tangible pro-social and pro-environmental measures.

Sister Barbara McCracken, who oversees the nuns' corporate responsibility programme, told Euronews, "Some of these companies, they just really hate us." In 2004, the Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica joined the Benedictine Coalition for Responsible Investment, an umbrella group led by Sister Susan Mica, a nun based in Texas who has been active in this field since the 1980s.

Until the 1990s, Benedictines were not involved in investing. This changed when they began setting aside and investing funds to care for elderly sisters. Sister Rose Marie Stallbaumer, who served as the community's treasurer for many years, explained, "We decided it was really important to do it in a responsible way. We wanted to be sure that we weren't just collecting money to help ourselves at the detriment of others."

By investing even small amounts, the Benedictines become company shareholders, granting them the right to, among other things, ask questions, make motions, and speak at general meetings. The nuns have requested that energy giant Chevron clarify its human rights policies and that Amazon disclose its lobbying expenditures. They have also called on Netflix to implement a more detailed code of ethics to ensure non-discrimination and diversity on its board.

The Benedictines have urged several pharmaceutical companies to reconsider patent practices contributing to rising drug prices. While their resolutions rarely pass, and even when they do, they are typically non-binding, these efforts serve as educational tools for the nuns and a means of raising awareness within corporations. Over time, support for their initiatives grows within the companies where they hold stakes.

At the core of the Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica's mission is the belief that the wealthy have too much, the poor too little, and that more should be shared for the benefit of all. In Catholic terms, it’s all for the common good. Sister McCracken defended the nuns' activist approach to investment: "To me, it's a continuation of Catholic social teaching." McCracken, who joined the Benedictine community in 1961, describes herself as an "odd extrovert" in monastic life who "hates to miss a party."

Other nuns spoke to Euronews about her involvement in anti-war, anti-racist, and trade union support activism. Now approaching 85, McCracken can no longer be as physically active as she once was, but shareholder activism provides her with "a sit-down job when you can't go to the streets." In the Benedictine community, retirement is not an option. "We don't use that word," McCracken told Euronews. "If we still have enough wits about us, we just keep going, you know?"

Source: euronews.com