Santorum attends the Novus Ordo in Latin, and has attracted vibrant young people including Evangelical Christians to manage his campaign


Blimey! Is it conceivable that a ‘Traddie’ will be the next president of America, and go with his kids to live in The White House? There can only be one person that fits the description of goes-to-a-Mass-in-Latin, home schools six of his seven kids, and is also running for president: Rick Santorum. The question is; might he home-school in The White House? Until recently, conservative Catholic Santorum has been under the radar. And in all honesty, when I heard a description of him I thought, ‘that can’t be, there must be some mistake, no one who is Catholic-of-a-traditional-mindset and totally pro-life could ever even think of becoming the president of America!’ Like a lot of ‘Traditional Catholics’, I endure my Holden-Caulfield’esque inferiority complex and I often think that the highest positions in politics are somehow off-limits to us devout Catholics. Thank you, Santorum, for proving me and your cynics wrong.

There is something mesmerising about Santorum: is it the perceived absence of spin? He’s not a Svengali, who manipulates his public reputation by deceiving a vast group of people that he believes what they believe. He’s not a spin-master who mixes his words to be accepted by one audience, but says the opposite to the next group he addresses. The scary thing about him for his opposition: he believes what he says. I’ve heard this is called integrity.

I agree with Linen On The Hedgerow that even his name, Santorum, sounds ‘Latiney’.
It is true that Santorum attends a Novus Ordo Mass in Latin, at St Catherine of Siena’s in Great Falls, Virginia. This is a Solemn High Latin Mass, very much like the one at The London Oratory on Sunday at 11am. But it is not the Tridentine Mass, according the the Missal of 1962. I am not saying that I hold it against Santorum for not attending the Tridentine Mass; I merely and humbly point out a fact that I gleaned from my research. A quick look at this directory shows that the Mass Santorum attends is a Novus Ordo Mass which happens to be in Latin. This rather flies in the faces of all the people who are writing miles online that Santorum is ‘behind the times’ because of he attends ‘the Old Mass’. If they are so intent on critiquing Santorum, they might as well get the facts about which Mass he attends correct.

I may have the opportunity to discuss the Catholic Mass with Santorum in greater detail. I am currently chasing Rick Santorum for an interview. I’ve chatted with the young campaigners who have committed to ‘get in the vote for Santorum’. These squadrons of newby college graduates are answering the phones; begging for donations; and doing all the nitty-gritty office work. And are they Catholics and singing from the same hymn sheet as Santorum? No, a lot of them are Evangelical Christians, and they sound 100 percent behind Santorum. One very polite chap that I spoke to, Charles, said to me, ‘Mizz Reagan ma’am, I’m a Protestant, but I fully support Rick Santorum, a Catholic, he’s definitely Catholic, that’s clear for everyone to see. And as a Protestant, I invite you to support us. Thank you for calling Rick Santorum for president.’ Santorum’s campaign managers who answer the phone know that I’m not a voter in the US. They know that as a simple journalist, I do not have mega-bucks to donate to the campaign. Yet, their spirit of enthusiasm and their joyful voices are infectious. You can compensate someone to sit by a phone, but you cannot pay someone to have genuine optimism and verve in their voice. There is something noteworthy in the joyful spontaneous way that the campaigners encourage you to support their candidate Santorum.

I read a ton of tomes about the 2008 US presidential election. And one key reason cited for why the Republicans lost was: ‘hired guns’. Instead of energetic, wholeheartedly-dedicated bodies manning the phones, there were ‘hired guns’ who were there to collect a pay check and who didn’t know or endorse the campaign’s manifesto. They didn’t have requisite passion for the candidates to impart to the voters.  Everyone from hacks working on small newspapers to John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, prize-winning authors of Race of a Lifetime, blamed the Republican defeat, on the sheer lack of idealistic, committed people. On the contrary, in 2012, Santorum, a practising Catholic, has attracted sincere, bright young people to his cause. If Santorum succeeds in becoming the Republican presidential candidate; his young, passionate staffers could yet make all the difference in the end.

Comments

  1. Hello Readers,

    I will not be publishing anonymous comments for this post - for the simple reason that it is difficult to hold a debate if so many people have signed 'anonymous'.

