Nuns sue archbishop for right to ditch pension fund

A group of nuns are suing the Boston Archdiocese and their cardinal and have demanded $1.4m out of their pension pot.

The Daughters of St Paul have filed a lawsuit at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court demanding the right to withdraw the funds they invested in a church-run pension fund on behalf of their staff.

They run Catholic publishing house Pauline, which employs around 100 lay staff.

The nuns want to withdraw the $1.4m investment they made on behalf of their lay employees from the pension fund, which is now heavily underfunded. They have been trying to leave the fund and create their own since 2005.

The Daughters want the court to rule they were never legitimately part of the pension fund and have their contributions reimbursed or full accounting of their portion to be provided.

Representatives of the pension fund, which was originally set up to provide for priests, say they cannot supply accounts for the nuns' investment.

In August 2010, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, the Holy Faith Sisters and the Irish Veterinary Benevolent Fund grouped together to sue Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley for causing the loss of £2.9m on their investments.