ALLELUJIA, THERE ARE STILL PROGRESSIVES IN THE CATHOLIC FAITH!!!!

At a time when the faithful's loudest voices seem to be the hypocrites - 5 non-negotiable screamers, serial-groom-and-noted-family-values-expert Newt Gingrich - at last there is a ray of hope, or maybe even a green shoot or two in the trough of regressive retrenchment within the Church: From today's Springfield News Sun (http://www.springfieldnewssun.com)

WASHINGTON — A group of leading Catholics assailed House Speaker John Boehner Wednesday for backing a budget plan that is “particularly cruel to pregnant women and children,’’ while “radically’’ cutting Medicaid and “effectively’’ ending Medicare.

In a letter to Boehner, R-West Chester, signed by more than 70 Catholic university professors, priests and sisters from across the country, the Catholic leaders charged that Boehner’s “voting record is at variance from one of the Church’s most ancient moral teachings’’ – to help the poor.’’

“Your record in support of legislation to address the desperate needs of the poor is among the worst in Congress,’’ the authors wrote. “This fundamental concern should have great urgency for Catholic policy makers. Yet, even now, you work in opposition to it.’’

The sharply worded letter to Boehner, a Catholic from Greater Cincinnati, is one of the most intense attacks on his efforts to slash trillions of dollars from the budget in an effort to dramatically reduce the federal deficit. Among those who signed the letter were faculty members from the University of Dayton and Xavier University – where Boehner attended college.

The letter was sent on the eve of Boehner’s commencement address Saturday at the Catholic University of America in Washington. Boehner will receive an honorary doctorate in law at the commencement.

And this nugget, after the obligatory self-exoneration attempt by a Boehner toady - er, staffer:

But in a direct swipe at Boehner, the authors of the letter wrote that “it is good for Catholic universities to host and engage the thoughts of powerful public figures, even Catholics such as yourself who fail to recognize ... important aspects of Catholic teaching.’’

Huzzah you wonderful bunch of pinko radical liberation theology freaks, you! Just when a kick was needed to get through the week, and you delivered. The Faith isn't dead or even damaged, the religion is what needs to be tweaked, tinkered and transformed. Please, don't anyone expect Boehner to shed any tears over this rebuke, either.