McCain ‘Repudiates’ Televangelist Hagee’s Catholic Views, Following Endorsement
NEW ORLEANS — Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday repudiated any views of a prominent televangelist who endorsed him last month “if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics.”
McCain has come under fire since televangelist John Hagee endorsed him on Feb. 27, but until Friday his response had been tepid. The Arizona senator merely said he doesn’t agree with everyone who endorses him. He said Friday he had been hearing from Catholics who find Hagee’s comments offensive.
Hagee, leader of a San Antonio megachurch, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as “the great whore” and called it a “false cult system” and “the apostate church” — “apostate” means someone who has forsaken his religion.
On Friday, McCain took a stronger stance on Hagee’s views in an interview with The Associated Press.
“We’ve had a dignified campaign, and I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee’s, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics,” McCain said.
“I sent two of my children to Catholic school. I categorically reject and repudiate any statement that was made that was anti-Catholic, both in intent and nature. I categorically reject it, and I repudiate it,” McCain said.
“And we can’t have that in this campaign,” McCain said. “We’re trying to unite the country. We’re uniting the country, not dividing it.”
He was responding to one critic in particular, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, who raised the issue in a Thursday conference call with reporters.
“She made the attack. I am responding by saying that I am against discrimination and anti-Semitism, anti-Catholic, anything racial, and I have proved that on the campaign trail,” McCain said.
Hagee’s endorsement had been intended to shore up McCain’s support among evangelical or born-again Christians, many of whom distrust McCain for some of his more moderate views and his willingness to work with Democrats.
McCain gave the interview backstage as he prepared to address the Council for National Policy, a group of the country’s most influential social and Christian conservatives.
The council meets three times a year, with discussions strictly off-the-record to promote frank discussion, according to participants. His appearance was televised in a separate holding room for journalists.
Members asked McCain only a couple of tough questions, including one on illegal immigration. McCain has come under fire from fellow Republicans for supporting an eventual path to citizenship for those here illegally, but now he says securing the border is his top priority.
“We would have to, obviously, secure our border first,” McCain said.
Asked about the influence of religion in his life, McCain said, “It is an important factor in my life, obviously, very important.”
McCain also invoked his faith at a campaign event Friday morning at the headquarters of Chick-fil-A Inc. in Atlanta. The company’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, is a devout Baptist who closes his restaurants on Sunday so his employees can rest and honor God.
“It’s harder and harder trying to do the Lord’s work in the city of Satan,” McCain said of Washington.
He praised former GOP rival Mike Huckabee, who won the Georgia primary, mentioning Huckabee’s comment in a debate, “They asked Governor Huckabee, who as you know was a Baptist minister, what would Jesus do. He said, `Jesus would be smart enough not to run for public office.”‘
And he said that illegal immigration is a Judeo-Christian issue as well as a national security issue.
Also Friday, McCain said tax cuts and job training are needed to lift an economy that is either in recession or is headed toward one. McCain, who has said economics isn’t his strong suit, was responding to a report showing widespread job losses amid the housing and credit crisis.
The Labor Department said employers cut jobs by 63,000 in February, the most in five years.
“I think the fact of the matter is, many American families are hurting very badly, particularly those in states like Ohio, Michigan, parts of Illinois, those states that really relied on manufacturing jobs and saw those jobs leave,” McCain said. “And we as a nation have not done enough to help those workers find new employment, new training, new education.”
[...] John McCain did denounce John Hagee’s anti-Catholic comments earlier this month. Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday repudiated any views of [...]
My dear Mr. Beckwith, one can sense the passion of your feelings, but one doubts the quality of your research. One wonders why a person with such steadfast resolve in the rightness of his own position would bother with researching anything that might present another point of view. At the risk of appearing inferior in our eyes, please allow me to ask a few questions. First of all, what do you mean by “cult”? My understanding, based on the definition found in the dictionary is that it is “a group of people who share religious or spiritual beliefs, especially beliefs regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false”. If that is the definition you use I cannot help but observe that even your religion would meet it. Second, what makes you think that we are worthy to have the benefits of your religious research thrust upon us in this manner? I have also made a study of some religions and based on that study, if there were a proper venue, I would be happy to discuss the inferiority of your religion at length. However, I do not presume to think that thoughts would be well received or even understood. Third, why do you assume that a venue for political discussions is an appropriate place to have any kind of religious discussion at all? I admit to using the term “cult” in some of my comments, but I did not use it in a religious context. I used the term to referred to supporters of Mike Huckabee. (”Cult” in this case being defined as an extreme or excessive admiration for a person, philosophy of life, or activity.) I have challenged those whom I have referred to as cult members to provide me with a factual basis that would justify their support of this man. I have not had any reasonable responses to my challenge. Maybe you could enlighten me. I promise to exercise such patience as your responses deserve.