Catholic Group Criticizes Paul Ryan and Rejects His Social Views

Throughout the GOP primaries one think remained an interesting constant: ultra far right GOP candidates - i.e., Rick Santorum - consistently lost the Catholic vote to less strident and theocratic candidates. The far right loves to wrap itself in religion yet embraces social policies that are the antithesis of Christ's Gospel message of social justice and charity for the poor, hungry and homeless. That's right, the very people that the Republican Party seeks to throw under the bus if not throw into the trash heap as the party pushes to give huge tax breaks to the wealthy and treat corporations as if they were people. Fitting the mold of the - at least in my view - hypocrites in the GOP leadership is Paul Ryan who recently sought to justify his draconian pro-wealthy budget based on his Catholic faith. Many Catholics were not amused, and as Politico reports some have called Ryan out. Here are highlights:

Nearly 60 progressive Catholic leaders released a statement Friday, condemning Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s assertion that his budget proposal was shaped by his Catholic faith. “When a high-profile Catholic congressman is mangling church teachings, that should be challenged,” John Gehring, Catholic Outreach Coordinator for Faith in Public Life, the organization that put together the statement, told POLITICO.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network released Tuesday, Ryan said that his religious convictions influenced his budget plan, claiming that the proposal reflects Catholic teachings of local control and concern for the poor.

But some Catholic leaders disagree strenuously that Ryan’s policies represent their faith. “If Rep. Ryan thinks a budget that takes food and health care 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 Gehring. “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.”

Indeed, 59 Catholic leaders and theologians took issue with Ryan’s claims, signing a scathing letter that slammed the Ryan budget plan. “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,” argue the signatories.

The signatories include the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, a women’s Catholic organization, a retired Priest in Ryan’s district, and the former Associate General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Not surprisingly, porcine anti-gay bigot extraordinaire and one of the architects of the fraudulent "religious liberty is threatened" campaign, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, has not condemned the Ryan budget. Treating the poor and unfortunate as so much disposable garbage is apparently perfectly fine with Dolan.