The etymology of the name ‘Santorum’ is an interesting topic to me personally because of the irony involved in the “gay rights” movement’s attempt to “redefine” the word as an attack against Rick Santorum’s consistent stand for traditional marriage. Not everyone is Catholic, and as is evidenced by the tremendous amount of support delivered to Rick Santorum by the Evangelical community, one does not have to be Catholic to love Rick Santorum. Still, I think it’s a good idea to point out the etymology of the name “Santorum” and what it means to me personally when I see this name being perverted in the public arena, particularly online.

The etymology of the name “Santorum” is available at Italy World Club:

It was possibly a medieval first name, taken from the Latin expression “Dies Festus omnium sanctorum” (where Sanctorum is genitive plural of Sanctus), that is, the Feast of All Saints; Santorus was a name sometimes given to children born on that day. Or it was possibly connected to someone acting as a saint, or who had connections with religious things, as a sacristan or seller of religious items.

“Santorum” is derived from the Latin word “sanctorum” which refers to holiness, or saints. The Litaniae Sanctorum is the Litany of the Saints, for example. Mind you, this is not something Rick Santorum advertises, nor would I recommend that he advertise it. It just “is.” If his name had been “Alvaro” or “Bucato” or “Calantini,” I submit that the Left would not be trying to redefine it. They are doing this precisely because of its etymology.

If you Google “Santorum Latin” you come up with some expletives from the people who hate him. I know that they are doing this because they love perversion and because they seek to destroy the reputation of anyone who loves holiness. This is not to say at all that Rick Santorum is himself holy, but rather that he is someone who, like me, admires holiness. His daughter Bella is a living image of Christ in the world, and she is in the center of the Santorum family as that image of Christ. They adore her and care for her because they know she is that image of the Christ child in their lives. It is because Rick Santorum admires holiness, instead of admiring or upholding perversion, that he is attacked.

It is also, at least in part, due to hatred of Catholicism itself that he is attacked. The only Catholic a Democrat can stand is a Catholic who rejects Church teaching on life and marriage. If the Santorums had aborted Bella, and upheld abortion as the Democrats do, he would be their darling.

On some level, I think those who seek to redefine “Santorum” understand that “Santorum” has Latin roots in “Sanctorum” — Holiness. Michele Bachmann is just as much a threat to their agenda on the issues of life and marriage, and they hate her just as much as they hate Rick Santorum, but it is not “Bachmann” that they sought to “redefine.” Though they have attacked her just as vociferously as they have attacked Santorum, it was the name “Santorum” that they sought to redefine. They hate “holiness.”

Unfortunately, many people are blaming Rick Santorum for the fact that he is being attacked this way. They say that it is his fault that these attacks are showing up on Google.  I notice that these same people never exactly ran to the aid of Michele Bachmann when she was being glitter-bombed. This tells me that they are not that passionate about defending conservatives and conservatism. Rather, they prefer to help the attackers with their silence or by blaming the one being attacked. As for the attempt to redefine “Santorum,” I would say that Google regulates search results all the time, and so it is partly their responsibility, but it is primarily the responsibility of those who are doing the attacking. I’m not sure where the idea comes from that we’re supposed to blame the person being attacked instead of the people doing the attacking. (That same argument was launched by the establishment against Todd Akin for his remarks on abortion in cases of rape.) The blame lies with those who have a role in regulating it and with those who are doing the attacking.

Catholics know that the Left is also seriously engaged in trying to redefine “Catholic” as we can see from the many so-called “Catholic” groups that support grave sins like abortion and homosexual “marriage.” There is mostly silence on that reality from the political sphere, but for Santorum and for other social conservatives, there is blame for the one being attacked, not solidarity against those doing the attacking.

Again, as noted, you do not have to be a Catholic to support Rick Santorum. Ask all the diehard supporters he has from the Evangelical community, if you doubt that. He does not seek to impose Catholicism on everyone. Rather, he believes (rightly) that Catholicism is consistent with the founding principles of our country and he takes that passion and applies it to defending those founding principles. This is why his passionate Catholicism makes him such a staunch defender of authentic across-the-board conservatism that is similar to that of Ronald Reagan’s. (Reagan won the Catholic vote for good reasons.) Having said that, still, as a Catholic, I must say that I recognize that there is a great spiritual battle going on all around us that is invisible. Also as a Catholic I believe that everything happens for a reason that is a part of God’s plan. Finally, I know, as a Catholic, some things about human nature (consistent with traditional conservatism), such as that hatred of “old white men” is merely a reflection of the Left’s hatred for paternity and the traditional family unit. They hate Fatherhood. They hate God. Their cartoon image of God is of an old white man, hence they demonize “old white men” in their discourse against conservatism. They are not comfortable saying out loud that they hate the idea of God and paternity and the traditional family unit. So, they say that “old white men” are the problem in the Republican Party and in America. In like manner, their hatred of “sanctorum” (holiness) is reflected in their hatred of Santorum, who loves holiness in his love for Bella, the image of Christ in his home.

That is my opinion, based on the facts I have offered about the situation. You don’t have to agree with me on this to support Rick Santorum, but it is where I am on the matter. It’s all quite fascinating to me and I look forward to seeing how it continues to play out in the road ahead for Rick Santorum and for our country.

Read an Irish woman’s take on Rick Santorum, his Catholicism and protestant support.

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.

By the way, my favorite Italian, and a true Passionist saint, is still St. Gemma. St. Gemma, pray for us, and pray for the Santorums.