CNN reports that House Speaker John Boehner delivered the commencement speech at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. yesterday without mentioning a protest letter sent to him earlier last week by 70 faculty members from Catholic University and other Catholic colleges around the country. The letter (
full text) criticizes cuts in aid for the poor in the 2012 budget passed by the House with Boehner's support. It reads in part:
It is good for Catholic universities to host and engage the thoughts of powerful public figures, even Catholics such as yourself who fail to recognize (whether out of a lack of awareness or dissent) important aspects of Catholic teaching. We write in the hope that this visit will reawaken your familiarity with the teachings of your Church on matters of faith and morals as they relate to governance.
Mr. Speaker, your voting record is at variance from one of the Church’s most ancient moral teachings. 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.
The 2012 budget you shepherded to passage in the House of Representatives guts long-established protections for the most vulnerable members of society.
