The day after winning a three state primary sweep, Rick Santorum largely avoided politics during a visit to the Bella Donna Chapel and instead talked candidly about his faith before a crowd of more than one hundred local pastors.
 

Do You Like this Article? Then Like Us on Facebook.

 

santorum pastors obama speech

Due to several last-minute TV interviews added to his schedule on Wednesday morning, Santorum arrived at the chapel nearly an hour late, which shrunk the amount of time his campaign set aside for midday fundraisers in this wealthy, predominantly Republican state. The delay forced him to rush out after his address, skipping a planned visit with several hundred supporters who had gathered outside the chapel, unable to get in to the invite-only event.

Inside the chapel, Santorum made only a veiled reference to his GOP opponents, telling the pastors that the problems he sees in Washington D.C. are located at the root, and are "not issues of management" - a clear reference to Mitt Romney, who has consistently highlighted his experience as a manager to position himself as the candidate best-prepared to help steer the nation's economy.

"There's not a management problem in Washington, alright," Santorum said. "There's a more foundational problem there that goes to the basic concepts of who we are as a people. And those are deeply moral questions."

In his remarks, Santorum explored what those questions meant to him, discussing the death of his son Gabriel just hours after his birth and the health problems that have plagued his youngest daughter Bella, who was born with the genetic disorder trisomy 18. He also talked in depth about his faith journey, charting a path from the time he was first elected to Congress when faith "wasn't central" to his life, straight through to meeting his wife Karen and the growth of their faith together.

"The institution of marriage saved my life," Santorum said. "Without my wife Karen and the journey that we walked on together, I wouldn't even be near the state of Texas right now. This was a turning point in my life."

Santorum married his wife the same year he was first elected to Congress, and he described how the growth of their religious faith has shaped him into the candidate he is today, a candidate who sees no boundaries between faith and politics.

Source: CNN | Adam Aigner-Treworgy