Stephen Colbert

Colbert Mocks Paul Ryan's Budget Cuts To The Poor

David Taintor | May 2, 2012, 10:14AM

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert on Tuesday turned from politics to policy, focusing on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's budget.

Read more »

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan Hits Back At Catholic Critics Of His Budget

Sahil Kapur | April 27, 2012, 6:19AM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Under fire from the powerful U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for writing a budget that cuts deeply into programs that help the needy, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) defended his vision in a Thursday speech at Georgetown University.

But his remarks were less an attempt to persuade his religious detractors than to undermine them, putting the Catholic Wisconsinite in the uncomfortable position of criticizing a frequent ally.

"I suppose there are some Catholics who for a long time have thought they had a monopoly of sorts," Ryan said. "Not exactly on heaven, but on the social teaching of our church. Of course there can be differences among faithful Catholics on this."

Read more »

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan Questions Catholic Bishops' Opposition To His Budget

Brian Beutler | April 19, 2012, 2:25PM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) dismissed the concerns of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, after the powerful advocacy group criticized his budget for "failing to meet [the] moral criteria," of protecting human dignity, prioritizing the needs of the hungry and homeless and promoting the common good. He also suggested that the criticism itself might not represent the Bishops' consensus view -- an insinuation the group directly rejects.

"These are not all the Catholic bishops, and we respectfully disagree," Ryan said.

Here's video, courtesy of Faith in Public Life:

Read more »

Taxes

Boehner Dismisses Catholic Bishops' Criticism Of GOP Budget

Brian Beutler | April 18, 2012, 1:11PM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

House Speaker John Boehner wants the Conference of Catholic Bishops to rethink its stinging critique of the Republican budget, which it said "fails to meet ... moral criteria," of protecting human dignity, prioritizing the needs of the hungry and homeless and promoting the common good.

At his weekly Capitol press availability, Boehner cast the GOP's budget as a plan to preserve key federal support programs, which he said are growing unsustainable and will cease to exist without far-reaching reforms.

"What's more of a concern to me is the fact that if we don't begin to make some decisions about getting our fiscal house in order, there won't be a safety net, there won't be these programs," Boehner said. "When you look at the fact that we have to make hard decisions, it's about trying to make sure that we're able to preserve these programs that are critically important to the poorest in our society."

But the budget itself illustrates that the GOP has different priorities, reflecting the Bishops' concerns.

Read more »

Birth Control

White House Seeks To Mute Catholic Uproar Over Contraception Rule

Brian Beutler | February 10, 2012, 12:23PM

In the days since the conservative and religious uproar over the Obama administration's new contraceptive rule first erupted, the White House has been attempting to thread a policy needle so that nearly all women can receive free contraceptive services from their employer-provided health insurers, without forcing religious non-profits to provide benefits they oppose on "moral" grounds.

On Friday, President Obama announced the plan, which senior administration officials described in detail on a conference call with reporters.

"All women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services," one official said. But if a religious institution declines to provide coverage that includes contraceptive services, "the insurance company will be required to reach out directly and offer her contraceptive coverage free of charge."

Read more »

Ron Johnson

Johnson Testified To Protect Catholic Church From Sex Abuse Lawsuits

Brian Beutler and Johanna Barr | October 6, 2010, 1:01PM

Republican candidate for Senate Ron Johnson (WI).

As a member of the finance council for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay until he resigned to run for Senate this year, Ron Johnson served alongside a bishop named Robert Morneau who, as a Church leader, had been made aware over two decades ago of the abusive tendencies of Rev. John Feeney.

Rev. Feeney was convicted in 2003, before Johnson joined the council, for sexually assaulting two brothers in the late 1970s. But according to documents obtained by the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the Church sought to cover up his crimes, which one reverend called "sexually very inappropriate."

Seven years later, Johnson testified before the Wisconsin State Senate against legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations for such crimes, making it easier for victims of sexual abuse to seek damages from the Church or any other culpable institution.

The testimony first arose in the context of the race in a June article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and has been dogging Johnson more or less ever since. His connection to Morneau raises questions about how familiar Johnson (who is not a Catholic) was with the diocese's hidden scandals. Those questions couldn't come at a worse time for the GOP hopeful, who leads Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in the polls ahead of the November election.

TPM contacted numerous attorneys, advocates, and other members of the finance council of the Diocese of Green Bay to explain the finance council's role at the church, and the information it was privy to with respect to sexually abusive clergy. What we learned suggests that it's very difficult to separate Johnson's role as finance committee member from his role as legislative witness seeking to protect the Church from future lawsuits, when he told the panel, "I urge you to defeat this legislation."

Read more »

Ground Zero Mosque

Key Religious Groups Either Oppose Or Won't Weigh In On 'Ground Zero Mosque'

Brian Beutler | August 17, 2010, 1:19PM

Protesters against a proposed community center and mosque near ground zero called Cordoba House.

Few of the nation's most influential religious organizations have offered support for the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque." A survey of several groups by TPM finds that they either oppose the plan or take no position on the issue.

Most vociferously opposed is the Southern Baptist Convention.

"I take a back seat to no one when it comes to religious freedom and religious belief and the right to express that belief, even beliefs that I find abhorrent," said Richard Land, president of SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, on his weekly radio program. "But what I don't do is I don't say that religious freedom means that you have the right to build a place of worship anywhere that you want to build them."

Read more »