The Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary have a bone to pick with their archdiocese as well as property law. The good sisters have an eightacre convent (in which no one has lived for 40 years) that they decided to sell because, well, it is valued at $\$15$ million and the sisters are not getting younger. The sisters claim that the property was given to them and that they would be entitled to the proceeds, a nice retirement for all of them. However, the archbishop has different ideas for the proceeds and maintains that the archdiocese owns the property. There are two parties vying for the property, singer Katy Perry and developer Dana Holister. There are five surviving nuns of the convent, which the nuns acquired in 1971 through a bequest to them. Sisters Rita Callahan (77) and Catherine Rose Holzman (86) filed court documents opposing the sale of the property. Ms. Perry used her legal name of "Katherine Hudsen" for her offer in September 2014 and the sisters were not aware that she was actually Katy Perry until they began evaluating the offers. ${}^{99}$ In e-mails attached to their filings, the sisters wrote, "In selling to Katy Perry, we feel we are being forced to violate our canonical vows to the Catholic Church." The three remaining sisters, Sister Kean-Marie, Sister Marie Victoriano (88), and Sister Marie Christine Munoz Lopez (82) support the archbishop in his decision to sell to Ms. Perry ${}^{100}$ They have signed statements of their desires and expressed their support for the sale. However, in their filings, Sisters Rita and Catherine noted that Sister Marie Christine was "woozy" when she signed her statement, being under the influence of morphine. Sister Marie Christine no longer responds to questions from her care facility. None of the nuns actually resides in the convent, but if they have ownership rights in the property they would be entitled to the proceeds. Sister Rita said in an interview, "Well, I found Katy Perry, and I found her videos and ... if it's all right to say, I wasn't happy with any of it. I thought, is that a way to make money?" 101 Ms. Perry has met with the nuns, sung "Oh Happy Day" for them, and showed them her tattoo of Jesus on her wrist. Ms. Perry explained that she was the daughter of pastors. The nuns were still concerned about Ms. Perry's duet video with Missy Elliot. The archdiocese's use of the funds bequeathed to the order along with the property in 1971 has presented complex legal questions. The 1971 bequest was to the nuns, but the archdiocese has had its hand in the management and upkeep of the property but has not accounted for the funds in the bequest....................................

Discussion Questions

 1. What do you learn about human nature from the battle between the nuns and the archdiocese?
2. What values were the nuns concerned about?
3. What are the rights of the nuns in the care home with regard to the property?