Maryland Catholics turn to GOP

While Maryland remained a true “blue” state in last week’s general election that saw Catholic Democrat Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts garner 56 percent of the Maryland vote, Catholic voters in the Free State appear to have made a dramatic shift towards the Republican Party. According to a CNN exit poll, 57 percent of Maryland Catholic voters cast their ballot for President George W. Bush, while 41 percent voted for Sen. Kerry. That’s a significant increase in support for the GOP in a state where Catholics provided only 43 percent of the vote for President Bush in the 2000 election. Among Maryland Protestants, 53 percent voted for Sen. Kerry and 46 percent for President Bush. Jewish voters provided 86 percent support for Sen. Kerry and only 14 percent for President Bush, according to the CNN poll. Richard J. Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, called the apparent shift in support among Catholics a “significant” trend. “This election says to me that unless the state Democratic leadership changes the direction of their party soon and dramatically, Catholics will continue their drift to the GOP,” said Mr. Dowling, who represents Maryland’s Catholic bishops in Annapolis. “Here in Maryland, the Democratic leadership in the legislature has led us down the road to abortion on demand and is now behind efforts to endorse and promote human cloning, embryonic stem cell research and same-sex marriage,” he said. “I think the Catholic vote ought to be of particular interest to the leaders of the Democratic party in the state.” According to the CNN poll, 70 percent of Maryland Bush voters said moral values were the election’s “most important” issue. Only 28 percent of Kerry voters agreed. Linda Brenegan, archdiocesan director of the Respect Life office, said the president’s prolife positions on abortion and embryonic stem cell research were among those moral issues that most concerned voters. “I think that as our society matures, more people are thinking about these issues more seriously and I think the results of the election indicate that,” she said. “More people are becoming prolife.” Ms. Brenegan said she was “very pleased” with the return of a prolife president to the White House. It bodes well for holding the line on abortion and the forms of stem cell research that results in the destruction of human life, she said. “We think that some progress can be made on these issues,” said Ms. Brenegan, “especially in the judicial selection in various courts – especially the Supreme Court.” Dick Ullrich, executive director of the P. Francis Murphy Justice and Peace Initiative, said there are other issues related the war in Iraq and the election that concern him. “One of the things I read from the election is that the electorate did not take seriously the Iraqi war and the fact that the pope was clearly against invading Iraq and the fact that the bishops’ conference raised serious questions,” said Mr. Ullrich. Father Sylvester Peterka, C.M., pastor of Immaculate Conception and St. Cecilia in Baltimore, said the president has not been prolife when it comes to capital punishment and war. He said the results of the election indicate that the American people have been “deceived.” “I think this election is going to have a terrible impact on protecting the poor and safety net programs,” said Father Peterka. “I feel the church will have to do much more in those areas.” E-mail George Matysek at gmatysek@catholicreview.org.

Formatting, formatting!

According to a CNN exit poll, 57 percent of Maryland Catholic voters cast their ballot for President George W. Bush, while 41 percent voted for Sen. Kerry. That’s a significant increase in support for the GOP in a state where Catholics provided only 43 percent of the vote for President Bush in the 2000 election.

Among Maryland Protestants, 53 percent voted for Sen. Kerry and 46 percent for President Bush. Jewish voters provided 86 percent support for Sen. Kerry and only 14 percent for President Bush, according to the CNN poll.

Richard J. Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, called the apparent shift in support among Catholics a “significant” trend. “This election says to me that unless the state Democratic leadership changes the direction of their party soon and dramatically, Catholics will continue their drift to the GOP,” said Mr. Dowling, who represents Maryland’s Catholic bishops in Annapolis. “Here in Maryland, the Democratic leadership in the legislature has led us down the road to abortion on demand and is now behind efforts to endorse and promote human cloning, embryonic stem cell research and same-sex marriage,” he said. “I think the Catholic vote ought to be of particular interest to the leaders of the Democratic party in the state.”

According to the CNN poll, 70 percent of Maryland Bush voters said moral values were the election’s “most important” issue. Only 28 percent of Kerry voters agreed. Linda Brenegan, archdiocesan director of the Respect Life office, said the president’s prolife positions on abortion and embryonic stem cell research were among those moral issues that most concerned voters. “I think that as our society matures, more people are thinking about these issues more seriously and I think the results of the election indicate that,” she said. “More people are becoming prolife.”

Ms. Brenegan said she was “very pleased” with the return of a prolife president to the White House. It bodes well for holding the line on abortion and the forms of stem cell research that results in the destruction of human life, she said. “We think that some progress can be made on these issues,” said Ms. Brenegan, “especially in the judicial selection in various courts – especially the Supreme Court.”

Dick Ullrich, executive director of the P. Francis Murphy Justice and Peace Initiative, said there are other issues related the war in Iraq and the election that concern him. “One of the things I read from the election is that the electorate did not take seriously the Iraqi war and the fact that the pope was clearly against invading Iraq and the fact that the bishops’ conference raised serious questions,” said Mr. Ullrich.

Father Sylvester Peterka, C.M., pastor of Immaculate Conception and St. Cecilia in Baltimore, said the president has not been prolife when it comes to capital punishment and war. He said the results of the election indicate that the American people have been “deceived.” “I think this election is going to have a terrible impact on protecting the poor and safety net programs,” said Father Peterka. “I feel the church will have to do much more in those areas.”

