Vice President Joe Biden with Nuns on the Bus in Iowa
In a 10-state, 36-city, 75-event tour, called We the People, We the Voters, they crisscrossed the U.S. in a brightly painted tour bus, covered with autographs of people encountered along the way, in an all-out effort to get people registered and fired up to vote on Election Day. Not rock stars or Merry Pranksters, or a Magical Mystery Tour.
They are nuns.
Nuns who have dedicated themselves to social justice issues—like economic justice, health care, and immigration reform and, like the rest of us, they know that if we don't get registered and then get people out to the polls to support candidates who are advocating for our rights, we'll be headed towards hell in a hand-basket.
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The bus tours, now in their third year, are organized by
NETWORK, a National Catholic social justice lobby, founded over 40 years ago, which you can learn more about below the fold.
On December 17, 1971, 47 Catholic Sisters from across the U.S. involved in education, healthcare, community organizing and other direct service gathered at Trinity College in Washington DC to shape a new ministry of justice. This came at a time when the Catholic Church was undergoing dramatic changes in response to Vatican II reforms and calls from the Vatican and U.S. Bishops to seek “Justice in the World.” Women religious boldly joined in the waves of civil rights, feminist and anti-war activism that were sweeping the U.S.During their weekend meeting, they voted to form a national "network" of Sisters to lobby for federal policies and legislation that promote economic and social justice.
To get their organization off the ground, they passed a bag and collected $187, and in April 1972 they opened a two-person office in Washington. Soon thereafter, the Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious (now the Leadership Conference of Women Religious) voted its strong support of NETWORK, passing the resolution by a wide margin.
Throughout the 1970s, NETWORK’s first home and staff residence served as a center for Washington-area Catholic justice and peace activism, with Saturday-night liturgies that drew activists from near and far. The justice agenda was far-reaching, ranging from global hunger to nuclear weapons and women’s rights. NETWORK’s famous legislative seminars drew hundreds of participants and presenters who included prominent Members of Congress (e.g., Senators Ted Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson, Barbara Mikulski, Walter Mondale and Joseph Biden) and other luminaries like Fr. Bryan Hehir.
BobboSphere wrote a
great piece with a lot of images of the nuns' stop in Chicago at the beginning of October. Vice President Joe Biden joined them in
Iowa.
President Obama talks with Sister Simone from Nuns on the Bus in the Oval Office
The most well-known face of Network, and Nuns on the Bus, is Sister Simone Campbell, who many remember from
her address at the
Democratic National Convention in 2012.
If you would like to know more, suggest you read her book, A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community.
In the summer of 2012, Sister Simone Campbell and a group of fellow Roman Catholic nuns toured parts of the country to rally support against Congressman Paul Ryan's budget, a plan that cut vital social programs for the hurting poor and the struggling middle class. Prayer groups turned into rallies, and small town meetings became national media events. Sister Simone became a galvanizing force for progressives of all stripes and remains a driving force for programs and policies that support faith, family, and fairness.
Rooted in a deep spirituality of compassion and service, Sister Simone gives voice to the hunger, isolation, and fear that so many people in America are feeling right now and shows us how we can create real transformation in our communities and in our own hearts through the contemplative life of prayer. Powerful, inspiring stories from the Nuns on the Bus tour and from Sister Simone's own life offer readers a fresh vision for a lived spirituality that is at the heart of today's progressive Christian movements working for change.
Sister Simone talks below about the tools that they are using at Network to get people to turn out and commit to vote.
Also in the works is a documentary film, by Melissa Regan, Nuns on the Bus, The Movie:
On a road trip for justice, these spirited women fight for people on the margins of society and unveil the face of a 21st century nun.
This funny, joyful and poignant documentary film follows Sister Simone’s personal journey into the public eye as she discovers her calling, builds a bold new movement, and navigates the complicated terrain between faith and politics. Follow along as these nuns challenge two of the world’s largest institutions – the Catholic church and the U.S. government – to reclaim their core values.
Confronting our deep national issues of poverty, health care, and immigration, Simone and her sisters view faith as a powerful force for justice, compassion and the common good. Can our democracy be saved, and will we realize the promise of our constitution and be “we the people” of the United States?
I've been thinking a lot about social activism, and members of progressive faith communities a lot in the last year, and writing frequently about
Moral Mondays and the Rev. William Barber. Over the years, I've come into contact with fierce female advocates for justice and the poor, some of whom were nuns. Many put their lives on the line for their faith.
I would like to stop here, for a moment of silence in remembrance, for Sisters Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kazel, and lay sister Jean Donovan, who were raped, tortured, and murdered in El Salvador on December 2, 1980, where they were fighting alongside the poor for land reform. Maryknoll Sister Madeline Dorsey wrote poignantly of those days and those valiant women.
Carry the message. Get out the vote. Give someone a lift to the polls.
It's not too late to help Daily Kos-endorsed candidates!
Defeat Mitch McConnell in just two hours. Sign up to make GOTV calls to Democrats.
Ride on, sisters!