Donald Trump on Thursday announced the
formation of a 35-member Catholic Advisory Council.
Included on the council are former
Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback,
both of whom are vocal opponents of LGBT rights.
“The formation of this group
represents Donald J. Trump's endorsement of a range of issues and
policies important to Catholics and other Christians, and his desire
to have access to the wise counsel of such leaders,” the
Trump campaign said in announcing the council.
The announcement links to a page titled
Issues of Importance to Catholics, where Trump is quoted as
saying that he will nominate justices to the Supreme Court “like
the late and beloved great Catholic thinker and jurist Justice
Antonin Scalia, who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not
legislate from the bench.”
In another section of the page, Trump
reiterates his support for the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), a
controversial bill before Congress that would protect opponents of
marriage equality.
Santorum, who lost the GOP presidential
nomination to Trump, is best known for his 2003 comparison of
same-sex marriage to “man on dog” relationships, which propelled
him onto the national stage.
During both his presidential campaigns,
Santorum repeatedly reiterated his opposition to marriage equality,
saying that such unions would lead
to America's destruction and “disintegrate”
the American family.
Governor Brownback defended Kansas'
voter-approved constitutional amendment which defined marriage as a
heterosexual union.