E. J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist, would like to support those "social justice Catholics" who think cutting the federal budget is immoral. His attitude reflects those in the Catholic Church who conflate God's "preference for the poor" with Caesar's tax policies. Former Republican Chairman Ed Gillespie answers Dionne today and also notes the slanted way The Post covered the commencement address that Speaker John Boehner gave at Catholic University a few days ago. Little was said of the content of Boehner's address, the reasons for his honorary doctorate or the friendly response of the students and parents. Much was made of opposition to Boehner by Catholic liberals.
It's all going to cause more reflection about Christian social thought, and that is all to the good.
The Boehner speech at Catholic U. follows a recent controversy over federal budgetary issues. The chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the U.S., Archbishop Dolan, recently praised Rep. Paul Ryan. This has received far too little coverage, too. He didn't "endorse" Ryan's plan, but the way Ryan has gone about preparing it. He also underscored the church's commitment to the principle of "subsidiarity," that problems should be handled as much as possible by groups close to them, such as families, charities, local communities and associations of various kinds. This has been a favorite theme of such Catholic intellectuals as Michael Novak, Fr. Robert Sirico and George Weigel.
Given this tradition, it is a cheap shot to accuse budget cutters of hurting the poor. Cuts that reduce government are not for the purpose of hurting the poor or even hurting programs that hurt the poor. On the contrary, budget cuts of the kind that Ryan has proposed and Boehner has supported would make the programs more sustainable. They also would enable a revival of the economy, to the benefit of all, especially those having such trouble getting jobs now. Agree with that stance or not, it's a prudential issue. It also has to be said that there is a partisan tone to criticism of budget cutting. It doesn't happen when Democratic executives or legislators are doing the cutting.
Speaker Boehner, as Gillespie says, well deserves the recognition Catholic University gave him. He has been a champion for the rights of minority children to get a decent education in urban areas like Washington, DC where public schools are notorious failures. Catholic schools are one obvious alternative in such localities. Social justice Catholics, however (with some exceptions), have been slow to support school reform for one clear reason: they are tied politically to the public teachers unions. But if they really care about the poor, they should care about allowing poor kids a chance to get a better education.
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