Last month, the Catholic League issued a news release on a new book by John Wheeler, Jr., Earth’s Two Minute Warning. In the book, Wheeler, a former editor at the Christian Coalition, made comments regarding Catholicism that the league labeled “Catholic baiting.” The league was disturbed that the book carried a blurb by Ralph Reed that indicated he endorsed the book.
Subsequently, Mr. Reed has clarified this incident by stating that a) the blurb he gave was edited by the publisher b) he never read the book in its entirety and c) he disagrees with “many of the conclusions of the book, including those regarding the Catholic Church and its purported role in any end-time scenario.” He also denounced anti-Catholicism without reservation.
Catholic League president William Donohue remarked on Reed’s latest comment today:
“From everything I have learned, I am convinced that Ralph Reed never intentionally sought to disparage Catholicism. He erred, as authors often do, by providing a blurb for a book that he had not familiarized himself with sufficiently. His clarification of this matter effectively ends our concerns. But it does not end the issue.
“The issue that remains is the eagerness of Reed’s critics to exploit this incident for political purposes. Those who heretofore have shown precious little interest in the problem of anti-Catholicism have been all too quick to jump on this issue, bashing Reed in the process. These hypocrites are motivated by power, not principle.
“Reed admits he made a mistake and regrets doing so. His critics have shown no such honesty and that is because they are driven by an agenda to discredit Reed by any means possible.”
