Theologians across the Catholic spectrum have fired a salvo at Speaker of the House, John Boehner saying the Republican-supported budget he shepherded through the House of Representatives will hurt the poor, elderly and vulnerable. This comes as the speaker has been invited to be the commencement speaker at The Catholic University of America.
From the NY Times
“Mr. Speaker, your voting record is at variance from one of the Church’s most ancient moral teachings,” the letter says. “From the apostles to the present, the Magisterium of the Church has insisted that those in power are morally obliged to preference the needs of the poor. Your record in support of legislation to address the desperate needs of the poor is among the worst in Congress. This fundamental concern should have great urgency for Catholic policy makers. Yet, even now, you work in opposition to it.”
Correct.
And more importantly, the theologians, unlike a lot of clergy, alumni and students at Notre Dame, did not ask that Mr Boehner’s invitation to speak be rescinded as many classless others did at Notre Dame.
Stephen F. Schneck, one of the professors who drafted the letter, stated it best:
“We are going out of our way to say, ‘Welcome to the Catholic University,’ ” Mr. Schneck said, “ ‘but we don’t agree with you.’ ”
Now that’s the way to protest and keep the conversation open.
I’m not sure you can equivocate a budget which some people believe will eventually harm seniors and the unequivocal ending of human life. Especially when the status quo is the half trillion of Medicare cuts made by the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of whether it was reasonable to question the choice of Obama as speaker, the parallel seems poor.
(I also question whether the teachings of Christ and the Church demand that alms be collected by force of government, but that is a much broader subject.)