E-mail George Matysek at gmatysek@catholicreview.org.

Steele is very Catholic. Below is a story The Catholic Review published when he was picked to run with Ehrlich.

Ehrlich adds Catholic to his ticket

By George P. Matysek Jr.

Review staff correspondent

When Michael S. Steele was growing up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., one of his favorite parts of the day was serving Mass as an altar boy. Rising everyday at 5 a.m., the youngster headed to St. Gabriel in the nation’s capital, where he served two Masses in Latin – a 6:30 a.m. Mass in the convent for the Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary and a 7:30 a.m. parish Mass in the church.

Looking back, the newly selected 43-year-old Republican candidate for lieutenant governor said it was that early parish ministry that helped plant the seeds of a deep-rooted Catholicism. It’s a faith that he says shapes everything about him, a faith that would be one of his guiding forces if elected.

"It was a phenomenal experience being there at the foot of the altar," recalled Mr. Steele, now a parishioner of St. Mary in Landover Hills who was honored as his church’s "man of the year" in 1998.

"Being that close (to the celebration of the Eucharist) was very profound," said Mr. Steele. "I loved the mystery of it. It helped define my character."

Mr. Steele’s mother, Maebell, was a convert to the church in the early 1950s. After his father died while Mr. Steele was very young, his stepfather, John Turner, also converted to Catholicism. His was a family where faith was taken very seriously and where fish was the standard meal every Friday even long after the Second Vatican Council relaxed the meatless Friday rule.

After attending Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington where he was inspired by Augustinian priests, Mr. Steele said he felt determined to enter the priesthood. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1981 with a degree in international relations before entering the Augustinian Friars Seminary at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Wearing the long white robes and black leather belt of an Augustinian novice was one of the most moving experiences of his life, he said.

"The idea of ultimate service attracted me to the priesthood," said Mr. Steele, who was one of only a handful of African-American Catholics to enter the Augustinian order. "It was the idea of making the sacrifice of self to help someone in need."

Feeling called in a different direction, though, Mr. Steele left the seminary in 1983. But he never abandoned the reasons behind his exploration of the priesthood.

"For me, God’s call centered around service," Mr. Steele insisted. "The only question was if it was going to be in a habit or a suit."

Entering the political arena is the way Mr. Steele said he can best serve his community now, although he didn’t rule out the possibility of pursuing the diaconate or other ministries later in life. He said his political views are "profoundly shaped" by his Catholicism.

"I was a Catholic before I was a Republican," explained Mr. Steele, a bespectacled corporate-securities attorney who was elected chairman of the Maryland Republican Party in 2000 after a failed run as the GOP candidate for Maryland State Comptroller in 1998.

Especially when it comes to the sanctity of life, Mr. Steele said the Catholic Church has helped him recognize that only God has the right to take a life. Unlike U.S. Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the Republican gubernatorial candidate who pick-ed him as his running mate July 1, Mr. Steele opposes abortion and the death penalty. They are positions that are also directly opposite of those of pro-choice, pro-death penalty Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a Catholic who is the leading Democratic candidate for governor.

"I’m not afraid to say that I’m a prolife Catholic," said Mr. Steele, a member of the Knights of Columbus who is married to his wife, Andrea, and has two sons, Michael, 13, and Drew, 10, both in Catholic schools of the Washington archdiocese.

"If our ticket wins, you will have a prolife voice in this administration, " he said.

While Mr. Steele acknowledged that it is Mr. Ehrlich who will have their ticket’s ultimate say on issues like abortion and the death penalty, the graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center said he stands ready to offer counsel whenever Mr. Ehrlich requests it.

Mr. Steele said he and Mr. Ehrlich intend to reach out to the African-American community, a solidly Democratic bloc of voters. The time has come for the GOP to recognize and build on its history as the "party that freed the slaves" and tried to "economically empower" blacks, Mr. Steele said.

As the political campaign heats up, Mr. Steele said he is relying on prayer a lot these days. He is especially devoted to the novena to St. Ann, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"It’s the ultimate in wanting consolation and seeking consolation when you’re up against the wall," said Mr. Steele, who is also very fond of the Latin Tridentine Mass. "It’s always been good to seek the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask her to take prayers to Christ."

E-mail George Matysek at gmatysek@catholicreview.org.

"Father Sylvester Peterka, C.M., pastor of Immaculate Conception and St. Cecilia in Baltimore, said the president has not been prolife when it comes to capital punishment and war. He said the results of the election indicate that the American people have been “deceived.” “I think this election is going to have a terrible impact on protecting the poor and safety net programs,” said Father Peterka. “I feel the church will have to do much more in those areas.” "

priests like this are such a disgrace to the church. What kind of person thinks that voting for the lives of the unborn is a sign of "deception"? I'd bet anything this priest couldn't care less about the unborn. HIs last remark is very telling too. I've long suspected that the reason so many priests and bishops are in bed with the democrats is because the democrats advocate socialism, taking the church's traditional job (helping the poor) and giving it to the govt. These bishops don't want to help the poor themselves - they want the govt to do it instead!

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