    Readers who left comments this morning as 'anonymous', you may re-submit the comment with a name, and it will be moderated.

    Thank you and blessings to you all,

    Mary

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  2. I reposted it to my tumblr: http://mychildsophia.tubmblr.com
    God bless, Rob.

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  3. I wish you hadn't said what church he goes to.There are a lot of nuts in the world. Remember what happened to Sarah Palin's church?

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  4. Rick is the only candidate that truly represents the Natural Law - the foundation of any just Constitution.


    Paul

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  5. I have been watching Santorum for quite a few years and have found a man whose values ARE reflected in his actions. I will vote, for either party, depending on the values the candidate holds. Do I know how they will vote on a certain issue that has not come up before? No. But I can be assured, because the person has good Christian moral values....that he will vote according to his and my values. Santorum has my vote! Dean Baldwin, R.N.

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  6. I have been watching Santorum for quite a few years and have found a man whose values ARE reflected in his actions. I will vote, for either party, depending on the values the candidate holds. Do I know how they will vote on a certain issue that has not come up before? No. But I can be assured, because the person has good Christian moral values....that he will vote according to his and my values. Santorum has my vote! Dean Baldwin, R.N.

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  7. Hi Dymphna,

    Thanks for your comment. You are right, as you say, 'there are a lot of nuts in the world'. But Santorum is a public figure who is running for president and is Catholic. Catholics are not in the habit of hiding/concealing the church/parish that we attend and 'nuts' are welcome in Catholic churches. Jesus came for sinners, and perhaps if 'nuts' come to the Church to see Santorum, then it will be an opportunity for them to be in the house of God.

    God bless always,

    Mary

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  8. He's still a bit confused by the legacy of religious liberty here. See the video at 6:10

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpbE5Hn-Nhk

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  9. If Santorum isn't the nominee, I hope he will consider writing more books and teaching. The Church is in desperate need of good teaching that demonstrates the long view of why certain things are wrong. Case in point - people living together before marriage. We know it's wrong but it's hard to explain the long view of WHY. Kids today don't want to hear that it's wrong, period. They want to know why. Santorum knows how to do that. He gives positively the BEST explanation I've ever heard of how our country's moral and economic decline is directly related to the decline of the family.

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  10. Hi Susan,

    Thank you for your comment. You raise an excellent point that kids need the 'why'.

    God bless always,

    Mary

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  11. Dear Tom Ryan (I'll use your full name in case another Tom posts and it gets confusing),

    Thank you for posting the video. Santorum is leading by example on the matter of birth control/contraception.

    God bless always,

    Mary

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  12. God works in mysterious ways, bringing Santorum to the podium at this time. I am praying hard for him.

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  13. It has been years since I have attended a Latin Mass, however, I still remember the Gregorian Hymns and prayers of the Latin Mass. It is unfortunate that so many Catholics have not had the beautiful experience of a Latin Mass. Rick Santorum is a wonderful example for all Catholics and for those that need to come back. Regardless, if he wins or not, he has and will continue to be a positive influence for us all

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  14. After reading this article about Santorum I am leaning toward him. I like how he stands for life and doesn't hymn nor haw about it! I have been paying attention to him the past couple of weeks and I must say I like what I hear what he has to say.

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  15. I know that Rick Santorum would make a wonderful President for our country. I am a Roman Catholic and am very proud of him as he stands up for his faith. I have been praying to the Holy Spirit to give him the words to speak to the citizens of this country! Nothing is impossible with God!

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  16. I have three points of concern about Rick Santorum

    While he holds the Catholic positions on abortion and marriage, he supports the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, a form of torture. Support for torture seems gravely anti-Catholic to me.

    Additionally, he doesn't seem to get or hold to Catholic Just War Theory. His foreign policy and war voting record are more in line with neoconservative pre-emptive strikes than limited, last-resort warfare to remedy grave crimes.

    Finally, I don't think he has much respect for Constitutional limits on governance. The Constitution provides Congress with no real authority to shape society by law, and the President even less so. Preaching the Natural Law from the pulpit of the Presidency be a great boon for our society, but encoding it entirely into civil law will likely cause more harm than good.

