Over at Spiritual Politics, Mark Silk notes that there was no great clamoring for McCain to reject John Hagee's endorsement, especially after Catholic League president Bill Donohue forgave him for his long record of anti-Catholic remarks:
One of the odd things about the Hagee affair is that it did not end in the usual way. Usually, there's some particular religious group--Catholics, say, or Muslims, or Mormons--who take offense at some remarks, and thus the candidate must disavow. Thus it was the Catholic League's Bill Donohue who blew the anti-Catholicism whistle when Pastor Hagee surfaced in the present campaign, first inviting Mike Huckabee to his church and then giving his thumbs up to McCain. But there has been no outpouring of outrage from the organized Jewish community in reaction to the revelation that Hagee had, in a sermon perhaps a decade ago, allowed as how God had permitted the Holocaust in order to hustle the Jews off to the Holy Land. So far as I can see, only the leader of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, spoke out publicly, in the form of a letter of inquiry on behalf of his constituents to Pastor Hagee. Yoffie has in recent weeks stood out as a prominent critic of Hagee's, in the face of his warm embrace as a friend of Israel by the likes of Aipac and Abe Foxman...
The same is true of McCain's rejection yesterday of Rev. Rod Parsley. (The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release calling on the presumptive Republican nominee to “unequivocally distance himself” from Parsley, but that landed in God-o-Meter's inbox after the deed had already been done.)
Will McCain's proactive disavowal of Hagee and Parsley, in the absence of calls to do so from the groups who were most likely offended by their remarks, make the Christian Right even angrier at him than it already is? Will the movement see this as McCain's latest concession to the liberal mainstream media?
1
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Why do you in the media consistently assume that Bill Donohue speaks for *all* US Catholics. He does not. He is a right-wight shill under a Catholic banner, and you should at least balance out any Donohue quote with a quote from the Catholic Left.
Bill Roth
Catholic Democrats
Hagee and Parsley gets what they deserved. Huxabee is a true christian,but they endorse McCain an oppotunist who will use whatever and whoever to win the election. I gree that right wing christians are Rublicans in sheep clothing. Jimmy carter was a true Christian but the religious right choose Reagan,a false christian. You will reep what you sow. Does Hagee share the gospel with Jews? Does he tell them that Christ is the only way?
By rejecting Pastors, McCain is rejecting the Pastors congregation & allies.
A Pastor is basically a leader, he has a following that commands his respect & they support the Pastors values & beliefs. Having a Pastor gives one an identity, hope & something worth holding on to.
I have followed McCain’s campaign & I have seen the man flip flop on so many issues it does not surprise me he has this fallout with the Pastors. On one end I feel for the Pastors, the circular world does not have an understanding of the teachings & beliefs of the Pastors so they are attacked. The media makes it a point to pick the most controversial part of a sound bite & there is the story line.
McCain’s issue with the Pastors will fade from the front pages soon, too soon if I have to say. The core of this issue will remain with the congregations long after the media has moved away from this issue. The congregation will always ask why politicians mess up their beliefs and try to look good when they have no intention or care in the world.
Senator McCain has just divorced the entire Christian vote that supports Pastor Hagee & Pastor Parsley. The Jewish people know that Pastor Hagee is their friend & so again McCain has an uphill battle in getting that vote.
The idea of a "Catholic Left" is as asinine as a "Catholic Right".
The Church is liberal on some issues (labor rights, minimum wage, immigration) while conservative on others (birth control, abortion, pre-marital sex).
It stands outside of politics, unlike its Protestant counterparts who race to endorse party candidates.
And for the record, if a "Catholic Leftist" supports abortion, birth control and the like, that Catholic is a Protestant and just doesn't know it yet.
Bill writes:
I don't think Donohue speaks for all U.S. Catholics, and have provided plenty of coverage of the Catholic left, including a long recent interview with Hillary Clinton's former Catholic outreach director and coverage of Barack Obama's intense Catholic outreach effort, including liberal Catholics' response to Bill Donohue.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.