Catholic politicians defy the U.S. Bishops on the budget

Interesting (my emphases):

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The top Republican in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday defended his party's proposed deficit-c u tting federal budget plan against complaints by Roman Catholic bishops that it would hurt the poor and violate certain "moral criteria."
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner argued that matters would worsen, with the government eventually unable to afford programs for the needy, unless it stops spending more money than it takes in.
Boehner, who is Catholic, acknowledged that the bishops have a "moral argument," but said, "I want them to take a bigger look."
"The bigger look is if we don't make decisions (to slash spending), these programs won't exist, and then they will really have something to worry about," Boehner said at his weekly news conference.
In defending the Republicans' proposed spending cuts, Boehner did not mention another option to help reduce the deficit - raising taxes, which his party opposes.
The spending plan drafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican who has become a hero to many conservatives, has virtually no chance of becoming law because it is opposed by President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats who control the U.S. Senate.
Yet its proposals to slash spending, particularly by shrinking social safety net programs for the poor, promise to make it a source of debate through the Nov. 6 congressional and presidential elections.
Ryan proposed major cuts to programs such as food stamps and the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor while reducing tax rates for the wealthiest Americans and for corporations as it shrinks deficits and debt accumulation.
In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network last week, Ryan said his Catholic faith helped shape his budget.
"The preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenets of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life, help people get out of poverty," Ryan told CBN.