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  17. With all due respect to Mr. Santorum, as a Canadian Catholic watching the process and reading everything from every camp, Dr Paul is the only one in line with the freedom granted us by God and His son Jesus Christ our Lord.

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  18. I am doing daily prayers for Santorum. I think he is both the best candidate and the most likely to defeat Obama. My concern is that with only 19% reporting in N.H. Romney claims victory. That seems like a prediction for how the rest of the country will be dismissed by early voters. We need to remember that everyone has a vote. Not just the people of N.H. and Iowa.

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  19. Thanks for the post Mary. I agree Santorum opens our eyes to the natural appeal of the Catholic message. He presents the vision very well, connecting the dignity of all life to the dignity of the worker. Here he touches upon the value of our work which produces support for small businesses and the principal of subsidiarity. With Santorum we have a leader who can demonstrate the breadth and reach of the Catholic world view. Dignity of the person is the right starting point.

    Kevin, Santorum has said nothing about encoding natural law into civil law. What he does recognize is that natural law, albeit not the Catholic variety, is the basis of our Republic's legal system. It is a lens to help us better understand our legal system,; a much better lens than the positivism that you seem to suggest. However, I agree that he will have some difficulty with the war issue. I believe a Catholic that considers seriously the advice of the Church on war is one prepared to act out of just deliberation rather than ideology. thus, I will trust him on that issue.

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  20. Ms. O'Regan,

    Your recent blog about the virtues of Rick Santorem should have mentioned the
    problem that some Catholics have with his understanding of the term "pro-life".
    His support for the Iraq war, which Pope John Paul II criticized, and his strident determination, if president, to bomb Iran if they are found to have a nuclear weapon is more in line with Christian Fundamentalism or Evangelicalism.

    He ignores Vatican instruction such as the recent multi-page document critical of those groups whose actions threaten peace. Besides mentioning some Muslim actions which are detrimental to peace it also points its finger at (quote or near-quote) "some Fundamentalists that use Old Testament Scripture to justify the political injustices committed against the Palestinians".

    All peoples of the world are now children of God and this notion that whatever Israel does must be God's will is dangerous thinking because of all the innocent people that die as a result of it. The Catholic Catechism condemns torture but
    many a person who calls himself "Christian", including many Catholics, think
    it's OK if done against Arabs and given a benign-sounding descriptor such as
    "enhanced interrogation". I trust almost no democrats and very few republicans
    because of their blind adherence to a politically correct foreign policy that is
    murderous of so many innocent people.

    John

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  21. Dear Mary,

    While I am a traditional latin mass attendee, I have been to St. Catherine of Siena numerous times, because my wife sang during the NO latin mass in the schola cantorum. As a matter of fact, it is the same parish where Justice Scalia worships also.

    That said, I will not be supporting Senator Santorum. I have met him several times and have not been impressed.

    I used to be a huge supporter of his social conservative views which is refreshing for a public Catholic figure, but besides that he is missing other elements. For instance, he is pro-torture. I will not hide behind semantics and say he is for 'enhanced' interrogation. I used to be for this form of torture until I read more of St. Aquinas and St. Augustine.

    Besides being for torture, Senator Santorum does not hold to the principles of subsidiarity as outlined by our great popes Leo XIII and Pius XI. He would rather use more bureaucratic government as a tool to promote his agenda.

    Thirdly, our Catechism teaches against the use of preemptive attacks on other nations--and also on our neighbours.Launching a war against a country that is surely bad and probably dangerous is not Christian. It is dictatorial and imperialistic.

    Last, Senator Santorum has not talked about restoring some of our individual freedoms that were discarded under president Bush and further trampled upon by president Obama. The new NDAA law that was signed at the dark hour of December 31st, 2011 has stripped away more of our natural rights as given by God. Now, an American can be detained without reason and without due process.

    These are only some of the issues I am concerned about in regards to Senator Santorum.

    For full disclosure, I am a Congressman Ron Paul supporter. Yes, he is not Catholic, I know, but I actually think his views and policies are more in line with Aquinas and Augustine that Senator Santorum.

    He talks about getting the government out of the lives of the individual, where as a Catholic, I can go straight to my parish to get married without having to secure a licence by the state first.

