Pastors are not lobbyists, and they shouldn't be. But when 11 million children of God are trapped in a broken immigration system -- or when special interests are dominating the future of the poor and most vulnerable -- there are clear moral issues at stake.

President Obama made every sincere effort to negotiate and at every turn was rejected. Principled leadership is risky, no doubt, but there may be no other moral alternative that saves the nation from economic chaos.

Aquinas argued that we have no right to goods which are not needed to support our station in life when others are in need. In such situations their need trumps our superfluities.

Pledges to political principles have taken on the aura of confessions of faith. But Democrats and Republicans could find a way beyond the present impasse if they would just take seriously two principles.

The Ryan plan is not fiscal responsibility; it is a declaration of war on the poor -- real people made in the image of God. And so, I fast.