CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (WTVR) – A group of Catholic nuns protesting a Republican endorsed federal budget draft left Iowa this morning, embarking on a bus tour that will eventually lead them to Richmond, VA.
The nuns are members of Network, a liberal social justice lobby in Washington. They’ve launched a 9 state bus tour to protest the so-called “Ryan Budget,” a plan endorsed by Iowa Congressman Paul Ryan.
The Nuns say it cuts resources to the poor.
“What we’re here to do is lift up a different point a of view and say lets talk,” said sister Simone Campbell at the tour’s first stop in Des Moines, Paul’s district.
“It actually shifts tax cuts to the wealthy and 8 billion dollars more to the military than what they’re asking for,” Sister Simone said to a reporter from WISC, a CBS affiliate. “So from our prospective that’s not a good choice for our nation.”
Sister Simone says Rep. Ryan wants people to only think of themselves—the direct opposite of her Catholic beliefs. She says the Catholic church does teach individual responsibility, “but always in the context of community”.
Paul was not at his office while the protests were taking place, and has not issued a response on the nun’s tour. He has, however, defended his budget, saying it eliminates welfare to those who don’t need it.
The nuns will be making several stops, including Richmond on July 1st. They’ll hold a protest outside of House Majority Speaker Eric Cantor’s Richmond office at noon. They’ll hold a press conference at a yet to be determined location the following day in Richmond, before wrapping up the trip with an appearance at Trinity University in Washington, D.C.
