Messianic group paid Santorum for speaking gig

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum in Penn. on March 20. Photo by REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Republican presidential candidate and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) accepted a paid speaking engagement from a Messianic Judaism group. 

According to Politico, Santorum received $6,000 in 2010 from the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America to speak at its annual conference, which was reported in the release of Santorum’s personal financial disclosure statement on Wednesday.

The alliance embraces Messianic Judaism, one of several sects that have come under fire for proselytizing among Jews, in part by claiming that belief in Jesus does not obviate Jewish tenets.

Santorum is currently 300 delegates behind front-runner former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.