Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum has expressed his disagreement with regards to Pope Francis' stance on the issue of climate change during an interview for a local Philadelphia radio station on Monday.

Santorum, who is a Catholic, urged the pontiff to stop buying into the debate about global warming and "leave the science to the scientists."

He argued that the liberal media has been portraying the pope as someone who is less conservative than he really is.

"He's someone who is as committed to the nuclear family as I am," the former U.S. senator said. "I'm a huge fan of his and his focus on making sure that we have a healthier society."

"I understand and I sympathize and I support completely the pope's call for us to do more to create opportunities for people to be able to rise in society, and to care for the poor."

When it comes to discussions on caring for the planet, Santorum advised the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church to be more careful in issuing statements.

"The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think that we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists and focusing on what we're really good at, which is theology and morality," Santorum said.

"When we get involved with political and controversial scientific theories, I think the church is not as forceful and credible."

He added that he has cautioned bishops about getting involved in policy-making for agricultural and other concerns. He said that these types of issues are beyond the scope of the main message of the church.

Santorum is known for his history of rejecting established scientific ideas.

In 2012, while campaigning for Republican presidential nomination, Santorum said that he never believed the "hoax of global warming." He also accused his primary party rivals, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, of allegedly espousing the "bogus" idea that climate change was caused by man.

"If you leave it to Nature, then Nature will do what Nature does, which is boom and bust," Santorum said.

"We were put on this Earth as creatures of God to have dominion over the Earth, to use it wisely and steward it wisely, but for our benefit not for the Earth's benefit."

Santorum is also known for his preference of intelligent design over the theory of evolution regarding the idea of creation. He said that intelligent design "is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."