Don’t betray faith: Back Ryan’s budget

I am writing in response to Mary Beth Delaney’s letter of Aug. 17 quoting the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ criticism of Paul Ryan’s budget because it cut programs serving the poor. One example given was it made it more difficult for illegal immigrants to claim child tax credits. Yes, illegal.

My response is to voters of all faiths. Voters should be aware of how the party she recommends has infringed upon the church lately. In 2011, Catholic bishops in Illinois closed most Catholic Charities affiliates rather than comply with the Civil Unions Act requirement to consider same-sex couples as foster-care and adoptive parents. In May 2012 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops officially urged and later sued the Obama administration to change its policy requiring employers to provide insurance coverage of contraceptives, including the morning-after pill, as mandated by Obamacare.

In July, the Democratic mayor of the third-largest city in the U.S. stated that “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago’s values” and hinted strongly that he was prepared to join in blocking the opening of the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in the city, because the company president supports traditional marriage. On Aug. 13, Democrats unanimously voted to endorse same-sex marriage on their national party platform, which was “the first time a major political party has supported the issue in its statement of policies.”

Does it not betray the church when people of faith vote for a government that actively violates the beliefs of their church? I recommend voting for the fiscally conservative Paul Ryan budget, and if you find yourself with more money in your pocket instead of the government’s coffers, donate it to Catholic Charities. It may help pay the bills, but there is no love and only dependency in a check from the government.

Eric Carver

Palatine