In April, some Catholic bishops were highly critical of the budget plan put forward by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. In a widely reported letter to Congress, the bishops called the Ryan-drafted budget “unjust and wrong” on the grounds that, in their view, it violated clear principles of Catholic social teaching. More specifically, the bishops said the Ryan budget is flawed because, again in their view, it would impose harmful spending restraint on programs targeted to the poor without cutting defense spending or raising taxes. Like President Obama, these bishops called on leaders in Congress to enact a “balanced” plan of deficit reduction.
Within days of making their criticisms public, the bishops were joined by a large contingent of Catholic academics in denouncing the Ryan budget as antithetical to Catholic social teaching.
Read Full Article »