by Casey Schoeneberger, Faith in Public Life
Nearly 60 prominent theologians, priests, nuns and national Catholic social justice leaders released a statement today refuting Rep. Paul Ryan’s claim that his GOP budget proposal reflects Catholic teaching on care for the poor, which he made in an interview earlier this week with the Christian Broadcasting Network. The group of Catholic leaders — including a former high-ranking U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops official, a priest in Rep. Ryan’s district and the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas — called on Ryan to “reconsider his radical budget proposal and refrain from distorting Church teaching.”
“If Rep. Ryan thinks a budget that takes food and healthcare away from millions of vulnerable people upholds Catholic values, then he also probably believes Jesus was a Tea Partier who lectured the poor to stop being so lazy and work harder,” said John Gehring, Catholic Outreach Coordinator at Faith in Public Life. “This budget turns centuries of Catholic social teaching on its head. These Catholic leaders and many Catholics in the pews are tired of faith being misused to bless an immoral agenda.”
The leaders wrote: “Simply put, this budget is morally indefensible and betrays Catholic principles of solidarity, just taxation and a commitment to the common good. A budget that turns its back on the hungry, the elderly and the sick while giving more tax breaks to the wealthiest few can’t be justified in Christian terms.”
(Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director of Pax Christi USA, signed onto this statement.)
Sr. Chappell and Casey Schoeneberger really should know more about economics and helping the poor before they make ridiculous arguments for more taxes. It seems to me that they have no experience in real life. Like paying outrageous taxes so Obama can jet around with Michelle on another vacation. Or paying for a GSA bash in Vegas. The list goes on and on and I put the blame squarely on Obama! Do not put down Paul Ryans plan it helps the poor and middle class.
To those people who listen to GOP TV. aka Fox Noise, here are some facts. The Ryan budget wants to give more, MORE tax breaks to the rich on top of making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Romney supports this budget, by the way, since his budget does the same. To balance the budget, he isn’t even saying what programs he wants to cut, but it it well known that he and the other people he represents don’t like the EPA, FDA, Food Stamps, etc. Also, he want to voucherize medicare. These people are radicals who want to destroy the infrastructure of the United States and just give more and more to the wealthiest people in America. This is not what Jesus would want us doing.