Joe Biden was actually the fourth Roman Catholic to be a candidate for Vice President in our country, but the first to be elected. For those with long memories, the others were Geraldine Ferraro (1984, with Democratic candidate for presidency Walter Mondale, also the first woman candidate for the Vice Presidency), Edmund Muskie (1968, with Democratic candidate for presidency Hubert Humphrey) and William Miller (1964, with Republican candidate for presidency Barry Goldwater.)
Others too have noted that both Biden and Ryan differ in their public policy advocacy with important teachings of the Catholic Church. Biden, 65, falls into the "old school" Democratic support for unions, a governmental "safety net" to alleviate poverty, and vocal opposition to racism and sexism. He also is "pro-choice," that is, supports Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion on demand in 1973. He has repeatedly expressed the "I'm personally opposed to abortion but support the public policy on legal abortion" dodge. Earlier this year he also came out in support of so-called "marriage equality," that is, the redefinition of "marriage" to include a union for two men or two women.
Ryan, 42, has been a Member of Congress since he was 28, representing his southeast Wisconsin district. On the issues of abortion and "gay marriage" he completely supports the teaching of the Catholic church, and opposes both. He has been called the intellectual of the House Republicans, proposing a series of budgets which fundamentally change how the government supports the elderly, the poor, and other entitlement programs. His proposed 2011 and 2013 budgets call for steep cuts in food stamps, and putting Medicaid on a path to cap the federal annual contributions (a.k.a., a voucher system with limits to the amount the federal government sends to the states). His budgets call for continuing the "Bush budget cuts" after December 31, 2012, which continue the low tax rate for wealthy Americans. He opposes any increases in taxes, willing rather to cut federal government programs (except spending on defense, which he proposes to increase).
Ryan's proposed budgets fly in the face of decades of U.S. bishop conference statements about how "the central moral measure" of any budget is how it affects poor and vulnerable people. In a recent letter from Bishop Stephen Blaire, chairman of the domestic policy committee of the U.S.C.C.B., the bishops said "the House-passed budget resolution fails to meet these essential moral criteria."
On April 26 Representative Ryan delivered an address at Georgetown University, defending his budgets and the thinking behind them. He said that his budgets are faithful to Catholic social teaching. Ninety Georgetown University professors wrote him a letter, defending his right to speak on campus, yet challenging his use of Catholic social teaching as support for his budget proposals. Two lively quotations from the scholars's letter are: "While you often appeal to Catholic teaching on 'subsidiarity' as a rationale for gutting government programs, you are profoundly misreading Church teaching." And, "Your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love."
Biden caught much grief and criticism from right-wing Catholics during the 2008 presidential campaign because of his public policy views on abortion. It did not seems to matter much to American Catholics, who (according to polls) voted 53% in favor of Obama-Biden that year. Ryan had been criticized by left-wing Catholics. But these days it seems that all the left-wing Catholics could fit into a 1930s phone booth, and don't get anywhere near the kind of press coverage right-wing Catholic publications and public figures receive.
Another issue on which Biden and Ryan differ is support for the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. "Obamacare." Ryan and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have repeatedly called for its repeal, even after the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality. Ryan, Romney, and others who have called for its repeal have not, however, given any answers to how our country can cover the estimated 45 million or more uninsured persons, or how our country can deal with the ballooning of health care costs.
In an interview with the National Review, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York tried to paint an irenic picture of the policy differences of these two Catholic politicians. He said, "We've got two men who -- and you can disagree with one of them or both of them -- say they take their faith seriously, don't try and hide it, and who say, 'Hey, my Catholic upbringing and my Catholic formation influences the way I think.' Not bad. Not bad."
I think it will be "not bad" if these many policy differences are aired completely, both at the level of these two candidates for vice president, and at the top of the ticket candidates. And I hope and pray that the U.S. bishops' prophetic document of 2008 and 2012, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, is used by these two men and millions of Catholics, as they vote and determine how to lead our country.
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