Paul Ryan Says Pope Francis Is not Against Free Market, but 'Crony Capitalism'

The Pope is not down with a free market that means more participation. What he’s against is “crony capitalism” where the “powerful pick the winners and the losers,” said Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) in a televised interview yesterday.

Speaking about his new book “The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea,” Ryan explained that according to his Catholic faith “lay people in public life” are called to make “prudential judgments” in determining the best way to live out the principles of justice and charity.

Asked whether his platform conflicted with that of Pope Francis, Ryan suggested that Pope Francis is not trying to close down discussion, but to get people thinking and discussing important issues. The Pope is “not trying to settle the debate,” Ryan argued, “he’s trying to start the conversation.”

In another recent interview, Ryan stated that while people may disagree with his ideas, “Pope Francis has not asked for “conformity, but participation” in an urgent debate regarding solutions that will help the poor.”

“I love this Pope. I am a big fan of this Pope,” he said.

Over and over again host Marc Lamont Hill tried to paint Ryan into a corner, insisting that there must be a conflict between Ryan’s “republicanism” and his faith. Ryan stood his ground, contending that the Pope is not against the free market but “crony capitalism.”

“Balancing the budget doesn’t conflict with my faith,” he said.

“The great part about the Catholic Church,” Ryan said, is that “liberals and conservatives can both have their own preferences and policies and not be wrong with respect to Catholic teaching.”

“It creates enough wide space to allow conservatives and liberals to advance their beliefs, even though they disagree on some of those issues,” he added.

Ryan seemed to be referring to the Catholic position articulated in the Second Vatican Council, which stated that often in politics Christians will often legitimately disagree with each other regarding the practical course to follow to achieve desired goals. In these cases, the Council declared, no one is allowed “to appropriate the Church’s authority for his opinion.”