~ by Dan Stockman, Global Sisters Report
The Nuns on the Bus are getting a sort of staycation this year, running a bus tour of the country that will take place entirely online.
Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, announced that the tour, which runs from September 23 to October 23, will be entirely in cyberspace because of the risk of transmitting the coronavirus.
“We may be crazy, but I am excited about it,” said Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell, the Executive Director of Network
Nuns on the Bus began in 2012 as a cross-country bus tour to raise awareness of income inequality and the working poor, barnstorming through political battleground states. This will be the seventh tour.
“When you look at the church’s teaching, it is always linked to life issues like care for the poor and the marginalized, care for the Earth.” Voters following Catholic Social Teaching need to consider issues such as racism and white supremacy, xenophobia and economic inequality,” said Sr. Simone
While there are certainly drawbacks to not boarding an actual bus and meeting people across the country, Campbell said, there are also benefits to having an online version: Sisters can participate without committing to a week of bus travel and can pick which events best fit their schedules. And since it is virtual, nuns are not the only people who can get on the bus.
“Everybody can be on the bus this time,” she said. “That’s the cool part.”
Campbell said building community is another reason to host a tour, despite the technical challenges it presents: Much of the political and social divides in the United States fall along geographic lines between urban and rural voters.
“If we believe in democracy, we need everybody’s voice in the conversation,” Campbell said.
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