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Church in the WorldCardinal Egan welcomes Bush?s ?moral? line on businessAmericas 20 July 2002Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York, has praised President George W. Bush?s recent speech calling for a stronger ethics and personal responsibility in business. The president?s call came in the wake of the stockmarket meltdowns responding to a string of corporate scandals, reports Mark Cichra. Speaking in a Wall Street hotel on 9 July, Bush demanded a return to ethical business practices in the wake of the recent scandals in corporate America. He proposed a 10-point accountability plan for US business to promote responsibility among executives and greater transparency in accounting practices. Bush also proposed new legal action, including tougher laws against corporate document-shredding and longer prison sentences for those convicted of corporate fraud. He announced the creation of a Corporate Fraud Task Force to manage fraud investigations. Cardinal Egan said he welcomed Bush?s statement that business schools ?must be principled teachers of right and wrong and not surrender to moral confusion and relativism?. While he could not assess the president?s speech from ?a business or economics standpoint?, it was a ?good speech? from a moral point of view, according to the cardinal?s spokesman, Fr Paul Keenan. Church investment experts also voiced their approval. Br Michael O?Hern, president of Christian Brothers Investment Services commended Bush for taking ?a moral stand? and supporting legal action against corporate fraud. Christian Brothers Investment Services manages the funds of more than a thousand Catholic accounts, including many belonging to religious orders. The agency suspected trouble before the recent corporate scandals. It pulled out of Enron and sold its WorldCom holdings before those companies collapsed, leaving its clients unaffected. Critics of Bush?s speech have said existing laws against fraud are adequate and only need to be applied more forcefully. They say new forms of legal action which Bush proposes are unlikely to bring protection against future scandals such as those of Enron and WorldCom. Sr Patricia Wolf, executive director of the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility, said the challenge to integrity from corporate greed was broader than President Bush had actually acknowledged. Sr Wolf said she would like ?a broader take? on the meaning of ?corporate responsibility? ? words which were displayed behind Bush at his speech. |
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