Pastor John Hagee has amended his news release from yesterday. He now has a new paragraph, part of which reads as follows: “I’ve learned that some have accused me of referring to the Catholic Church as the ‘great whore,’ of Revelations. This is a serious misinterpretation of my words. When I refer to the ‘great whore,’ I am referring to the apostate church, namely those Christians who embrace the false cult system of Jew-hatred and anti-Semitism.” He says this would include some Protestants as well as Catholics.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue wasn’t buying it:

“Anti-Catholic Protestants have long labeled the Catholic Church ‘The Great Whore,’ and no amount of spin can change that reality. No one who knows anything about the term would suggest otherwise. Indeed, the Catholic League has a whole library of anti-Catholic books wherein such demonizing language is used. Moreover, just go to Yahoo and type in ‘The Great Whore’ and here is what you get.

“The first site, thegreatwhore.com, not only identifies the Catholic Church with ‘The Great Whore,’ it has pictures of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II as presiding over the City of Rome wherein ‘The Great Whore’ lives. Site number two is wikipedia, and it correctly says that ‘Most Reformation writers and all Reformers themselves, from Martin Luther…John Calvin, and John Knox…identify the Roman Catholic Church with the Whore of Babylon.’ The third site is jesus-is-savior.com, and it has a picture of Our Blessed Mother, with the inscription, ‘Mary (the mother of Jesus) is not the great whore; Catholicism’s Mother Mary (the Catholic religion) is the Great Whore!’ [My italics.]

“John McCain is not an anti-Catholic, but he has shown horrendous judgment in buddying up to this bigot and spin doctor. Maybe he didn’t know this side of Hagee before, but he sure knows it now. Time for the ‘Straight Talk Express’ to leave the station before Hagee goes off the rails again.”

Here is what Sen. Barack Obama said during the February 26 debate with Sen. Hillary Clinton regarding his endorsement by Minister Farrakhan:

· “I have been very clear in my denunciation of Minister Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic comments. I think that they are unacceptable and reprehensible. I did not solicit this support.”

· “I think I’m very familiar with his record as are the American people. That’s why I have consistently denounced it.”

Was this good enough? Here is what Karl Rove said last night on TV:

· “And the fact that he [Obama] danced around the question of whether he both renounced and rejected in the Democratic debate recently was a problem.”

· “I thought in the debate he didn’t seize the moment too quickly—in fact he played a word game with it.”

· “Rather than saying, I reject this one narrow part of him, he should have said, I reject what he stands for, and I don’t associate myself with him in any way, shape or form.”

Here is what McCain said yesterday regarding Hagee’s endorsement:

· “It’s simply not accurate to say that because someone endorses me that I therefore embrace their views.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue opined as follows:

“I hope the McCain camp gets the message. The difference between the way Obama and McCain have handled their endorsements by bigots is enormous. Even worse, McCain actually solicited Hagee’s endorsement. And if Karl Rove is right to criticize Obama for not being strong enough in his denunciation of Farrakhan, what does that say about McCain’s response to Hagee’s endorsement? In short, Obama has set the bar for McCain. Whether he wants to clear it or walk away is his choice.”

David Brody, senior news correspondent for the Christian Broadcast System, has released the text of a letter by John Hagee wherein the Texas minister defends himself against charges of anti-Catholicism. Hagee says he is “shocked and saddened to learn of the mischaracterization of my views on Catholics that has spread while I spent the weekend celebrating the 50th anniversary of my entry into the ministry with family and friends.”

The following are direct quotes from Hagee:

“The Crusades were a motley mob of thieves, rapists, robbers, and murderers whose sins had been forgiven by the pope in advance of the Crusade.” [Jerusalem Countdown, p. 109]

“When Hitler became a global demonic monster, the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII never, ever slightly criticized him.” [Jerusalem Countdown, p. 115]

Speaking of Hitler, Hagee writes that he “simply enforced policies that had been approved by the church over the course of history and that remained the official policy of the church when the Nazi party came to power.” [In Defense of Israel, p. 25]

“Need we be reminded that the loving theology of the New Testament, as translated by the Roman church fathers, is what sponsored the Crusades, the Inquisition, and ultimately produced the Holocaust?” [In Defense of Israel, p. 158]

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as follows:

“Did we also mischaracterize Hagee when he called my religion ‘The Great Whore,’ the ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ’ and a ‘false cult system’? McCain cannot ignore Hagee’s lies any more than he can tolerate his bigotry. This is getting out of control.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue says he wants to hear from Sen. John McCain about his tie to Rev. John Hagee, not his surrogates:

“On Friday, Sen. McCain said he doesn’t agree with everything that Hagee has said. But he didn’t list a single example. As such, his response strikes us as pedestrian: Is there anyone who agrees with everything said by someone else? Sen. Sam Brownback was more specific about what McCain allegedly believes. In a news release his office sent to us Friday afternoon (McCain’s staff has not contacted us at all), Brownback said, ‘While John McCain certainly cannot be expected to defend or espouse the views of every individual who has thrown their support to him, McCain completely repudiates any and all remaining elements of anti-Catholicism in America today.’ That’s a great statement. Too bad it didn’t come from McCain. But there’s the rub: John Hagee has contributed mightily to anti-Catholicism in America, so how can McCain have it both ways?

“Yesterday, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson about my criticism of McCain. He asked, ‘Should John McCain repudiate and reject the comments, the support from John Hagee, just as Barack Obama has done that with the Rev. Louis Farrakhan?’ Hutchinson responded by saying, ‘Well, I think there are two very different situations. John Hagee, Pastor Hagee, has done some very good things, particularly with regard to Israel and the support for Israel and denouncing terrorism in that area. And he has a very large congregation. His endorsement, I think, is for people who believe and work for him. And he does some good things.’ She then said McCain wouldn’t support anti-Catholicism.

“Farrakhan has done some very good things, too. He has called upon young black men to steer clear of drugs and to support their families. Yet no one is citing his good work as a justification for his bigoted comments. The same rule should apply to Hagee. We hope McCain gives us something concrete the next time he speaks to this issue. And we’d like to hear from him, not his surrogates.”

To mark today’s anniversary of the beginning of Pope Pius XII’s pontificate, the Catholic League and the Society of Catholic Social Scientists have amassed a Petition to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Beatification of Pope Pius XII. The petition, which garnered approximately 15,000 signatures in three months, has been submitted for His Holiness’ consideration. It reads:

With profound respect and sincere devotion, We, the undersigned, humbly request that the cause for the beatification of Pope Pius XII proceed without delay. Pius XII’s virtuous life speaks for itself and is supported by an abundance of incontestable documentary evidence. The truth regarding his service to the Church and the World, as a diplomat and during his pontificate, prior to and through the World War II period, is also historically established. He has been the victim of an unjust smear campaign for fifty years. Now, however, overwhelming evidence has been amassed that proves beyond doubt that he labored without pause for peace, that he sought to assist in every way possible the victims of war, especially Jews, hundreds of thousands of whom were spared through his efforts, and that he constantly warned the world of the horrors of Nazism and Communism. We urge that you honor this holy and brave Pontiff at the soonest possible date.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue had this to say:

“Though the late pope’s detractors are vociferous, the truth is clear: A great and holy man has had his reputation sullied by false accusations. Serious students of history are confident that Pope Pius XII did more to rescue Jews from the Nazis than any other world leader. It is the hope of many faithful Catholics that we will soon be able to speak of ‘Saint Pius’ when referring to this true hero.”