Santorum's extreme Catholic beliefs are in contrast to then-Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy's promise that his Catholicism did not mean he took orders from the Pope in Rome.
While Kennedy was able to fend off attacks by his enemies that he was beholden to the Vatican, Santorum is in no such position.
In fact, in 2002, Santorum attended the Vatican's 100th anniversary ceremony of the birth of Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria Escriva, who was the spiritual adviser to Spain's fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
The junior senator from Pennsylvania told the National Catholic Reporter that Kennedy's separation of his personal religious beliefs from his public duties as president resulted in "great harm to America."
Santorum is a congregant of the Opus Dei-linked St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church in upscale Great Falls, Virginia, not far from the CIA headquarters in Langley.
St. Catherine is noted for its Latin masses. The congregation counts other Catholic notables among its members, including Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia and jailed-for-life FBI Russian spy Robert Hanssen . .
In 2004, Santorum and his wife became Knight and Dame of Magistral Grace of the Knights of Malta at a ceremony at St. Patrick's Church in New York. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, headquartered in Rome, enjoys, as does Vatican City, independent diplomatic status and representation at the UN by an observer mission.
Although the Catholic military order has diplomatic relations with 104 nations, it is not recognized by the United States. It appears clear that a Santorum administration would reverse that long-standing policy.
Santorum's Opus Dei conflicts-of-interest do not end with the Knights of Malta.
In September 2002, the accused pedophile former assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with using his Second Mile Foundation charity to pimp out underage teen boys to wealthy donors to the fund, received the Congressional Angels in Adoption award.
The sponsor for Sandusky's award was Santorum, an avid alumnus and supporter of Penn State. Santorum told The Philadelphia Inquirer last November that he does not personally know Sandusky. However, Sandusky's Second Mile Foundation counted a number of Pennsylvania politicos among its supporters.
Moreover, Penn State hired as its chief in-house investigator of the child sex abuse allegations surrounding Sandusky and their cover-up by senior Penn State officials Santorum's fellow St. Catherine's congregant Louis Freeh . . .
While Santorum quarters have pointed fingers at Newt Gingrich's donations from billionaire Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, Santorum's friend and fellow Opus Dei member Freeh has his own dubious deals with the casino industry, including the typical casino operations like those of Wynn or the international business "casino" like that of Corzine.
A Santorum administration may see a place for Freeh as Attorney General or, in a worst case scenario, on the U.S. Supreme Court, alongside other such "notables" as Opus Dei member Scalia, and Sammy "the Snake" Alito, Clarence "Slappy" Thomas, Elena Kagan, and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Copy provided by Wayne Madsen Report. Rightardia edited out some of the material that did not directly pertain to Rick Santorum.
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