Boehner: Needs Of The Poor

13 May 2011 |permalink | email article

The House Speaker, an Ohio Republican who grew up in a Catholic family, will give the commencement address on Saturday at Catholic University of America in Washington, a prestigious setting because of its close affiliation with U.S. bishops, The New York Times reported.

What’s interesting is that Boehner is receiving the same kind of harsh criticism previously aimed at some Democratic politicians – notably President Obama – who have been honored by Catholic universities: the accusation here is that his policies violate basic teachings of the Catholic Church.

What’s unprecedented is that over 75 professors at Catholic University and other prominent Catholic universities including Xavier, from which Boehner graduated, Notre Dame, Fordham, Marquette, and Santa Clara wrote the Speaker a very pointed letter.

It basically said that from the apostles to the present magisterium the church has insisted that those in power are morally obliged to preference the needs of the poor. The letter criticizes Boehner’s support for a budget that cut financing for Medicare, Medicaid and the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, while granting tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.

The professors call such policies “anti-life,” a biting reference because the phrase is usually applied to politicians and others who support the right to abortion. One of the Catholic University professors who drafted the letter noted it did not ask the university to withdraw the invitation but that, in welcoming Boehner, made clear “that we don’t agree with you.”

When Obama, who is not a Catholic, was invited to receive an honorary degree at Notre Dame in 2009, there was an outcry from politically conservative Catholics because of his support for abortion rights. A few bishops urged the university to withdraw the invitation but the university held firm, and protestors showed up to picket.

These commencement addresses, two years apart, have put the heavily conservative members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in an awkward position on moral issues. But recently the bishops did issue a letter expressing concerns about budget cuts in programs that aid the poor. The question is whether Boehner will acknowledge it.

Gnomes of Temple Street

Chatter both in Washington, where the Board of Supervisors met last week, and L.A., suggest Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky edges closer to run for mayor in 2013 and would have an advantage.


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