Parties Put Politics Above Needy, Catholic Bishops Say

The country is failing its moral test to care for the poor, America’s Catholic bishops declared Tuesday, blasting both Democrats and Republicans for creating a budget impasse they said puts politics ahead of needy children and families.

“Government seems to pile up debt, cut programs and feed public cynicism all at once. We seem a very long way from ‘economic justice for all,’ ” the National Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a pastoral message on the 10th anniversary of their groundbreaking critique of the U.S. economy.

“The power and productivity of the U.S. economy sometimes seems to be leading to three nations living side by side, one growing more prosperous and powerful, one squeezed by stagnant incomes and rising economic pressures and one left behind in increasing poverty, dependency and hopelessness,” the bishops said.

In an appeal to Congress, leaders of the nation’s largest church urged rejection of welfare proposals that would limit family benefits and reduce earned income tax credits for low-income families--part of the big budget “reconciliation bill.”

“On this day, when our government is shut down, we stand up for vulnerable children and poor families,” said Bishop John Ricard, chairman of the bishops’ Domestic Policy Committee.

The “partisan games” in the budget showdown show neither party is focused on the concerns of the poor, he said.

Earlier Tuesday, the bishops elected a new president of their national organization: Cleveland Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, who said after the vote that the church must be a political voice for the poor. Pilla, a soft-spoken moderate, won election to a three-year term as the chief spokesman for the 60-million-member Catholic Church in the United States. He received 170 of the 238 votes cast.