Santorum defends role

Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania on bridging his Catholic faith and political decisions.

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum views his job through the lens of his Roman Catholic faith and isn't afraid of the consequences, he told a largely Catholic audience Tuesday night.

The "great gift of America," he said, is that "we are free to espouse that faith in the public square."

Santorum spoke on faith and political life at St. Paul Seminary in Crafton as part of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh's lecture series, "Faithful Citizenship."

"If we divorce public life from faith, freedom itself will fail," he said.

Santorum talked last night about his anger at what he sees as an unfair presumption of neutrality given to politicians who don't bring faith into the public forum.

"If decisions are influenced by faith, it's somehow illegitimate," he said.

Great to hear how the senator's faith plays a role in his decisions. To some though he does not go far enough and I am not talking about all those Toomey supporters.

Members of the Association of Pittsburgh Priests attended Santorum's speech. They distributed an open letter to the senator that calls for his pro-life stance to encompass more than the abortion issue.

The letter also admonishes the senator for his support of the war in Iraq and the death penalty.

"We shouldn't give someone a free pass because they're good on one or two issues," said the Rev. Jack O'Malley, an association member who is chaplain for the state's AFL-CIO.

I cannot help but wonder who Fr. O'Malley supported for President.