    He talks about reversing Roe vs Wade by congress voting on repealing the unconstitutional law and not merely by waiting 40 years to switch around justices on the Supreme Court.

    He talks about going to war as the Catholic Catechism states, to defend ourselves from agression, and not to attack without reason.

    He talks about making torture illegal-including water-boarding. A tickle could be playful fun, but when somebody has enough of it, it is defined as torture.

    He also talks about getting rid of the Department of Education, which is a Marxist arm of the government. He is for homeschooling and would rather the states take care of their own needs locally than have the federal government dictate their agenda.

    I really could go on, but I think I'll stop there.

    Thank you for posting as always. I enjoy reading.

    In Christo Rege,

    Philip James,
    leoxiii@me.com

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  22. https://www.facebook.com/CatholicsForRonPaul

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  23. Mary, love this article! We are working and praying like mad in the USA to support Rick. Thank you for your support, and keep up the good work. Pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you.
    And sending some campaign cash wouldn't hurt! Rick is selling his trademark sweater vest for $100 contributions!

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  24. Kevin Bensema no candidate is perfect, and as Catholics we select the one who is acceptable on the non-negotiables; life and marriage. There is no excuse for a Catholic to vote for a pro-aborion or pro-homosexual 'marriage' candidate. Full stop.
    However, the Church allows for legitimate discretion about just war. And since enhanced interrogation does not result in death, it is not on a par with murder of the innocents. Neither need be a barrier to Catholics who wish to support Rick's candidacy.
    Constitutional law again is an area where the Church allows Catholic citizens to exercise their conscience.
    There is no reason that the most devout and faithful Catholic candidate should not be supported by Catholics.
    By the way, Mary, he has seven living children and lost one son Gabriel Michael shortly after birth. See Karen Santorum's book "Letters to Gabriel", the family have been viciously attacked by how they mourned Gabriel's passing.

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  25. I will vote for Santorum...even if I have to write him in along with myself for the office.

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  26. I hope that others will join me in saying the Memorare daily in request of Our Lady, asking Her Son to grant that Rick Santorum will be elected our new president in 2012, and that Our Lord will protect him and his family, and guide him by the light of the Holy Spirit in all things. We need a good man such as Sen. Santorum to steer this country founded on the rock of Christianity back in the right direction, to once again be a shining city on a hill for other nations to emulate. Please, God. ~dbondinkc

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  27. Rick didn't do as well in New Hampshire but hopefully conservatives will coalesce around himin South Carolina and Florida.

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  28. Kevin,

    I really like this guy I'm dating. He has a good job, likes kids, and has a great sense of humor. However, he tends to read a lot of military history books and talks about them at dinner. He also is a little obsessive compulsive about washing the dishes. Should I think about marrying him?

    Good gracious! With the other presidential options out there including another term of Obama, you are nitpicking over waterboarding a known terrorist? Get a grip dude!

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  29. Hello Readers,

    Apologies for the delay in moderating your comments; I have been busy arranging and doing interviews with people as part of my journalism. Also, may I selfishly ask for your prayers, I've caught a stomach bug and it's very uncomfortable.

    God bless you and yours always,

    Mary

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  30. I wouldn't characterize Santorum as a traditional Catholic. I like the guy personally and he appears to be orthordox in his faith, but his position are not fully in line with Catholic Social Teaching (Rerum Novarum, torture, just war, etc) as already outlined above.

    I do hope he makes the leap from the Latin Novus Ordo to the Extraordinary Form.

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  31. Dear commentators,

    To be Catholic means to embrace the truth. It does not mean to be selective. We cannot call torture of anybody--whether innocent or guilty--trivial. It is a human life. It is what being pro-life means. You embrace the whole, not a part. If somebody needs to be punished for a crime, it needs to be unequivocally proven that the alleged person is guilty, before exacting a punishment on them. Punishment could range from a simple fine to detention, to death. Torture is immoral. Our dear saints have told us so. We have to understand that, period!

    If you espouse torture, then say, 'I disagree with the Church's teaching on torture' It will make your position clear and not muddle the Church's own position.

