Sister Simone Campbell, a Catholic nun and executive director of the
Catholic social justice group NETWORK, exhorted a packed hall at
Bellarmine University to foster change in their communities and their
church.Campbell, an attorney and lobbyist as well as a nun in the Sisters of Social Service order, organized the “Nuns on the Bus” tours in 2012 opposing the federal budget passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and again this year in support of immigration reform.
During her talk at Bellarmine on the future of the Catholic church, Campbell charged that church leaders often lack direct experience of tending to the needs of ordinary people.
“They look really pretty in their outfits, but their role of nourishing us ... gets lost,” she said.
Campbell challenged the audience to reconcile the hierarchical nature of the church with the democratic message of the New Testament, as she sees it.
“Jesus was forever bringing in folks who didn’t quite have the right dress for the occasion, or making sure they were fixed up with some food,” she said. “I believe deeply that Jesus is all about the dignity of the human being.”
According to Campbell, church leaders are “crippled” by their lack of empathy for ordinary people. “We the laity are called to ... bring to our leadership the stories they don’t know,” she said.
She asked her audience members to choose one issue they feel passionately about and to try to do something about it. “Often progressives get pretty ... discouraged, because we can’t do everything,” she said. “Just pick one.”
She took a small dig at Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. “The challenge is to radically accept Mitch McConnell, not necessarily as a Senator but as a human being,” she said.
But Campbell had glowing words for Pope Francis.
“He’s doing fabulous work,” she said.