Faith background: Giuliani is a lifelong Roman Catholic, although many of his social views are at odds with the church's official teachings. In a 1994 speech on religion, delivered shortly after he became mayor, Giuliani said Catholicism provided a moral and intellectual framework for his life.
"The church has built the road that allows my intellect to traverse to the outer reaches of what is comprehensible and, at that point, the church offers a leap of faith to carry me where my intellect cannot go," he said, according to the New York Times. "For me, being a Catholic is not limiting but liberating."
Relationship with Religious Right: Religious Right leaders have viewed Giuliani with great suspicion because of his moderate-to-liberal views on several social issues. Religious Right leaders have also expressed dissatisfaction with Giuliani's personal life, which includes three marriages -- the second of which ended in a messy, public way while he was still mayor -- and strained relationships with his children.
However, a recent poll of evangelical Republican voters by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed Giuliani besting other GOP hopefuls.
And, in an echo of McCain, Giuliani is scheduled to speak April 17 at Regent University, the Virginia Beach, Va., school founded by Pat Robertson.
On abortion: Giuliani's long-stated position is similar to that of many Democrats. He has said that, while he personally disapproves of it, he believes it should nonetheless remain legal. In a recent Fox News interview, he said of abortion, "I hate it." He added: "I think abortion is something that, as a personal matter, I would advise somebody against. However, I believe in a woman’s right to choose."
Nonetheless, he has also reportedly begun telling Republican audiences in presidential primary states that he would appoint only "strict constructionist" judges to the federal judiciary. Many abortion opponents take that as an indication that he would appoint judges likely to believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongfully decided and that the Constitution does not protect abortion rights.
On gay rights: Giuliani opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, but he has been a strong supporter of gay rights in almost every other respect. Among the gay-rights provisions he supported was a domestic-partnership law that provides gay New York couples with similar protections and responsibilities as married couples. He has also marched in gay-pride parades. According to multiple news reports, during his second divorce he temporarily lived with a gay couple who were his close friends. He opposes a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
On Iraq: Giuliani, like McCain and Romney, supports Bush's troop surge and opposes pulling the troops out anytime soon.
On the relationship between church and state: Giuliani has spoken little about his support for government expressions of religion or government support for religious charities. In a debate during his 2000 senatorial bid -- he withdrew from the contest after a cancer diagnosis -- he defended the Ten Commandments as an integral part of Western history. He has also said he opposes government-sanctioned prayer in public schools.
In the 1994 speech, he called for believers and non-believers alike to tolerate each other in civil society: "I will work as hard to protect someone's right to believe in God … [as] not to believe in God, because I realize that my right to practice my religion depends completely on my commitment to defend someone else's right to practice theirs."
As mayor, Giuliani advocated a school-voucher plan that included religious schools.
http://www.abpnews.com/2033.article
Except for one, in my personal opinion:
According to multiple news reports, during his second divorce he temporarily lived with a gay couple who were his close friends.
I could care less that Rudy has friends who are gay, or that he felt comfortable living with them when he needed a place to stay.
What was important was that this man who supposedly is powerful enough to be the strongest man on the war on terror, had to go live in an apartment with a gay couple WHILE he was Mayor. He was thrown out of his own mansion by his wife.
” . . . However, I believe in a woman’s right to choose.” Your post 101, quoting RG
He has said he’d appoint Justices that could overturn Roe.
Your post 113
That’s the best `mealy-mouthing’ I’ve seen in a long time.