Samuel T. Francis
Championing
Western Civilization
and the great legacies of
Sam Francis and Joe Sobran
and their allies
Joseph Sobran
FGF E-Package Will Chairman Ryan Go To Hell?
Back in 1969, Bill Buckley sent my parents a hilarious book — not his, but his sister’s. Aloïse Buckley Heath was mother of ten rambunctious and inquisitive children, one of whom asked her, some 48 Octobers ago, if Tommy Major’s mother, who lived next door, would go to Hell because she planned to vote for Lyndon Johnson. The outcome of that saga will have to wait — but a similar rumination comes to mind today. The Chairman of the House Budget Committee, vice-presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), insists that he respects and embraces Catholic social teaching when drafting legislation. Yet, for over a year, Mr. Ryan’s budget proposal has been roundly condemned by a prominent successor to the Apostles. Since the “Ryan Budget” slows the rate of growth in taxpayer-funded social programs, Rep. Ryan has been repeatedly attacked by Bishop Steven Blaire of Stockton, California, brandishing the widely-respected brand name of the USCCB, where he chairs a committee. Bp. Blaire calls Mr. Ryan’s budget cuts (sic) “unjust and wrong” and asserts that they fail to meet “moral criteria." His condemnation has been gleefully trumpeted by the religious left, with Georgetown University faculty members, Maureen Dowd, and Al Sharpton in the lead. Recently, several bishops have come to the defense of Mr. Ryan — not endorsing his budget, but affirming his right as a layman to exercise the laity’s specific “charism of political leadership and decision,” as Timothy Cardinal Dolan, citing Lumen Gentium, wrote to the congressman in May 2011. Since then, Catholics both lay and clerical have fruitfully unearthed and explored the distinction between issues involving moral absolutes which bind the informed Catholic conscience, on the one hand, and the freedom of the faithful to differ on approaches to prudential issues, on the other. For Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, Rep. Ryan’s ordinary, the first category addresses “intrinsic evils,” while the second comprises issues “where intrinsic evil is not involved. How best to care for the poor,” Bp. Morlino continues, “is probably the finest current example of this.” In recent months, this vibrant discussion has focused on the rights of the laity. But what about those of the hierarchy? Our shepherds often criticize particular instances of the laity’s right to prudential judgment, often insisting that their political opinions are magisterial because they are episcopal. But that door swings both ways. Can the layman disagree with his bishop’s prudential judgments, on the one hand, while honoring the bishop’s binding authority — indeed, his duty — to teach the authentic truths of the Magisterium, on the other? Should he? A brief consideration of that distinction, focusing on some prudential episcopal decisions, might be timely. Since Bishop Blaire’s salvos began in early 2011, I have repeatedly called and written him to ask if Catholics could disagree with his prudential political views. For instance, on August 31, 2011, he wrote to members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction on Capitol Hill a letter containing this passage: ‘However, it would be wrong to balance future budgets Three weeks later I wrote Bishop Blaire, asking: “Does your public advocacy of this specific legislation constitute a teaching of the ‘authentic magisterium of their bishops,’ like Humanae Vitae, to which the “faithful are bound to adhere with religious submission of mind” (Canon 753; Lumen Gentium 25)? Is a Catholic of good will bound by Canon Law ‘to adhere with religious submission of mind’ to your prudential political views?” Bishop Blaire never responded. After my repeated
follow-ups, his spokeswoman finally told me that the bishop was
“swamped,” and could not answer my simple question. Bishop Blaire has good reason to be swamped. The city of Stockton,
the seat of his diocese, has declared bankruptcy, the largest
U.S. jurisdiction to do so. His sincerity and his concern for
the plight of the poor — he knows them well — cannot be doubted, pace his
attacks on Rep. Ryan’s budget. But like every other bishop
— and like Rep. Ryan — Bp. Blaire makes prudential decisions
all the time in the official conduct of his office. And laymen
have long acknowledged our bishops’ right to do so, even when
they disagree. Some of those decisions are telling. Bishop Blaire was quick to condemn Rep. Ryan, two time zones away, but he has been strangely silent about two of Ryan’s congressional colleagues, a pair of adamantly pro-abortion Catholics who represent the Stockton diocese in Congress. The offices of these officials, Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA-11) and Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA-18), could not refer me to any occasion on which Bishop Blaire had publicly condemned their pro-abortion position as “unjust,” “wrong,” or “immoral.” And neither could Bishop Blaire’s spokeswoman. On June 12, 2011, Bishop Blaire did advise me through his spokeswoman
that “I have spoken several times with each of them [Reps. McNerney
and Cardoza] about the Church's teaching.” But I can find no record
of a single public admonition by the bishop, let alone any of the magnitude
of those leveled at Rep. Ryan. Of course, Bishop Blaire isn’t bound to make such a public statement.
