It annoys the hell out of me when Catholic bishops harass pro-choice politicians and threaten to deny them Mass. So, I probably should be annoyed by this, too.
More than 75 professors at Catholic University and other prominent Catholic colleges have written a pointed letter to Mr. Boehner saying that the Republican-supported budget he shepherded through the House of Representatives will hurt the poor, elderly and vulnerable, and therefore he has failed to uphold basic Catholic moral teaching.
“Mr. Speaker, your voting record is at variance from one of the Church’s most ancient moral teachings,” the letter says. “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.”
Actually, this doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me because these are professors, not priests, bishops, or Cardinals. No one is denying Boehner his right to worship, and it isn’t an interjection of the Church into matters of the State.
