Religious leaders unite against ‘immoral’ shutdown

[cbayer]

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/10/01/religious-leaders-unite-against-immoral-shutdown/

Clare Kim, @clarehkim
5:57 PM on 10/01/2013


A sculpture of Jesus comforting a person rests on the lawn outside the Washington National Cathedral January 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

While most of the commentary about the shutdown has focused on the politics involved, religious leaders are concerned about the moral implications.

On a day of brinkmanship in the halls of Congress, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent Congress a letter, writing that their failure to find a bipartisan solution to avert the shutdown would cause hardship. The letter offers moral criteria for the budget debate, saying that Congress must protect the poor.

“Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity,” church leaders wrote, explaining that they “write as pastors and teachers,” not as “experts or partisans.” “Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times.”

The Conference of Catholic Bishops has protested the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act in the past. The group has remained close allies with conservative House members who have said they would consider only budget bills that included a provision to defund Obamacare, which has remained the heart of the debate. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the USCCB, told a meeting of American bishops in September that board members were “unanimous in their resolve to continue our struggle against the HHS mandate.”

more at link

[cleanhippie]

1. It's BEACUSE of the support to RW Pols from groups like this the shutdown is even happening.

The Bishops are a big part of the reason WHY we are having this crisis. Now they want to call it "immoral"? Pfffft.


They can all go take a flying leap...

[trotsky]

2. Indeed.

By arguing that politicians should be listening to these liberal religious leaders, then we simultaneously justify them listening to the conservative leaders who oppose birth control coverage.

I wish more people understood this.

[dimbear]

3. As so often happens, we are captives of the original headline. A better one would have been "some

religious leaders oppose the shutdown, some celebrate it."

Understandable why no editor would let that go to print.

[cbayer]

4. Who are the religious leaders celebrating?

[dimbear]

5. First one to come to mind: Rafael Cruz, as we discussed yesterday right here.

Big fan.

[cbayer]

6. True. I guess if they wanted to do an article highlighting religious

leaders from opposite camps, the current title would be incorrect.

But that's not what they did.

I searched and found this article about his celebration:

Rafael, the Wacko Birds and Their Celebrated Shutdown

http://www.politicususa.com/2013/10/01/rafael-whacko-birds-celebrated-shutdown.html

But I couldn't find any other "religious leaders" celebrating.

[dimbear]

7. It would be strange if religious leaders who had striven so hard to achieve the shutdown weren't a

bit celebratory. Let's let it simmer a bit and see.

[cbayer]

8. While I absolutely understand their role in getting the tea baggers into

this position, I'm not so sure they are going to be vocal in celebrating this debacle.

People are pissed.