Pastor Hagee Apologizes for Anti-Catholic Remarks

[Woodmonkey]

Pastor Hagee Apologizes for Anti-Catholic Remarks

John Hagee, pastor at San Antonio's Cornerstone Church, has apologized for statements that have offended Catholics. (AP Photo)

Televangelist John Hagee, one of John McCain’s highest-profile supporters from the religious right, has apologized to Catholics for previously calling the Roman Catholic Church “the great *****” and “the apostate church.”

In a letter Monday to Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, Hagee wrote, “I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful.”

Hagee, leader of San Antonio’s Cornerstone Church, had said his anti-Catholic remarks above were taken out of context, but in the letter he appeared to own up to them.

“Neither of these phrases can be synonymous with the Catholic Church,” he wrote, prompting Donohue to accept his apology.

“I’m absolutely delighted … I haven’t seen such a quick turn-around in the 15 years that I have been president of the Catholic League,” Donohue told FOX News Radio, adding that he plans to meet with Hagee Thursday.

Hagee caused headaches for McCain when he endorsed him in February, as Democrats and Donohue called on the presumptive GOP nominee to reject the pastor’s support.

McCain, who has taken pains to restore trust among the religious wing of his party, rejected specific statements from Hagee — namely about the Catholic Church and blaming sinful behavior by residents of New Orleans’ for Hurricane Katrina — but would not denounce the pastor. Hagee apologized for the Katrina statements a couple weeks ago, saying it’s not his place to try to know the mind of God concerning Katrina.

Donohue, who in February said that Hagee “has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church,” said in a statement Tuesday that their feud is now history.

“The tone of Hagee’s letter is sincere. He wants reconciliation and he has achieved it,” he said, adding that Hagee has spent “weeks” meeting with Catholic leaders.

“Indeed, the Catholic League welcomes his apology,” he wrote. “What Hagee has done takes courage and quite frankly I never expected him to demonstrate such sensitivity to our concerns. But he has done just that. Now Catholics, along with Jews, can work with Pastor Hagee in making interfaith relations stronger than ever. Whatever problems we had before are now history. This case is closed.”

Hagee is firmly pro-Israel and has praised McCain for sharing his values to that end. But he has condemned Catholics for what he sees as efforts to persecute Jews. In his 2006 book “Jerusalem Countdown,” Hagee writes that history proves Adolf Hitler and the Catholic Church were linked “in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews.”

In his letter to Donohue, Hagee indicated he no longer believes in such historical links.

“In my zeal to oppose anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its ugly forms, I have often emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews,” he wrote. “In the process, I may have contributed to the mistaken impression that the anti-Jewish violence of the Crusades and the Inquisition defines the Catholic Church. It most certainly does not. Likewise, I have not sufficiently expressed my deep appreciation for the efforts of Catholics who opposed the persecution of the Jewish people.”

McCain continues to accept Hagee’s endorsement, and his campaign rejects any attempts to draw comparisons between Hagee’s controversial remarks and those by Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

Donohue told FOX News Radio both McCain and Obama “have both gotten some bad advice on how to handle certain people who are close to them.”

But he said “I don’t really have a stink with McCain per se.”

The Source