Paul Ryan’s Flash Mob

By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 23, 2012

In a recent Insights message, I mentioned that two American bishops had spoken out positively about Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate for Vice President. Thanks to notes from both Thomas Vaughan and Br. Timothy Combs, OP, I now know that the day before I wrote, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver wrote a column praising Ryan for recognizing the problem of living beyond our means and the need to control spending as a matter of basic responsibility.

Personally, I have significant reservations about Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, because essentially we have little but his assurances to indicate that he really has converted to a clear commitment to a culture of life. It is not that Barack Obama would be a better candidate for the country’s welfare as understood by anyone who accepts the full Christian faith, Catholic social teaching, and (mutatis mutandis) the natural law. Far from it. But it may well be that, as usual, both parties have fielded seriously defective candidates. And again, Ryan is a VP candidate, which may or may not be significant apart from the effort to attract particular voting groups.

So I don’t want to make too much of this; I really don’t. But in recent American history, it is a relatively rare thing for bishops to express deep respect for a Catholic candidate who advocates fiscal responsibility, especially in the face of those who constantly clamor for tax-funded entitlement programs.

Anyway, you know what they say: If two is episcopal company, three may well be an unprecedented episcopal crowd. Maybe even a flash mob.