Maryland Lt. Gov. (and U.S. Senate Candidate) Michael Steele Reaffirms Catholic Values

(Hat tip: Curt Jester and Amy Welborn)

From the Baltimore Sun:

Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, the likely Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, affirmed his allegiance to Roman Catholic teachings yesterday as he addressed a conference of Catholic families at the Baltimore Convention Center.

"You will find that you cannot divorce your faith from your public service," Steele said, as the audience, primarily composed of parents who home-school their children, applauded. "There can be no conflict between God's will and my duty as a public servant."

Steele, who spent three years in the early 1980s in an Augustinian monastery, has stated publicly that, unlike Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., he opposes abortion and the death penalty. Although he has marched in anti-abortion demonstrations, Steele has not openly lobbied to change the state's abortion laws while in office.

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"You can't please everyone, but you can certainly make them all mad at you at the same time," Steele said, as the audience chuckled. "As an African-American Catholic Republican, I'm pretty good at ticking everyone off."

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Yesterday, Steele urged the crowd to stand up for their Catholic beliefs as a "sign of contradiction" against what many in society say is relevant.

"You have to choose, ladies and gentlemen, you have to make the choice, one or the other, to be relevant or be a sign of contradiction," Steele said.

"You can't be a sign of contradiction and be 'personally opposed, but ... ,'" Steele said, referring to Catholics who oppose abortion but do not take an anti-abortion political stance. "You have to be a sign of contradiction in moments like that."

Steele criticized Catholic politicians who support policies that violate the church's teachings on issues such as "the degrading of holy institutions like marriage."

Audience members, who greeted Steele with a standing ovation, said they were grateful that the Senate candidate does not shy away from his Catholic values.

[More]

My Comments:
Too bad this guy isn't Maryland's Governor instead of that anti-Catholic bigot Robert Ehrlich.


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Black Candidates Paint New Picture for GOP Politics

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Joseph Bottum on the Robert Smith Firing

Catholic Government Appointee Loses Job Over Views on Homosexuality