Bus Stop

A big, colorful bus sponsored by Network, a Catholic social justice lobby based in Washington, D.C., stopped in Dubuque, Iowa, on June 19, the second day of a 15-day tour through nine states called “Nuns on the Bus: Nuns Drive for Faith, Family and Fairness.” The bus parked outside Maria House, which provides emergency transitional housing for women, to highlight the work of Catholic sisters and their collaborators, whose ministries serve the poor. “We come today to speak out, to complain that the House budget proposed by Congressman [Paul] Ryan is wrong, wrong, wrong,” said Simone Campbell, of the Sisters of Social Service, the executive director of Network. She said the country’s debt is not due to Social Security and Medicare benefits but resulted from starting two wars and not raising taxes to pay for them. “We need to be responsible; we need to pay for the programs we believe in, and we need to invest in the future,” said Sister Campbell. “That’s what a faithful budget would do.”