    Philip James
    leoxiii@me.com

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  32. I believe Rick Santorum supported then Republican turned Democrat Arlen Specter, an abortion rights AND gay rights advocate. Leads to a bit of confusion, and more so caution, when it comes to supporting this Traditional Catholic, whom i do applaud for being Traditional Catholic, the One True Faith!
    Dominus Vobiscum!

    John

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  33. Leticia, and others with the same views:

    You are making light of a very serious, troubling aspect of Mr Santorum. That aspect is his rejection of Church teaching on grave matters concerning the just limits of warfare. This attitude is not surprising, given the sorry state of American discourse. Those above who are pointing this out to you deserve to be listened to, and their words need to be studied.

    Personally, Mr Santorum seems to be a very fine man. No one, I believe, disputes this. But being a typical Republican in thrall to the Party bigwigs and in thrall to the ubiquitous Israeli lobby, the policies he would apply would lead to more murders of the innocent, more destruction, more aggression against countries which have done us no harm, more loss of our individual liberties and finally bankruptcy. And in this he is like most other Republican candidates, such as Romney, Gingrich, Perry, et al.

    And we must never forget his betrayal of a true pro-life candidate, Toomey, who was vying with the despicable Arlan Specter for a senate seat. This awful situation is described in great detail on the Culture Wars website of Catholic historian E Michael Jones, and should be required reading.

    Mr Santorum knows that unless he kow-tows to AIPAC and the Republican Party bosses he will have no chance at the nomination. And if he gets elected, I assure you he would put social issues on the back-burner very quickly and concentrate on more wars, usury, obsequiousness to International Finance, the lot. How many other examples of the betrayal of pro-life principles by Republicans do you want in order to convince you? There are, sadly, many examples to choose from.

    I am not a Ron Paul supporter because his Libertarian views are not Catholic. True, he has sound views on foreign policy and other matters but if he were elected I seriously doubt much would change. If he really did start to do some good regarding the creepy oligarchs who run this benighted country he would be assassinated forthwith I assure you. But I cannot support Mr Santorum either, because of his disregard of the lives of innocents as he advocates bombing countries which have done us no harm. That is not the way a Catholic should operate.

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  34. We need to clear up a few things. Both Pope Benedict and John Paul have said, in regards to the just war doctrine, that faithful Catholics can have an honest disagreement as to whether or not a certain war meet all the criteria for a just war. The popes were not speaking infallibly when it came to those wars.
    Secondly, when it comes to Ron Paul. He has said that he is pro-life, but also said that it should be a states rights issue. I am as big a supporter of the 10th amendment as anyone but somethings, like the protecting of the lives of innocent children transends state lines.

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  35. As a trad Catholic, I believe in choosing the best candidate for the job, not someone that shares my faith or characteristics I like.
    I like all these traits, but I am looking for a Commander and Chief and I am willing to sacrifice some moral issues to the more libertarian based Ron Paul. He is the only one who can save this country. I like Santorum, but Paul is my man.

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  36. Wow!!! Santorum supported pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-Israel no matter the crimes Arlen Specter over a pro-life candidate. Oh Yes, let's put this bomb throwing, save American babies/bomb Arab babies into office post haste.
    John

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  37. I support Santorum. Santorum is the one who will get my vote. I do not support Ron Paul at all. I will NOT be voting for Ron Paul even if he gets the nomination.

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  38. I am a concerned American Catholic who attends the traditional Latin Mass in St. Petersburg, FL. I will be supporting Ron Paul, who is the most qualified candidate to lead this great country. He has a great understanding of our financial mess and the ways to correct it. The Federal Reserve is responsible for our debt and needs to be looked into. Ron Paul is also pro life. He supports repealing Roe v. Wade and also ending the wars abroad. Bringing the troops home, which Ron Paul supports, would make us a stronger country and save soldier's lives. We have an extreme problem with Mexican thugs on our Southwestern border. Placing American troops there instead of in the Middle East to crack down on illegals and drug cartels would strengthen this country's security. I am voting for Ron Paul because he says what he believes everytime and doesn't cater to the listeners as the rest of the candidates do. I know that all we can do is pray and do penance as Our Lady said at Fatima. The only solution to the world's problems as well as America's is for the pope with all the bishops to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart. This is the ONLY way America can pick herself up.

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