THE 12 Boehner children received a working-class Catholic upbringing in Ohio. But Speaker of the House John Boehner must have forgotten the verse about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
That, in essence, was the reminder sent by some 80 academics from Catholic universities across the country to Mr Boehner before he delivers the commencement address at the Catholic University of America in Washington tomorrow.
The self-made son of a barowner who paid his way through Xavier University by working as a janitor, Mr Boehner is known for his expensive taste in clothes, cologne and wine. His closest friends are lobbyists for America’s richest firms, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, RJ Reynolds, Miller-Coors and UPS.
They’ve lavished entertainment and campaign contributions on him. For his part, Mr Boehner advocates starting retirement benefits at age 70, has fought financial regulation, school lunch programmes and funding for Americans who fell ill after working at Ground Zero in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
But Mr Boehner’s support for the Republican draft 2012 budget was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops had already issued a letter complaining that “a just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services” to the poor, but “requires shared sacrifice by all”.
Then the academics, led by Stephen Schneck, the director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University, pitched in, addressing their letter to Mr Boehner, publicly and by name.
“Mr Speaker, your voting record is at variance from one of the church’s most ancient moral teachings,” stated the letter, which was released on May 11th. It continued: “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.”
A statement released by Mr Boehner’s office said only that he will deliver “a personal, non-political speech at the Catholic University of America that he hopes will speak to all members of the graduating class, regardless of their backgrounds or affiliations”.
