"The Damage Done is Profound": Former Senator Santorum Speaks on the Kennedy Funeral

LifeSiteNews ^ | 9/16/09 | John-Henry Westen

[wagglebee]

ORALANDO, September 15, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In addition to his announcement that he is considering a run for President in 2012, former US Senator Rick Santorum gave his assessment of the controversy around the Ted Kennedy funeral during his speech to the Catholic Leadership Conference last week. Santorum's talk focused on rejuvenating the Catholic Church in the United States.

During his speech Santorum lamented "what the Church allowed to happen" with the Kennedy funeral, referring to it as a "deification" of Kennedy.  "The damage done" to the Church, he said, "is profound."

"We have Catholic politicians who have led this country astray, have led generations of Catholics astray," said Santorum.

He noted that there was no personal grievance between himself and Kennedy. "I knew Ted Kennedy very, very well, I got along with Teddy. Everybody got along with Teddy.  He's was a nice, affable guy," he said.

In answer to those who would protest that "the Church is all about forgiveness," Santorum said: "Yes, God blessed Teddy with a year of knowing he was going to die."

"We all prayed that that year was a productive one for him and his relationship with our Savior," he added.  "I prayed for that. I sent him a note. I told him that. I prayed for him every day."

Santorum made particular note of the Vatican letter read by former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at the internment. And while he said he understood the motivation for such a presentation, he nevertheless concluded that "there is no excuse" for it.  "It will harm us, it will hurt the rejuvenation of our Church," he said.

For the future rejuvenation of the Church, "getting it right with Catholic politicians is going to be huge," he warned. "We keep sending the message that it's okay to dissent, okay to do all the things that almost every Catholic politician in the United States does," he said.

He recalled that during the Senate debates on banning partial birth abortion, "almost a third of the votes against the bill were Catholics."

The key to it all, he said, is having "good shepherds" to lead the Church.

[wagglebee]

Santorum made particular note of the Vatican letter read by former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at the internment. And while he said he understood the motivation for such a presentation, he nevertheless concluded that "there is no excuse" for it. "It will harm us, it will hurt the rejuvenation of our Church," he said.

Exactly!

[wagglebee]

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[nascarnation]

If they make Ted a saint, I’m switchin to Baptist
just sayin.........

[mlizzy]

"Yes, God blessed Teddy with a year of knowing he was going to die."

I love this quote ... perfect!

[Ransomed]

This guy endorsed Specter over Toomey, right?

Freegards

[livius]

Actually, I didn’t even realize until now that Santorum, whom I have always liked, was Catholic. I’m glad he’s taking on the horrible lefty (elderly) bishops, because they are indeed giving scandal with their deification of Kennedy.

[John123]

I never understood why the Catholic Church didn’t stand up to the Kennedy’s positions on abortion...

[pnh102]

Heh. Our prayers were finally answered.

[pnh102]

I never understood why the Catholic Church didn’t stand up to the Kennedy’s positions on abortion...

Because like many churches, it was more interested in currying favor with celebrity politicians than preaching the word of God.

[NYer]

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[Lawgvr1955]

I never understood why the Catholic Church didn’t stand up to the Kennedy’s positions on abortion...

Lots of senior citizens in my church who have been Dems their whole life.

One jumped me when I was wearing a McLame and Palin shirt before the election. I said, I'm not voting for the baby killer. You could have heard a pin drop. Never got any more grief when I wore my shirt.

[Integrityrocks]

Ditto. A politician FINALLY has it right on.

[Brilliant]

Won’t do it this time I bet.

[maxwellsmart_agent]

Here is a man who says he is anti-abortion and votes anti-abortion. He says he is pro-Israel and he votes pro-Israel. He is a man who says what he believes and votes that way. In Casey, we have a man who stepped forward and said he is pro-life, then stomped for Obama and voted for Sellibus. He voted to continue funding for Acorn. Without a lengthy elaboration on each of these issues, we know what we have in Casey. We gave up Santorum for Casey. We got snookered!

Let us pay them back by pushing Santorum for President. If the Republican party would get some, let’s say backbone and back a man of class, they could easily displace what we have now with a man like Santorum. Isn’t the Republican Party tired of them handing us a candidate like McCain? When the Republicans are gutsy, they win. When they let Spector, Lindsay Graham, etc. guide them, they lose. I say, let’s back somebody with a spine. Let’s back Santorum!

[Cheetahcat]

Damage to the Church????? OK what about ALL the damage to the Country we love by this evil America hating Murderer?? he should be flushed down the toilet.

[cpforlife.org]

“Here is a man who says he is anti-abortion and votes anti-abortion.”

Please read this article--to the end. Santorum voted for Arlen Specter and actively campaigned for him—AGAINST Pro-Life conservative Pat Toomey.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1273280/posts

The Pennsylvania Treason (Arlen Specter)
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Posted: May 1, 2004 | By Mark Crutcher

Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 11:45:55 PM by vannrox

I have often asserted that, for the pro-life movement, the only practical distinction between the Democrat and Republican parties is that one is an enemy who will stab us in the chest and the other is a friend who will stab us in the back.

Tuesday’s Republican primary in Pennsylvania proved my point. Hard-core abortion enthusiast Republican Arlen Specter was being challenged by pro-lifer Pat Toomey for the U.S. Senate. As the incumbent, Specter was predicted to win easily. But as Election Day approached, the polls clearly showed that Toomey was closing in fast and had a legitimate shot to pull off an upset.

That’s when the GOP’s power brokers pulled out the heavy guns. President George W. Bush personally rushed to Pennsylvania and implored Republicans to get behind the candidacy of ... Arlen Specter. Equally amazing, Pennsylvania’s other senator, Rick Santorum, also chose to walk away from his long-espoused pro-life principles. He joined Bush on the campaign trail and urged voters to defeat the pro-life challenger.

