The Dialog

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien

Catholic News Service

This is one in a series of stories examining the positions of the major presidential candidates.

WASHINGTON — There are few issues in the 2012 presidential campaign on which the major candidates have more clearly differentiated opinions than health care.

Much of President Barack Obama’s stand on health care is built on provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, has said should be repealed.

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By Patricia Zapor

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Paul Davis Ryan, whom Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced Aug. 11 as his running mate for the White House, is a lifelong Catholic whose children attend their parish school in Wisconsin.

Ryan’s inclusion on the presumptive Republican ticket marks the first time both halves of the major party matchup will have Catholics seeking the vice presidency. Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is the first Catholic to hold the post.

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By Dennis Sadowski

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan defended his party’s 2013 federal budget, which has drawn Catholic criticism, as a way to help all Americans gain a better life, free of government intrusion and overreach, in a speech at Georgetown University.

Citing principles of Catholic social teaching that promote the full involvement of people in the decisions that affect their lives, Ryan invited “well-informed public discourse” on the direction of the country as it debates how best to meet current and future needs in health care, Social Security and job creation.

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