Ex-senator and onetime GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum has nearly reached his wits end after yet another statement by Pope Francis that has rankled conservatives.

In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday, Santorum appeared baffled by recent remarks by the Pope suggesting that faithful Catholics need not procreate “like rabbits.”

“Sometimes very difficult to listen to the Pope and some of the things he says off the cuff, and this is one of them,” Santorum, a professed Catholic, said.

“When he speaks as the leader of the Catholic Church, I’ll certainly pay attention,” the former senator continued. “But when he speaks in interviews, he’s giving his own opinions, which I certainly will listen to, but from my perspective, that doesn’t reflect the idea that people shouldn’t be fruitful and multiply, and that people should be open to life as something that is a core value of the faith and of the Catholic Church.”

Santorum went on to repeat several times, “I don’t know what the Pope was referring to here.”