Steele Gaining

As part of a series on Catholics in Senate races this year, the National Catholic Register visits Maryland, where embryonic stem-cell research is a major issue:

ANNAPOLIS — The Catholic faith is front and center in the Maryland Senate race.

U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin, D-Md., is looking to move from the House to the Senate. The state’s Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a Catholic, is vying for the seat.

The race is one of several Senate contests involving Catholic candidates that the Register is examining in the run-up to this fall’s midterm elections. Other races in the series include John Spencer vs. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.; Robert Casey Jr. vs. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.; and U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., vs. Amy Klobuchar.

Steele said his Catholic faith guides his political career. “It puts it in perspective for me, and it gives me the ability, in a setting where policy is being developed and discussed, to at least argue a perspective that otherwise may not be on the table.”

His positions align with Catholic teaching on major issues.

“I support adult stem-cell research,” he told the Register. “But I have drawn a line, a moral line, at the use of embryonic stem cells that result in the destruction of life. And I cannot support, nor will I vote for, anything that will destroy a human life, because we need to be building a culture of life, not a culture of death, and that’s an important distinguishing point for me.”

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Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Black Democrats Pledge Backing to GOP's Steele

One of the Best Preemptive Political Ads That I've Ever Seen

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