The warmth with which elderly Catholic nuns have been greeted on their cross-country bus tour to protest Republican cuts to the federal budget is hugely encouraging. The sisters and I may disagree about certain things, particularly the budget plan of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan — who is Catholic — but what a blessed country we live in, where a major public argument centers on how to best care for the poor and unfortunate.

One reporter said the nuns were “greeted like heroes” outside Ryan’s office. “For the sisters, the tour is about more than debating points,” a Huffington Post dispatch said, citing the nuns’ participation in various social welfare projects during their journey. A reminder that we have responsibilities to one another is exactly what you’d hope to see from women dedicated to God and his service.

Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wis., gave Ryan a vote of confidence while affirming the work of so many religious orders in a recent interview, saying that the congressman’s budget is “in accord with Catholic principles.”