Cards and letters of support from all over America plaster the office entrance of Network, a Catholic social justice lobbying organization on Capitol Hill. Observers were stunned when the Vatican issued a disapproving report last month on an umbrella group for American nuns, decrying its “radical feminist themes” and theological errors. Also mentioned in the report was Network. Sister Simone Campbell, who runs the organization, spoke to The Washington Examiner about the conflict and her thankfulness for the many donations and letters she has received since. “When you think nobody notices — and then to have this. It’s amazing,” she says. Initial news stories about the Vatican’s reprimand of nuns in America focused on the shock. Now that the shock has passed, what do you think happened? Why was this done?
It’s very, very complicated. There are bishops here who argue with us, who don’t like what we did with health care and who are not used to having a diversity of perspectives expressed out loud — I think that’s behind it. And I think there must be some level of fear on their part that they’re losing control. It’s so funny — they say that they, the bishops, speak for the Catholic Church. Well, that’s true, absolutely true — we never said otherwise. But I think, though I previously thought Catholic sisters’ lives were fairly anonymous, people really see our lives and take the moral witness of our lives as having power or having an example for people. I think some of the bishops wish that they had that same attractive quality. And they don’t, because of the pedophilia scandals, because of everything else that’s gone on in our church. It’s hard for them, I think, to watch us be respected.
Network disagreed with the bishops on health care reform and the contraception compromise. Is there room for disagreement with leaders in the Catholic Church? How do you handle that theologically?
The irony is that there’s no theological difference between us — it’s all political. It was one theology, but we read the bill differently. I’m a lawyer so I applied my faith to the bill. Another lawyer applied his faith to the bill and came out with a different answer. The whole fight was over whether or not there was federal funding for abortion in the bill. The bill said there wasn’t federal funding for abortion in it. But the bishop’s staff worried that maybe there could be, because it was a new mechanism and people didn’t know how it was going to work.
One challenge is the Roman experience is really much more out of the European sense of monarchy. It’s a culture of monarchy, where the monarch is right. And we come from a culture of democracy in the United States, where we’ve got all kinds of views. And in our culture of democracy, the monarch doesn’t think our asking different questions or having different opinions is right, and so that’s where the clash is. It’s culture and it’s politics. It’s not about faith. It’s not about Jesus. It’s not about the Gospel.
The Vatican singled out Network, calling it “silent on the right to life.” Does Network disagree with Catholic teachings on abortion?
No. It’s just you can’t do everything. We don’t focus on those other things because our mission is economic justice. We’ve got our hands full. There are a lot of groups that focus on the sanctity of marriage, on the sanctity of life — they don’t focus on the economic stuff. We’ve been faithful, and I take it as a badge of honor that they think we’ve done it too much. How wonderful. Isn’t that great? We speak up for the poor too much. I don’t think that’s possible.
Some Catholics have been saying the Vatican’s actions are making it hard for them to stay in the church. Is the answer to leave?
Well, it’s not my answer, but I sure understand the sorrow and sadness. But for me, faith is deeper than the leadership. And that’s the hard part. But faith and sacrament are nourishing, and the Gospel. I can’t go this alone. I’ve been to worship in other denominations, and I realize — it’s interesting, it’s nice, but it’s not home. For me, it would be like leaving home, cutting off my last name and not being a part of it.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
We are one body.
– Liz Essley
