Aletheus, thanks for the info. I pay no attention to Deicide and bands of that ilk, so I was just speculating. As a Catholic myself, I was interested to see how a faithful Catholic could reconcile such opposing things, so I did spend some time reading and listening to interviews. I am not sure what to believe.
Glen Benton doesn't seem to think he's a Christian: "Oh the whole 'I am a Christian thing' with him is total bull*#@$...the guy just uses that *#@$ to upset myself and the fans...don't buy it, the guy couldn't tell ya the last time he went to church...". I realize that doesn't make it true (bandmembers say a lot of bad and false things about each other after a breakup).
If you have a specific interview in mind that touches on how he reconciles that, I'd be interested to see it.
Regarding Benton's words all I can say is that sounds like nothing but wishful thinking. Think about it, he's playing death metal and has a Roman Catholic outplaying him in his own band. I'm not saying it's complete folly but maybe Benton just wanted to exaggerate the fact that Santolla simply proclaimed to be Christian and stuck to it, without showing some evidence (if he never prayed on tour, or went to church, you know the sloppy Christian )...but Benton obviously thought that going to church was enough to determine his faith.
I can't recall any at this point, but I know he was exposed to ridicule from the fans, not just hate and I don't think it's any mans wish to be laughed at for what they don't believe in.