This Week in Poverty: The Soul Sisters
http://www.thenation.com/blog/168750/week-poverty-soul-sisters
I had the opportunity to speak to Sister Simone about the tour, what inspired it, and whats next for the Nuns on the Bus. This is what she had to say:
Greg Kaufmann: How did a group of nuns suddenly decide to drive 2,700 miles across the country?
Sister Simone: You know how? We asked for help. I do meditation and try to listen deeply to Gods nudgings, and for me the insight that I had was that with all of this notorietywere not used to having the attention on ourselveswe needed to use it for mission. And in prayer what came to me was, Ask for help. So thats what I did.
We had all of these folks come together to brainstorm, and we dont remember who first came up with itbut it was a bus trip. That was May 14, and then on June 17 we launched the foolish thing.
Did that sudden notoriety stem from the Vaticans reprimand back in April of American nunsfor being outspoken on social justice issues and silent on issues like abortion and gay marriage?
Sister Simone: Right. And the fact that they named NETWORK as a problem organization for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). They said that some of the reasons LCWR was doing poorly was because they were related to us. It was excruciatingly painfulthe Vatican never even talked to us. Plus it was such a shockwere such a small organization, nine full-time staff. So that we were known by the Vatican at all was shocking.
I also think if Paul Ryan had never claimed that Catholic social teaching informed his budget, I dont know that we ever would have gone on a bus trip. In some ways its a gift that he did it, but its also so infuriating.
*** the Sisters provide a great example about how to take the fight to the conservatives.