Speaker Paul Ryan is Catholic but not Christian ~ Madison WI echo

Paul Ryan was petty (and wrong) to fire House chaplain Father Pat Conroy. ** (Thanks to bi-partisan outcry, Father Conroy has recalled his forced letter of resignation.)

Speaker Ryan was wrong to fire Father Conroy.

https://chaplain.house.gov/chaplaincy/chaplain_brochure.pdf

Father Pat Conroy s.j.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/us/politics/house-chaplain-resignation.html

Opinion letter by Ginny White, published in Madison State Journal

MADISON, WI ~ In Catholic school, I learned Christian values such as compassion and fairness before the Catholic church took a turn to the right. 

Now, Pope Francis is again championing the poor and disadvantaged, but many clergy are still (wrongly) obsessed with issues such as abortion and gay rights.

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s firing of the House of Representatives’ chaplain (Father Pat Conroy) shows how far some Catholics have strayed from Christian values. 

The Rev. Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest serving as House chaplain, prayed for members to “guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”

The priest is being accused of focusing on "political" issues, as if poverty and powerlessness are not concerns for followers of Jesus. Conroy was only the second Catholic chaplain to serve the House in over 200 years.

Ryan is devoted to (the wrong minded philosophy of) Ayn Rand, a Russian atheist who worshiped the free market and preached a gospel of selfishness. 

Ryan worked to pass a law that reduces taxes paid by rich people and corporations, increases debt for future generations, and opens the door to “reforming” Social Security, Medicare and other programs that help average Americans.

Ryan may call himself Catholic, but his actions are un-Christian.

Ginny White, Madison