The fact that Specter’s eventual margin of victory was so razor-thin made one thing absolutely undeniable. Without the influence and treachery of Bush and Santorum, we would have seen a raging pro-abort who has always been viciously hostile toward anything that the pro-life movement does replaced with a pro-lifer. It is laughable to suggest that the combined efforts of a Republican president and a Republican senator can’t influence even 2 percent of the votes in a Republican primary. Given that, it is simply a fact that Bush and Santorum cost the pro-life movement this election.

One of the things that made this particular election so crucial for the pro-life movement is that, if re-elected, Specter’s seniority will give him the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Pro-lifers often say that we must support the Republicans and George Bush because of Supreme Court appointments. However, that is now a dead issue given that no pro-life nominee to the Supreme Court is going to get past Specter.

If George Bush didn’t know this when he used his influence to get Specter re-elected, then he really is as stupid as the Democrats say he is.

But of course, Bush is not stupid. He knew that by insuring Specter’s victory he was ending any chance of putting a pro-lifer on the Supreme Court. That may not have been his goal; it was simply the price he was willing to pay to support an incumbent Republican.

Moreover, Specter’s term is six years, which means that even if Bush wins in November, Specter will be in place for Bush’s entire second term and beyond. With that reality in place, the practical difference between who John Kerry might get confirmed to the Supreme Court and who Bush might get confirmed becomes zero.

Bush and Santorum defenders will claim that if Toomey had won he might turn around and lose in the general election and, thereby, turn control of the Senate over to the Democrats.

That’s garbage. First, upon what do these people base the assumption that Toomey could somehow beat the senior incumbent United States senator in his state, but then not be able to beat a non-incumbent Democrat? If their claim is that Toomey’s advocacy for the right-to-life makes him unelectable in a Pennsylvania general election, how do they explain Santorum’s election?

Second, from a pro-life perspective, who cares if the Democrats win if the alternative is a pro-abortion Republican? Are we supposed to believe that the unborn are better off with their fate is in the hands of pro-abortion Republicans than pro-abortion Democrats?

Third, what happened to principle? Regardless of political considerations, if Bush and Santorum were more than just rhetorically committed to the pro-life cause they would have never come to the aid of a pro-abortion candidate who was about to lose to a pro-life one. In fact, when they saw that Toomey actually had a chance, their response should have been to do what they could to secure the victory not work against it.

While we’re on the subject of principle, there are going to be those who try to dismiss what these two did by regurgitating that old chin drivel about abortion being just one issue, and the GOP has to look at “other issues” as well. It’s the same old worn-out “no litmus test” nonsense that we hear ad nauseam.

I’m always curious about this particular argument. I wonder whether the people who make it are willing to apply it across the board, or if it’s just a convenient way to dodge the abortion issue. For example, if it were discovered that Specter was secretly a member of the Ku Klux Klan, would that be a litmus test? Would Bush and Santorum still campaign for him saying that they disagreed with him on this one issue but that they have to look at all these “other issues” as well?

I think not, and that points out the abysmal dishonesty of what they did in Pennsylvania. If a Republican candidate was a Klansman who openly espoused racism, neither of these guys would be caught in the same county with him. You can also bet that this Klansman’s position on “other issues” would never even come up.

So despite all their beautiful rhetoric about the humanity of the unborn child, the fact that they will also work to elect politicians who say unborn children should be legally butchered by the millions speaks much louder. Their message is that when the subject is racism nothing else matters, but when the subject is baby killing there are “other issues” to consider. If you believe those are the actions of people who are truly committed to the pro-life cause, then you are in desperate need of a reality check.

In the final analysis, the Bush/Santorum betrayal was obviously the result of party politics. These guys sold the unborn down the river for political reasons, and they felt comfortable doing so primarily because the pro-life movement has always let them get away with it. For 30 years we have shown the Republican Party that whatever they do we’ll stick with them, and as long as we keep sending that message we are fools to think they will ever change.

That is the bottom line, and while the American pro-life establishment is so enamored with having a seat at the Republican table that they will never say this, I will:

Through their participation in The Pennsylvania Treason, the Republican Party, George Bush and Rick Santorum have lost the right to ever again ask for the support of pro-lifers.

By the way, in a speech he gave to a Catholic prayer breakfast less than a week after the election, Rick Santorum told the audience that they should “... get closer to God to hear what He wants done ... God speaks in whispers and you will not know His will unless you are close (to Him). He is calling, let me assure you, He is calling.”

Apparently, Santorum believes that God called him to work for baby killers.

I’m skeptical.

Mark Crutcher is president of Life Dynamics Incorporated of Denton, Texas.

[flaglady47]

“When they let Specter, Lindsay Graham, etc. guide them, they lose. I say, let’s back somebody with a spine. Let’s back Santorum!”

Are you kidding? Santorum backed that very same Arlen Specter over Toomey. No way would I back Santorum. He too is not trustworthy, when he backed a RINO, now Dem, over a conservative like Toomey.

[cpforlife.org]

Rick Santorum voted FOR Arlen Specter and actively campaigned for him—AGAINST Pro-Life conservative Pat Toomey. See link in post 18.

Rick Santorum campaigned FOR NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman, an ardent pro-abortion pol. http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00BzKv

Rick Santorum betrayed his outstanding pro-life work and his Catholic Faith at least twice. And not privately in the voting booth, but publicly where he taught with his actions.

He is talking a great game right now. But we better not forget that with politicians words are cheap, especially when their actions are 180 degrees opposite.

Rick Santorum has permanently compromised himself on what he himself says is the preeminent issue of life.

We MUST demand better than Rick Santorum.

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