WASHINGTON, April 3, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview with Zenit News, U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, a Catholic, responded to the question "How can the Church and lay Catholic leaders help Catholic politicians in their task of being faithful to moral principles?"

Santorum responded: "Primarily, Catholic politicians will be faithful to moral principles if the Church, and in particular, the clergy, are truly faithful to the teachings of the magisterium of the Catholic Church.

"Unfortunately, the greatest problem we have today is the lack of orthodox clergy who hold to the true teachings of the Church. Many within the Church are espousing "Catholic lite," as George Weigel calls it. This is a watered-down version of the Church's teachings.

"A vicious cycle results since many unorthodox clergy are soft-pedaling the faith and passing this erroneous brand of Catholicism to younger generations. The result is an uneducated laity with soft values.

"Also, in order for Catholic politicians to be faithful to moral teachings, they must be held accountable. Their elite status in society should not let others be dissuaded from criticizing them if they behave in an unprincipled way. The only way that immoral politicians will change is if the public has the courage to confront them. Only then, will these politicians be forced to act morally."
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/apr/03040307.html
See the whole Zenit interview online at:
http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=33684