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Rick Santorum’s Virginia Church and Opus Dei
The New Republic ^ | March 6, 2012 | Molly Redden

Posted on 03/08/2012 3:53:19 PM PST by HokieMom

Rick Santorum’s Catholic faith is an obvious centerpiece of his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, and it is rare for him to speak without referencing his religious beliefs. It is also rare, however, to hear him speak about his particular church, St. Catherine of Siena, which he and his family have belonged to for at least a decade. Even his 2005 manifesto on his personal faith and politics, It Takes a Family, did not mention the church. I was curious to learn more about it, so last Friday morning, I attended a 9 a.m. Mass there.

St. Catherine is a modern, low-slung brick building that sits in the affluent and hilly Washington suburb of Great Falls, Virginia. It is a notably conservative congregation—its neat grounds include a “garden for the unborn,” and the schedule offers a Latin Mass each Sunday featuring Gregorian chant sung by a professional choir.

The church claims 3,400 parishioners. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and his wife attend Mass there; at one time or another, so have Redskins quarterbacks, the head of the National Rifle Association, and former FBI director Louis Freeh. (Members of the Branch Davidians once blocked the parking lot with a protest targeted at Freeh after the Waco raid, someone familiar with St. Catherine told me.) The church also suffered brief notoriety eleven years ago when FBI agent Robert Hanssen—then a member of the congregation—was arrested for selling intelligence to Russia. Mostly, the church is home to families with school-aged children—“big families, seven-, eight- or nine-children families,” as one parishioner told me. (None of the half-a-dozen parishioners I interviewed would agree to be quoted by name, and the parish office declined interview requests.) Bishop Anton Justs of Jelgava, Latvia, who oversaw the creation of St. Catherine in 1981 .....

(Excerpt) Read more at tnr.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: catholicpoliticians; fairfaxcounty; opusdei; santorum; santorum2012; va2012; virginia
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1 posted on 03/08/2012 3:53:27 PM PST by HokieMom
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To: HokieMom

It is time for the Geinch to fold his tent and steal away into the night. Unless he does just that very soon, Mitt Romney will win the nomination. I, for one, will not vote for Romney.


2 posted on 03/08/2012 3:59:17 PM PST by Paperdoll (On the cutting edge)
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To: HokieMom

Rick himself is not in Opus Dei, but they’ll try to tar him for his home church being one of the places it carried on. It never preached anything particularly startling to the external world, but voluntarily underwent special rigors for its own in the belief that this would help them live in a more godly fashion.


3 posted on 03/08/2012 3:59:19 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: HokieMom

Awesome!! I’m for Newt but Rick Santorum is awesome.


4 posted on 03/08/2012 4:01:16 PM PST by big'ol_freeper ("Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid" ~ Ronald Wilson Reagan)
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To: HokieMom
"St. Catherine also has ties to Opus Dei,...encourages members to knit their Catholic faith with policy-making. Many members of St. Catherine belong to Opus Dei,...Opus Dei priests still regularly hear confession at St. Catherine...Santorum...has numerous connections to the group. In 2002, he travelled to Rome with high-profile American members for the 100th birthday of Opus Dei’s founder..."

So that's why he voted in favor of so much funding for anti-family feminist causes. It's in his voting record.


5 posted on 03/08/2012 4:06:17 PM PST by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

This just doesn’t really mean anything to me.


6 posted on 03/08/2012 4:09:04 PM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: HokieMom

I don’t recall the New Republic being very curious about Obama’s “church” or Rev. Wright’s brand of “liberation theology” or any of that stuff, but Rick Santorum’s “radical Catholicism” is sure to get a thorough vetting, I betcha.


7 posted on 03/08/2012 4:09:13 PM PST by Argus
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To: HokieMom

To me, I see Santorum as one of those so called “perfect” Catholics to the his faith only Though to action,. he is one that rides the fence to what the public opinion tells him to do; which helps him. Like he supported Title 10 and Title 20 (he supported and was against both issues that he claims that he is strong for; pro life/very confusing. I don’t know why the people who support him cannot see he is not being truthful to a conviction of pro life.


