John Hagee through Catholic eyes

When dealing with the issues of John Hagee and his endorsement of John McCain, I am delving into waters of which I am, for the most part, ignorant. I have no real experience with the Catholic faith and very limited exposure to Hagee, which is composed of a few seconds of his television program as I flip channels and one visit to his church while I was in San Antonio last year.

Hagee will stay in the news as a counter-weight to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But after reading an account of a Catholic meeting with Hagee, there seems to be some differences between the two.

A leading conservative Catholic commentator Deal W. Hudson, wrote of his initial reaction to Hagee's endorsement of McCain. He said he, along with Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, called on McCain to repudiate the anti-Catholicism of Hagee's writings.

Being a conservative, Hudson is going to be looking for a way to make Hagee look better than he did because of his endorsement of McCain. But being a Catholic is more important to Hudson than being a Republican. I'm sure he values the image of his faith much more than he values the image of a politician, even if it is one for which he plans to vote.

After describing his initial trepidation with Hagee, Hudson becomes a bit more accepting of the evangelical pastor after his conversation with him. He described Hagee as genuine and not defensive in their discussion.

Hagee actually gave reasoned answers for much of the controversy swirling around him. In dealing with his calling the Catholic Church anti-Semitic, he explained that he had written extensively about the same issues with prominent protestants such as Martin Luther and had praised statements by Pope John Paul II. He also said that the reason why his examples seemed to be so one-sided is that his main source was a book written by Rev. Edward Flannery, the first director of Catholic-Jewish relations at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In discussing the "Great Whore" from the Book of Revelation, Hagee explained that according to his eschatology the Catholic Church would not fit. After the rapture of all Christians (including Catholics), the remaining members of churches who did not have a real faith will form the apostate church and become the "Great Whore."

Hudson also relayed a story about how Hagee helped nuns at a Catholic school which was closing down. Hagee's church bought the campus and invited the nuns to his church the following Sunday. He sat them in the front row at both services and publicly thanked them for their "lives of sacrifice and devotion to Jesus Christ." The congregations gave them standing ovations. The nuns went on to live on the campus for 12 years with no cost.

Contrast that with Rev. Wright, while people claimed that context would give a better picture of who he was, the more sermons that came out, the worse he looked. When given the national stage to clarify his statements and provide the much needed context, Rev. Wright resorted again to anti-American, conspiracy theory, racist rants.

While Hagee points out that he has helped Catholics and has publicly expressed his appreciation for their work, Wright's defenders can only point to the work he has done for "his own." I hate using that terminology, but that is how Wright frames it. All of his good work has been done, admittedly, for the black community, which does nothing to explain away his verbal tirades against whites or Europeans.

It is curious that those who clamored for more context to better explain or understand Wright have not offered that same courtesy to Hagee. Wright went after America and white people, I'm part of those groups so I can describe how his words misleading and are blatant lies in some cases. I'm not a Catholic, so I did not want to suppose how Hagee should be defended from changes of anti-Catholicism. For those of us who aren't Catholic, we should value the opinion of one who is concerning these issues.

Until Wright has a meeting with President Bush or any prominent non-minority evangelical Christian leader where he provides context that demonstrates he was misrepresented and expresses concern that he is being misunderstood instead of taking a national audience and doubling down on his lunacy, I will give no credence to any comparisons between he and Hagee.

Comments

[Louis]

hmmm...nice whitewash. What about Hagee's contention that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina because of its tolerance for gays? And what about McCain's snuggling up to Falwell, the man who accused gays of being, at least in part, responsible for 9/11? I suppose you agree with them so it doesn't bother you.

[seeker]

did they blame gays, or rather, blame all of us for our acceptance of such abominations? i mean, natural disasters, as well as invasions by enemies, are seen as types of judgment based on the wickedness of a nation, not just based on a specific group's sins.

[Louis]

As I said, you agree with them so their hate doesn't bother you.

Typical evangelical.

[Aaron]

Louis, I'm not sure if you honestly have forgotten, are practicing selective memory or are just trying to force your stereotype on me, but I have criticized both Falwell, Robertson and others for those type statements.

I don't think we can speak for God, especially His motives. It's extremely hard to know the motives of fellow humans, I dare not say I know the motivation for acts of God. I'm not even ready to say that was using those disasters to punish, much less guess at the motivation if He was.

But to my post, it wasn't a whitewash it was an examination from a Catholic perspective, the one's supposed to be offended by Hagee's remarks. You, being a gay man, are not going to be happy with McCain getting endorsed by any evangelical Christian.

[Cineaste]

John McCain's assigned kook is pastor John Hagee, an Evangelical preacher who loves Jews, the apocalypse, and long walks on the beach, and hates Mondays, broccoli, and Catholics. So it shocked everyone today when he acted like a complete hypocrite by refusing to stand by his crazy remarks about our papist brothers and sisters.

"Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful," he wrote in a letter to the president of the Catholic League, concluding, "sorry for any misunderstandings, you apostate whores."

[Aaron]

Don't let any facts stand in the way of some good snark.

[Aaron]

But at least you are being consistent with your treatment of Hagee/McCain and Obama/Wright ... oh wait.

[Cineaste]

That was actually the Wonkette's take on Hagee's apology. I forgot to quote it. Now that's corrected.

[Aaron]

I knew that seemed a little more sarcastic and snarky on this whole thing than you usually are. That is why I was a bit surprised.

Wonkette or whoever is writing there these days...that doesn't surprise me. All they can do is snark with little to no knowledge of the things they criticize.

[Louis]

You, being a gay man, are not going to be happy with McCain getting endorsed by any evangelical Christian.

I'm glad that you admit that a gay man would have a problem with "any evangelical Christian." That's because, contrary to what you claim above, the typical evangelical really does think he can speak for God on this topic.

[Aaron]

I think you mean "my typical evangelical stereotype really does think he can speak for God on this topic." It is your opinion that all evangelicals believe that God sent hurricanes as punishment for the existence of gay people. You have a right to that opinion, but I have a right to disagree.

You are going to disagree with an evangelical endorsement because they disagree with you about the nature of homosexuality. That is a position that you find unacceptable. I understand that, but it does not say anything about the current situation.

Your opinion on this is going to be biased against any and all evangelical Christians, especially conservative ones. You have your own reasons for that, but that does not give you the right to assume that everyone believes as your stereotype.

[Louis]

It's not that I'm "biased," as that assumes that my opinion is irrational or without basis in fact. It's certainly a fact that most (if not all) evangelicals disapprove of hx, often to the point of hate-mongering and scapegoating (as we see in the likes of Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, Hagee, seeker, ad nauseum). I don't think all evangelicals are that extreme (you for instance) - however, the fact that most of them (as well as most xians, I daresay) oppose equal rights for gays and consider gay sex "immoral" or an "abomination," makes them my opponents, at least, and my enemies at worst. I don't think it is being unfair or stereotyping to recognize this basic fact of life. And I don't think it unfair to hold it against McCain that he actively seeks out the endorsement and approval of such people.

I might also add that the hatemongering and scapegoating indulged in by the likes of Hagee and Falwell and Robertson does more than impinge on my civil rights, it also endangers me personally. When credulous people are told by spiritual leaders that gays actually pose a danger to the country it creates the rationalization for violence. I have every right to draw the conclusion that these people are my enemy, and to treat them as such. McCain should be ashamed of himself for seeking the endorsement of such evil men.