--- title: Here's What Paul Ryan Can Learn From the Pope description: Don't forsake the poor canonical: https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/ author: Christopher Hale article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-29T21:16:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:18.109Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Here's What Paul Ryan Can Learn From the Pope og:description: Don't forsake the poor og:url: https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt688daa62bc4e1937/69886eb85f570f44b8b1e15e/paul-ryan-house-speaker-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3941 og:image:height: 2217 og:image:alt: Paul Ryan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What Paul Ryan Can Learn From the Pope twitter:description: Don't forsake the poor twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt688daa62bc4e1937/69886eb85f570f44b8b1e15e/paul-ryan-house-speaker-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Paul Ryan Can Learn From the Pope > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=19c520c7-0b1e-4136-b5ad-584d1e704b7f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=19c520c7-0b1e-4136-b5ad-584d1e704b7f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=19c520c7-0b1e-4136-b5ad-584d1e704b7f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=19c520c7-0b1e-4136-b5ad-584d1e704b7f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: Paul Ryan Elected Speaker of the House [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Paul Ryan Elected Speaker of the House](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zN7HMMnQ.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2015-10-28. Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan was elected speaker of the house by House Republicans_ by [Christopher Hale](https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/) ## Christopher Hale Oct 29, 2015 9:16 PM UTC  Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., followed by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on Oct. 28, 2015 in Washington. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., followed by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on Oct. 28, 2015 in Washington. Carolyn Kaster—AP by [Christopher Hale](https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/) ## Christopher Hale Oct 29, 2015 9:16 PM UTC During Paul Ryan’s inaugural speech as U.S. House Speaker Thursday, he [said:](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/paul-ryan-elected-speaker-transcript-full-text-215351#ixzz3pzHexO9e) “If you ever pray, pray for each other— Republicans for Democrats, Democrats for Republicans. And I don’t mean pray for a conversion. Pray for a deeper understanding, because—when you’re up here, you see it so clearly—wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat.” Ryan is very much in the same boat of his two immediate predecessors, Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner. All three are professed Catholics. And like Pelosi and Boehner, Ryan has his own set of difficulties with the Catholic Church on social policies. For Pelosi it was [abortion](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/us/politics/in-pelosi-strong-catholic-faith-and-abortion-rights-coexist.html) rights, for Boehner it was [immigration](http://time.com/2817823/boehners-got-a-catholic-problem-on-immigration-reform/) reform, and for Ryan it most likely will be the social safety net. Ryan has already experienced this difficulty in recent years. In 2011 and 2012 as the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan proposed significant cuts to programs that served the poor. The [American Catholic bishops said that Ryan’s cuts were over the top](http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-076.cfm) and that his budget failed “a basic moral test.” Sister Simone Campbell and the Nuns on the Bus campaign took that message on the road and made the position of Catholics clear: You cannot balance the federal budget on the backs of the poor. Ryan responded to the accusations by giving a speech at Georgetown, the nation’s oldest Catholic university, in which he [defended his budget as well within the guidelines of the Church’s social doctrine:](http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2012/04/can-we-really-just-agree-disagree-catholic-social-teaching) “Of course there can be differences among faithful Catholics on this.” In response, Jesuit Father Thomas Reese [said](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/the-gospel-according-to-paul-ryan/2012/04/26/gIQAOnJujT%5Fblog.html): “We’d give that speech an _F_. Catholics believe that problems should be dealt with at the lowest levels. But if families could take care of themselves, and the local government could, we wouldn’t have the crisis that we’re facing right now.” After Ryan’s failed vice presidential bid and Pope Francis’s subsequent election five months later, he seemed to change his tone. Days before Christmas in 2013, _BuzzFeed_ ran [a profile of Ryan](http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/paul-ryan-finds-god#.jrKYKxzrP) saying that Pope Francis had transformed the budget-slashing congressman into a missionary seeking to help the poor. The jury’s still out. Ryan worked with liberal Senator Patty Murray to pass a just and bipartisan budget proposal in December 2013, but his 2014 budget was nearly as concerning as its 2011 and 2012 siblings, with tax breaks for the wealthy and cuts for programs that serve the poor. Ryan said Thursday that [he plans to “wipe the slate clean”](http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/29/452688786/wisconsin-republican-paul-ryan-elected-house-speaker) and begin a new era of leadership for the broken House of Representatives. Perhaps this new era can be defined by [the words Pope Francis spoke in front of the body last month:](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/24/443070564/watch-live-pope-francis-poised-to-speak-to-joint-meeting-of-congress) “If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities​.” ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:03] We need to move from an opposition party to a proposition [00:06] party. Because we think the nation is on the wrong path [00:11] we have a duty to show the right one. Our next Speaker [00:15] has to be a visionary one. Second, we [00:19] need to update our house- So this morning I informed my [00:21] colleagues that I would resign from the Speakership and [00:26] resign from Congress at the end of October. I can not and I [00:28] will not give up my family time. I may not be on the road as [00:31] often as previous Speakers, but I pledge to try and make up [00:34] for it with more time communicating our vision, our [00:38] message. This is not the way Deal with people's business. [00:40] And under new management we are not going to be in [00:41] people's business this way. We [00:45] are against the deadline, that's unfortunate. By going [00:48] forward, we can't do the people's business. As a [00:50] conference we should have been meeting months ago to [00:53] discuss these things, to have a unified strategy going [00:55] forward. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/"},"headline":"Here's What Paul Ryan Can Learn From the Pope","datePublished":"2015-10-29T21:16:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:18.109Z","description":"Don't forsake the poor","url":"https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/","keywords":["politics","Religion"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt688daa62bc4e1937/69886eb85f570f44b8b1e15e/paul-ryan-house-speaker-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christopher Hale","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt688daa62bc4e1937/69886eb85f570f44b8b1e15e/paul-ryan-house-speaker-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paul Ryan","caption":"Paul Ryan","creditText":"Carolyn Kaster—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/","name":"Here's What Paul Ryan Can Learn From the Pope"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Paul Ryan Elected Speaker of the House","description":"Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan was elected speaker of the house by House Republicans","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zN7HMMnQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-28T19:33:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zN7HMMnQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4093562/paul-ryan-pope-francis/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```