8 posted on 03/08/2012 4:12:42 PM PST by Christie at the beach (I like Newt and would love to see political dead bodies on the floor.)
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To: cripplecreek

Opus Dei are the bad guys in “The DaVinci Code”. In libspeak, the MSM is saying that Rick Santorum, is like the villans, evil plotting, secret murders (Because in their mind, that book is really true because it is “based on fact”).

To liberal Catholics Opus Dei are old church nutcases. When you see pictures of Muslims cutting their heads for one of their feast days, Libs see Catholic Opus Dei members.

To conservative Catholics, they are pious laypeople.


9 posted on 03/08/2012 4:17:45 PM PST by netmilsmom (Happiness is a choice)
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To: Christie at the beach

“I don’t know why the people who support him cannot see he is not being truthful to a conviction of pro life.”

Unless you count his seven children one of whom is “special.” But aside from that, he is surely pro-choice.

(sarcasm off)


10 posted on 03/08/2012 4:20:09 PM PST by Frank Sheed (This tagline space for rent.)
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To: Argus

Six jerkwads from TNR were/are Journolists, who specifically formed their group to bury all reference to Obama and Wright.


11 posted on 03/08/2012 4:20:47 PM PST by Jacquerie (No court will save us from ourselves.)
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To: Christie at the beach

>>Like he supported Title 10 and Title 20<<

I’m a Newt supporter, but I’m also a Catholic.
Santorum has fought to defund the Title 10, Title 20 funding of Planned Parenthood. There is actual “women’s health” in those two titles that, as a Conservative orthodox Catholic I have NO problem with.

Please stop smearing our future VP (God willing). He has been strongly prolife with euthanasia, abortion, ESCs AND contraception. It’s Cafeteria not to look at his WHOLE record.


12 posted on 03/08/2012 4:23:59 PM PST by netmilsmom (Happiness is a choice)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Santorum is probably not smart enough to be in El Opus.


13 posted on 03/08/2012 4:28:21 PM PST by livius
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To: netmilsmom
they are pious laypeople.

That's always been my impression. Even when ABC "exposed" them a few years back I couldn't find any reason to dislike them or feel at all concerned about them.
14 posted on 03/08/2012 4:30:41 PM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: livius

This ain’t a Catholic MENSA from all I’ve seen, but I have no dog in that fight as an un-Catholic protestant.


15 posted on 03/08/2012 4:37:53 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: cripplecreek

I know a few.
They pray as they exercise in the mornings or on walks.
One lady even said she has a bible holder on her elliptical machine.

Oooooo, scary people.


16 posted on 03/08/2012 4:38:26 PM PST by netmilsmom (Happiness is a choice)
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To: netmilsmom

bashed... To bring up truth.. because it’s his own voting record and he said he voted for both at one of the debates. He goes to whichever voting aisle that helps him. Go read his record, I did. Like he voted for funding of Am-track then said he was against it. He was in support of No Child Behind before he was against it. He is was for Title 10, then help set up Title 20 ( to cover his political career butt) Duh. A regular flip flopper, opportunist, from the Bush wing/big government/a team player/a politician.


17 posted on 03/08/2012 4:38:51 PM PST by Christie at the beach (I like Newt and would love to see political dead bodies on the floor.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck; livius

I’m a school crossing guard. Every morning I listen to Bill Bennett’s Morning in America. Rick Santorum subs for Bill.

He is funny, smart and knows the questions to ask guests.
I think he will make a marvelous VP and let’s face it, he’ll have to debate Biden. A plastic bag could debate Biden and come out looking like a MENSA member.


18 posted on 03/08/2012 4:41:43 PM PST by netmilsmom (Happiness is a choice)
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To: Christie at the beach

Coming from cowards who don’t have the stones to address Newt’s continued support of things like ethanol subsidies, green energy incentives, and whole new federal agencies, it doesn’t mean a whole lot.


19 posted on 03/08/2012 4:42:45 PM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Christie at the beach

>>bashed... To bring up truth..<<

Where exactly did I say the word “bashed”?

It’s this a cut and paste answer? Seminar poster?


20 posted on 03/08/2012 4:44:04 PM PST by netmilsmom (Happiness is a choice)
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