There’s no telling how many Americans are sick and tired of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s sanctimonious and cardinally-sinful pride regarding his obsession with sex—during a presidential campaign season of all things. 

Yesterday, for example, Santorum, accused Obama of advocating “phony theology” in his policies, particularly his environmental policies.  This, my readers, has got to be one of the most superficial and poorly thought-out comments ever made by a Republican candidate for the presidency. 

After all, had Santorum actually paid attention to advances in scientific research, he would realize that all things, all creatures, all fauna, the weather, and on and on and on, are interconnected and humankind, at seven billion, is literally making a mess out of the planet.  Santorum went on one of the Sunday political bloviation television shows yesterday to defend himself.  He said Man (not humankind but Man) has a duty to act as a steward of the planet.  Of course, he comes from a theological tradition that values “domination” above all else. 

And then there is Santorum’s obsession with sex.  Sex, sex, sex.  Everything he’s saying circles around his obviously messed-up understanding of how sexuality should play its role in the life of the average human.  Scientific research shows, for example, that sex is a natural expression every bit as important as free-flowing feelings, and when it’s repressed, people become unhealthy. 

No matter.  Santorum claims that birth control is a license to “do things in the sexual realm”.  Really?  From what planet does he usher anyway?  Of course, Santorum is only kow-towing to the Catholic Church’s perverted understanding of the role of sex in the life of a human being.  He seems to think it’s only a tool of procreation despite the sheer fact that 98 percent of Catholic Americans use birth control because they’re exercising reason over their animal instincts. 

Honestly.  You’d think Santorum, with his sick obsession with sex, is running for the Papacy, not the Presidency.  He hasn’t gotten the memo that America is a free country that declared its independence from Theological Determinism nearly three centuries ago—partly because, when we mix church and state, we get inquisitions and wars. 

The more I listen to Santorum’s ridiculous rants about sex and contraception and birth control, I think of the utterly fearsome fact that, at seven billion, the human race is essentially lice on the skin of Mother Earth.  We’re like an out-of-control virus—and the planet is suffering. 

Even worse, the Catholic Church has been in the forefront of the homophobic violence taking place in Africa.  Despite the fact Africa is suffering an AIDS epidemic, the Catholic Church is using the medical to describe what it sees as a symptom of licentiousness and prurient behavior.   How sick is that? 

As if the Catholic Church has the right to criticize.  I have two words for the Catholic Church: sexual molestation.