The Deacon's Bench
It revolves around an interview with Piers Morgan that was broadcast Wednesday night:
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum defended his position on gay marriage Tuesday while speaking to students at Pennsylvania State University, and slammed CNN’s Piers Morgan for questioning him as a “bigot” in a pre-taped interview that aired Wednesday night.
“I had Piers Morgan call me a bigot, because I believe what the Catholic Church teaches with respect to homosexuality,” Santorum said, heatedly. “So now I’m a bigot because I believe what the Bible teaches.”
In the interview, Morgan pressed the former Pennsylvania senator on his moral beliefs about gay rights, an issue he’s repeatedly spoken about on the campaign trail.
Santorum said he subscribes to the Catholic Church’s teachings, which deem homosexuality a sin.
Morgan argued that people have a difficult time coming out because “of the level of bigotry that’s out there against them.”
“And I have to say that your views you’ve espoused on this issue are bordering on bigotry, aren’t they?” Morgan asked, adding that society has evolved in how it views homosexuality.
Santorum countered that the Church’s position is founded on more than 2,000 years of history. To adapt those beliefs based on the changing ways of society, he said, would be immoral.
Santorum then lobbed a charge of bigotry back at Morgan.
“Trying to redefine something that is seen as wrong – from the standpoint of a church – and saying a church is bigoted because it holds that opinion that is biblically based, I think that is, in itself, an act of bigotry,” Santorum said.
UPDATE: You can watch part of the exchange below. For those who have wondered: yes, Santorum does say that homosexuality is a sin –which is not an accurate reflection of Catholic teaching.
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