From The Blog

The Good Fight

We received this inspiring video and message from our friend Ben Wikler of “The Good Fight”. Sister Simone Campbell is one of the most inspiring spiritual activists of our time. No matter what your political or religious leanings—don’t let it keep you from listening to her amazing story.

Pattie Lockard, Executive Producer, Nurse Talk Radio

Dear friends,For anyone glad that Obamacare is finally here—glad that millions of Americans are, at last, covered by health insurance—this podcast is guaranteed to cause a smile.It tells the inside story of the final battle to pass the bill, in the final week before the final vote. But it’s not a story about politicians. It’s a story about an unlikely group of heroes who saved the day: Catholic nuns. And it’s a story pulsing with enough humanity and warmth to make us forget about the polar vortex.Click here to listen to the podcast (and subscribe for more) on iTunes!

Or listen on our website here, or on Stitcher (an Android and iOS app), or subscribe via RSS.

We’ve seen the headlines about the Catholic nuns suing over contraception coverage in Obamacare. The case just reached the Supreme Court. And it would be easy to look at that story and conclude that nuns in general are opposing the most significant piece of progressive legislation in decades.

But that would be exactly the wrong conclusion.

Sister Simone Campbell—one of the most charming, utterly down-to-earth, and profoundly committed people I’ve ever met—explains why. And in the process, she tells her own fascinating story, from an anti-segregation sit-in where, as a teenager, she decided to take her vows, all the way to the present and her delight in the joyous tone set by Pope Francis.

Her voice, and her spirit, are captivating. Listen in to “The Good Fight” on iTunes, and be sure to subscribe to hear more!

(Or check out the episode on our website.)

Sister Simone’s story is a piece of recent history that we’d do well to remember. It punctures the myth, so often pushed by Republicans, that faith leaders are necessarily conservative. In fact, for Sister Simone and so many others, a commitment to social justice is linked inextricably with faith.

Whatever happens to this Supreme Court case, I’ll always be thankful to America’s nuns for what they did on health care. I think anyone who hears the story will feel the same way.

Thanks for all you do.

Warmly and with hope,

–Ben