Michael Clifford: Do the Sisters of Charity have a moral obligation to pay staff redundancy? 

The Sisters of Charity says it does not have the funds to pay redundancy to staff laid off at three nursing homes. While the charity might not have a legal obligation to these staff, does it not have a moral one, asks Michael Clifford

07/08/2020 Demonstrators during a protest at St. Monica’s Nursing Home to highlight the fact that over 200 staff are being made redundant and 160 beds will be lost from the system due to the closure of three health care facilities owned by the Sisters of Charity. Staff affected by these closures have been working in St. Monica’s Nursing Home, St. Mary’s Centre Telford and Caritas Convalescent Centre. Photo:Gareth Chaney/Collins

The Sisters of Charity was founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland in 1815. Its motto is Caritas Christi urget nos, which translates as “The love of Christ urges us on.” 

One might well ask what Christ would have made of how the sisters are currently conducting themselves at the moment and what Christ might have urged them to do.