Simone Campbell isn’t one to sit in the back of the bus. In fact, the politically-minded Catholic nun is something of an American folk hero. As executive director of the social justice lobby NETWORK, Sister Simone and her fellow nuns criss-cross the country speaking out for health care reform, immigrants rights and wage equality. Current State speaks with Sister Simone about her work.
In 2010, a then-little known Catholic nun wrote a letter that helped change the face of health care in America. As Congress debated the bill, Sister Simone Campbell sent her letter of support to the leaders of 60 women’s religious orders, asking them to get onboard too. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed out of Congress and was signed. Today, we informally know that law as Obamacare.
Sister Simone’s letter helped propel her organization’s social justice mission. In 2012, her group called NETWORK launched its first national bus tour. Her work is the subject of an upcoming documentary, “Nuns On The Bus.” Now, Sister Simone Campbell is bringing her social justice theme to East Lansing.
Current State speaks with Sister Simone Campbell about “Nuns on the Bus.”