McCain rejects anti-Catholic views

By LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press Writer
Fri Mar 7, 3:45 PM ET


"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.'"