To my surprise, one of the speakers last night at the DNC was a Catholic nun, Sister Simone Campbell, who is the executive director of Network. Network is a Roman Catholic Social justice organization.
Given the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion, I was surprised to learn that Sister Simone had driven across the country advocating her ‘pro-life” stance.
To my surprise, the “pro-life’ stance that motivated Sister Simone to traverse the entire country was concern, not for the rights of an unformed embryo, but the rights of people living and suffering in the United States. In particular the Nuns on the Bus, have focused on the Ryan Budget, and what it would mean for the middle class, and the poor. Note that this was the focus of the nuns BEFORE Ryan was selected as Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, and in spite of the fact that Paul Ryan is Catholic. Last June Sister Simone traveled with other Catholic sisters on a 2,700-mile journey “to tell Americans about the budget Paul Ryan wrote and which Romney has endorsed.’ The critical problem with the Ryan budget, according to Sister Simone, is that the budget results in the wealthy becoming wealthier, and the poor becoming poorer.
Here is her speech given last night:
Clearly Sister Simone is more concerned with people living in poverty in the United States than the unborn. While she may be “pro-life” on abortion issues, her focus is to help those in our society who have been cast off. She is focused on helping the five year-old child who may die from neglect and starvation rather than the five day old embryo that might be aborted. Sister Simone is not a famous politician. Her net worth isn’t measured in dollars and cents, but by the contribution she makes to the poor and destitute. She is a hero. She is willing to fight for what she believes, which is not about herself. She rides in a bus, not Cadillacs. She probably doesn’t have a dog, but if she did, she wouldn’t strap him to the roof of her bus.
Instead of throwing people under the bus, she rides the bus to lend a hand; to pull them out from under the bus; to raise them up. Compare the good work done by Sister Simone in her bus, to that of Sarah Palin and her bus. Sister Simone speaks up for the weak by speaking out against the Romney/Ryan budget. Sarah Palin speaks up for herself, by promoting the Romney/Ryan budget. “Common sense” would indicate Sister Simone has a servant’s heart, while Sarah Palin and the Republicans are heartless.








14 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 6, 2012 at 12:31 pm
'sconny gal
she was awesome
we are all our sisters keepers
and brothers too!
September 6, 2012 at 12:35 pm
californiacruisin
Wait a minute. What happened to the picture of the wet Irish setter I sent you? Seamus was an Irish setter not a poodle. Hmmmph.
September 6, 2012 at 12:42 pm
malialitman
californiacrusin,
i still have it, i just like this one too!
September 6, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Eulaine Hall
I, too, am Roman Catholic, and I can’t find a single other Roman Catholic who doesn’t agree with Sister Simone’s stance. These Bishops demanding their priest deliver politics from the pulpit are driving good Catholics away- but just to more reasonable Bishops.
September 6, 2012 at 5:09 pm
malialitman
Eulaine,
i was raised Catholic, and the church is going to be hurtin for certain if they don’t realize just how hypocritical it is to advocate no right to an abortion but to ignore the people in need.
September 8, 2012 at 7:12 am
Beaglemom
At this point in history it is the nuns who are carrying forward Christ’s true message. Not the bishops.
September 8, 2012 at 9:37 am
malialitman
Beaglemom,
The bishops are spending their time trying to deal with all the child molestation issues that still plague the church.
September 6, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Celia Harrison
Thank you for this post. Sister Simone brought me to tears. She represents the kind of people I was used to before I came to Alaska.The Catholic Sisters are doing good works all over the country for those who are less fortunate. I have volunteered in some programs they were running. I am not Catholic, but what I found out is they do not push their religious beliefs on others and treat people of all faiths equally. I don’t agree with their religious faith, but I support their work and the way they treat others 100%. They are an example for the rest of us.
September 6, 2012 at 5:06 pm
malialitman
Celia,
And they are an example of the people who realize just how crazy it is to oppose abortion, but to ignore people after they are born!
September 7, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Michael B. Calyn
Reblogged this on Ye Olde Soapbox.
September 8, 2012 at 7:03 am
Anne
Sister Simone symbolizes what it truly means to be pro-life. That term has been misappropriated by people who are only pro-birth but have no concern for children beyond that point. Her speech at the convention, along with her everyday actions, is a direct rebuke toward Paul Ryan and his senior partner in all their hypocrisy and appeals to short-sighted selfishness as well as to chest-thumping self-righteousness. As far as I’m concerned, people who care only about preventing abortions but don’t advocate the kind of birth control that prevents the demand for them, or addressing the economic conditions that drive many women to seek them, don’t deserve the respect of being called pro-life. Their morality is highly selective.
September 8, 2012 at 9:40 am
malialitman
Anne,
I totally agree! What if our government mandated dna testing for every boy born so that in the event of a pregnancy later, the mother could declare who the father is, demand dna testing and the mother would carry and deliver the baby, and the father would be responsible to raise the child. i bet that would bring an abrupt end to the divisiveness over abortion.
October 21, 2012 at 10:03 am
christianliberal
Good one!
Here’s my take on it: http://christianliberal.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/budget-plan/
October 21, 2012 at 5:23 pm
malialitman
christianliberal,
Thanks for the link!