The Washington Post reports that Wal-Mart hired former nun Harriet Hentges for a new position called senior director of stakeholder engagement. Dr. Hentges was a nun in the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet from 1958 -72. Since then she has earned a PhD in international economics at Johns Hopkins and worked as COO for the League of Women Voters and the United States Institute of Peace.

Her new job extends Wal-Mart’s recent outreach to environmental groups and in-house initiatives to teach employees about energy conservation and healthy lifestyles.

Patricia Wolf of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility doesn’t think Dr. Hentges’ history as a nun is the point: "The real issue here is that Wal-Mart is taking environmental and healthcare issues seriously and is dedicating personnel to help reach a higher standard."

Wake Up Wal-Mart’s Chris Kofinis is in a wait and see mode, saying Wal-Mart "must walk away from is history of inaction and publicity stunts. It must become a better company that pays a living wage, provides affordable health care and reflects the best of American values."

Inasmuch as we haven’t hesitated to poke Wal-Mart with a stick from time to time, we would be remiss if we failed to wish Dr. Hentges and Wal-Mart well in this endeavor. As Our Founder famously said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." (Matthew 12:33, New International Version)