He has exercised his prudential judgment in (apparently) not doing
so. Bishop Blaire made another critical prudential decision regarding a
case of abuse alleged to have occurred under Bishop (now Cardinal)
Roger Mahony when he was bishop of Stockton. On April 20, 2012, just
before the lawsuit against the diocese was to go to trial, Bishop Blaire
settled the case, even though he was convinced that the accused priest
was innocent. “The Diocese agreed to pay the plaintiff and his attorneys
$3.75 million,” his statement read, “with $2 million of this amount
being paid by the Diocese’s insurance carriers. In response, the plaintiff
will dismiss his lawsuit and seek no further action against the Diocese
or Fr. Kelly.” Some might consider a $3.75 million payout to a single plaintiff to
be a staggering sum. It is certainly far higher, per
capita, than the
hundreds of settlements paid by Cardinal Mahony when he was Archbishop
of Los Angeles. But the Diocese of Stockton had already been plagued
by successful abuse verdicts; moreover, the plaintiff’s attorney, John
Manly, had subpoenaed Cardinal Mahony to appear. Had the case proceeded
to trial, Cardinal Mahony would have been required to testify under
oath about the abuse scandals in public court for the first time since
they erupted ten years ago. Bishop Blaire’s settlement had the (perhaps
unintended) consequence of obviating the necessity of Cardinal Mahony’s
testimony at trial — and in any case Cardinal Mahony quietly left the
state for Rome. (Mr. Manly did not return calls requesting comment). Clearly, this case literally “swamped” Bishop Blaire with a raft of
prudential decisions. His statement observed that the case had “occupied
a great deal of time and focus,” and the settlement did indeed put
the case behind him. Many, in his diocese and beyond, disagreed with
the settlement and its terms, but no one alleged that Bishop Blaire
lacked the prudential authority to agree to it. Even his fellow bishops have publicly aired their prudential differences
with Bp. Blaire. Before the bishops’ meeting last June, Bp. Blaire
was celebrated by several liberal (I’m sorry, progressive) Catholics
for his criticism of the lawsuits against the Obamacare Contraceptive
Mandate. On May 22, he told America Magazine that “he worried that
‘some groups very far to the right’ are trying to use the conflict
as ‘an anti-Obama campaign.’” Two days later, Donald Cardinal Wuerl
and Archbishop William Lori eloquently dismissed that allegation on
EWTN, politely referring to Bishop Blaire merely as “the bishop that
you mention” as they calmly refuted his assertions. At their June meeting several bishops again disagreed — prudentially,
of course — with Bp. Blaire. According to Catholic
World News, “Bishop
Earl Boyea of Lansing criticized [Bishop Blaire’s] committee's opposition
to the budget plan put forward by Congressman Paul Ryan. ‘There have
been some concerns raised by lay Catholics, especially some Catholic
economists, about what was perceived as a partisan action against Congressman
Ryan and the budget he had proposed,’ Bishop Boyea said. ‘We need to
be articulate only in principles, and let the laity make these applications
… It was perceived as partisan, and thus didn’t really further dialogue
in our deeply divided country.’” And in August, Bishop Morlino wrote
rather emphatically that “You can be assured that no priest who promotes
a partisan agenda is acting in union with me or with the Universal
Church.” All of these decisions and differences reside in the prudential realm,
of course. Even bishops who disagree with Bishop Blaire’s views do
not condemn them as “unjust and wrong.” Like laymen, bishops are not
guaranteed the gift of perfect judgment when they are not teaching
fundamental truths regarding faith and morals. Like Congressman Ryan,
Bishop Blaire has undoubtedly done the best he can to reach prudential
decisions informed by the social teaching of the Church. I raise the
particulars cited above, in charity and in truth, only to indicate
the delicate nature of prudential judgment, and to affirm the ability
of good men and women, bishops and laity alike, to disagree on questions
that do not involve intrinsic evils. Some might ask, what’s the big deal? Laymen disagree prudentially with
their bishops all the time. Which parishes should be closed? Which
schools should be consolidated? To which groups should the Campaign
For Human Development grants go? Should the Campaign For Human Development
exist at all? And why did the pope transfer our beloved bishop? And
why didn’t he fire that bad one? Even popes have to make prudential
decisions. Good Catholics can disagree, but none can insist that the
Successor of Peter doesn’t have the authority to make them. And the
same goes for the Successors of the Apostles. In these troubled times, Catholics of good will in the public square
will continue to make tough decisions regarding political issues that
do not involve intrinsic evils. The laity respects the right of our
shepherds to use their best judgment when addressing such questions.
Let us pray that our shepherds will continue to respect the laity’s
right to do so as well. So will Mrs. Major go to Hell? Will Congressman Ryan? Well, those aren’t prudential questions. But they will indeed be answered — not by us, but in good time … actually, beyond it. Adveniat regnum tuum. From Under the Rubble archives From Under the Rubble is copyright @ 2025 by Christopher Manion. All rights reserved. Christopher Manion, Ph.D., served as a staff director on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for many years. He has taught in the departments of politics, religion, and international relations at Boston University, the Catholic University of America, and Christendom College, and is the director of the Campaign for Humanae Vitae, a project of the Bellarmine Forum. He is a Knight of Malta. This column is distributed by Griffin Internet Syndicate and FGF Books, www.fgfBooks.com. See a complete biographical sketch. To subscribe or donate to the FGF E-Package online or
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