A group of academics, some from Catholic University, sent an open letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, on the occasion of his addressing our 2011 graduating class a couple of weeks ago, accusing him of dissent because the budget cuts he is championing allegedly violate the Church's teaching on the preferential option for the poor. I did not like the letter, both because of its overtly political intent, and also because of its clear misrepresentation of that teaching.
Fr. Sirico from the Acton Institute provided an early and thorough response. Kathryn Jean Lopez, a CUA alumna, wrote on the issue in the National Catholic Register, quoting a couple of other CUA faculty who had some incisive things to say about the letter.
But perhaps the best closure on the issue is the recent exchange between Congressman Paul Ryan and Archbishop Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, also covered by Lopez, which demonstrates that Catholic Social Teaching is far more rich and insightful than the academics' letter held it out to be.
Perhaps we can now return to studying Catholic Social Teaching as a source of great and timeless insight, instead of trying to force fit it into supporting our political preferences of the moment.
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