(Note: If you hate Catholics and/or the Catholic Church, please pass over this diary. It is intended to challenge the dissonance between Paul Ryan’s statements about his Catholic faith and what the Catholic Church actually teaches about government’s role in society. This is not the place to vent about the Church.)
Dear Representative Ryan:
In 1986, the US Council of Catholic Bishops published the pastoral letter "Economic Justice for All" where they lay out very clearly the Church’s teaching on human rights and justice — and on the government’s responsibility for making our society better and inclusive for all. Their pastoral letter is a continuation of, and consistent with, decades (centuries) of social teaching of the Church.
The Republican party platform — and your own public political stance — are at odds with Church teaching as explained in "Economic Justice for All”. I hope this open letter will cause you to reconsider many of your positions and in particular, adopt compassionate positions consistent with the Church. However, if after reading this letter (and, hopefully, reading the USCCB document in its entirety) you still feel that the government should act in opposition to what the Church teaches, I, and other Catholics, would be interested to know the basis for your opposition (and how you reconcile that opposition with your public statements about your Catholic faith).
The following statements are taken from “Economic Justice for All” (or, where indicated, more recently from Pope Francis).
In general:
“Government has a moral function: protecting human rights and securing basic justice for all members of the commonwealth. Society as a whole and in all its diversity is responsible for building up the common good. But it is government's role to guarantee the minimum conditions that make this rich social activity possible, namely, human rights and justice.”
About voting:
"[I]t is government's role to guarantee the minimum conditions that make this rich social activity possible, namely, human rights and justice. This obligation also falls on individual citizens as they choose their representatives and participate in shaping public opinion."
Rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure:
"[Government should guarantee] the provision and maintenance of the economy's infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, harbors, public means of communication, and transport."
Addressing climate change:
"Climate change, the loss of bio-diversity, deforestation are already showing their devastating effects in the great cataclysms we witness." (Pope Francis)
Real tax reform:
"A system of taxation based on assessment according to ability to pay is a prime necessity for the fulfillment of these social obligations."
Protecting the most vulnerable Americans:
"It is the responsibility of all citizens, acting through their government, to assist and empower the poor, the disadvantaged, the handicapped, and the unemployed."
Health care as a right for all (Pt 1):
"The dignity of workers also requires adequate health care, security for old age or disability, unemployment compensation, healthful working conditions, weekly rest, periodic holidays for recreation and leisure, and reasonable security against arbitrary dismissal.”
Health care as a right for all (Pt 2):
"Education, work and access to health care for all are key elements for development and the just distribution of goods, for the attainment of social justice, for membership in society, and for free and responsible participation in political life.” (Pope Francis)
Taking on wall street (Pt 1):
"The concentration of privilege that exists today results far more from institutional relationships that distribute power and wealth inequitably than from differences in talent or lack of desire to work. These institutional patterns must be examined and revised if we are to meet the demands of basic justice."
Taking on wall street (Pt 2):
"In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting." (Pope Francis)
Making college affordable for all:
"Education, work and access to health care for all are key elements for development and the just distribution of goods, for the attainment of social justice, for membership in society, and for free and responsible participation in political life." (Pope Francis)
Trade policies that benefit American workers:
"[Government] should regulate trade and commerce in the interest of fairness."
Pay equity for women workers:
“Work with adequate pay for all who seek it is the primary means for achieving basic justice in our society. Discrimination in job opportunities or income levels on the basis of race, sex, or other arbitrary standards can never be justified.”
Raising the minimum wage:
"Basic justice calls for the establishment of a floor of material well-being on which all can stand. This is a duty of the whole of society and it creates particular obligations for those with greater resources."
Growing the trade union movement:
"The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions."
Creating worker co ops:
"Labor unions themselves are challenged by the present economic environment to seek new ways of doing business. The purpose of unions is not simply to defend the existing wages and prerogatives of the fraction of workers who belong to them, but also to enable workers to make positive and creative contributions to the firm, the community, and the larger society in an organized and cooperative way. Such contributions call for experiments with new directions in the U.S. labor movement."
As you can see, the Church’s position on the role of government in many areas of grave concern is quite clear. The ACA should be expanded and improved, not repealed. Social security should be expanded and improved, not privatized. Medicare should be expanded and improved, not voucherized. The minimum wage should be made a living wage. Income tax should be progressive. Our infrastructure should be upgraded. Education should be affordable. Unions should be encouraged and supported. In short, government should work for the common good of the people.
I hope (and pray) that your heart will be softened and that you will approach the enormous responsibility of your position as as a Catholic and as Speaker of the House with the teachings of the Church in mind.
Sincerely your Catholic brother,
Mage11an