What usually happens when Religious Leaders support progressive causes happened in the last few days: this important story fell through the cracks and was ignored by the media. They will report incessantly about some random hate group that calls itself a church, but when four of the largest churches in the US call out a Congressman's policy the media is silent.
Leaders of the The United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches penned letters to the Senate urging them to vote "no" on Paul Ryan's budget.
More could be said, but I think I'll let the letters stand for themselves.
The Protestant Letter in its Entirety:
Protestant Bishops’ Statement on the Budget
May 25, 2011
The federal budget debate in Congress raises essential questions about our values and priorities as a nation. As bishops compelled by the Gospel to give voice to those who suffer at the margins of society, we speak not as policy experts or politicians, but as disciples of Jesus and faithful citizens.
If the moral measure of a just society is found in how we treat the most vulnerable, the budget proposal passed by the House of Representatives, which the Senate will vote on this week, fails the basic tests of justice, compassion and a commitment to the common good.
This budget eviscerates vital nutrition programs for mothers and infants (WIC), and makes cuts to Medicaid that will hurt sick children, struggling families and seniors in nursing homes. Proposed changes to Medicare will break the promise that all American seniors get the healthcare they need by forcing them to buy private insurance without assuring that it is affordable. It asks those who need our help the most to fend for themselves in a volatile marketplace where profit, not human dignity, sets the agenda. Unlike the Good Samaritan, who stopped to care for a wounded stranger on the side of the road, the House budget turns its back on the most vulnerable at a time of grave economic uncertainty even as it endorses policies that gives tax breaks for the privileged few. This is morally indefensible.
We urge Senators voting on the House budget proposal this week to consider the human costs of massive cuts to social programs and come together across partisan lines to shape a budget that defends human dignity and basic economic security for all Americans.
This is posted here, and is signed by the Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, Several Lutheran Bishops, and a huge number of United Methodist Bishops, both active and retired, including Bishops from very conservative areas. The Bishop Swanson of the Holston Conference comes to mind.
The Catholic letter, written by the Bishop of Stockton and Bishop of Albany, is much more measured, and some might find it tepid, but it's meaning is clear. To translate: They don't care what congress does as long as it guarantees that the poor will not starve and the elderly will not have to pay out of pocket for Medicare.
Access to affordable, life-affirming health care remains an urgent national priority... Converting Medicare into a voucher program could shift rising health care costs to vulnerable seniors and those who are poor without controlling these costs. We also fear the human and social costs of substantial cuts to programs that serve families working to escape poverty, especially food and nutrition, child development and education, and affordable housing...
The moral measure of this budget debate is not which party wins or which powerful interests prevail, but rather how those who are jobless, hungry, homeless or poor are treated. Their voices are too often missing in these debates, but they have the most compelling moral claim on our consciences and our common resources.
We need to talk this up, and talk it up big. This is huge. Paul Ryan has said that his budget is in line with his faith. The message from Christian leaders to Paul Ryan is clear: put down Ayn Rand, and pick up the Bible. This will mean a lot to moderate swing vote Christians who don't really pay attention to politics. We need to get their attention, and get it now.