Re-emphasising his earlier statements:
New Orleans, Mar 8, 2008 (CNA).- Senator John McCain made efforts on Friday to do more than just distance himself from the anti-Catholic teachings of John Hagee by repudiating any comments made by the well known televangelist.
In an interview with the Associated Press the Republican presidential candidate said, “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 also brought up the fact that he sent his children to Catholic schools as proof of his acceptance of Catholics. “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.
He also tried to strike a conciliatory tone for his campaign by saying, “we can’t have that in this campaign. We’re trying to unite the country. We’re uniting the country, not dividing it.”
For this Catholic, the matter is now closed.
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Mark, don’t you think that since Hagee is a notorious religious bigot and believes that we should do all we can to usher Biblical Armageddon into reality, that McCain out to reject Hagee’s actual endorsement as well as his support? This is what Obama promptly did when he got Farrakhan’s support. How come it’s taken McCain so long to do even as much as this? It seems like McCain is trying to have it both ways on this issue and that doesn’t say much for his likely ability to make difficult decisions if actually elected.
I really don’t think most mainstream Catholics are going to be as forgiving as you have been about this come November. Nor do I think it’s going to look very impressive when the democrats start to publicize the fact that McCain had a breakfast meeting to discuss foreign policy with this wacko.
southerner,
McCain is forgiven for my part; Hagee is forgiven for my part. The matter is closed, as far as I am concerned.
Mark-
Ahhh there’s that cheap grace again. Funny how that forgiving nature comes and goes. I wonder if Spitzer will be as “forgiven” by you since he has apologized and asked for forgiveness.
I won’t hold my breath…..
Oh, cool. So Hagee is forgiven even though he has not renounced his own anti-Catholilc diatribes. ‘The matter is Closed’ prounceth Mark Noonan. Interesting logic Mark, do you apply the same all-encompassing forgiveness to child murderers? Why are you giving so much favoritism to Hagee even though he hates your religion? It’s all very well to be a forgiving Christian but where do you draw the line, do you have this approach when considering Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, the current president of Iran? Or s this an example of the dreaded moral relativism, surely you couldn’t be guilty of that? How come you can find it in your heart to forgive Hagee and thus “close this matter” but not these other guys? You probably regard yourself as a moral person, or at least as a person who tries to behave in a moral manner, if you can’t see that you’re using a complete double standard on this issue then I don’t know what to say to you.
NiP,
For my part, Spitzer is forgiven – you have to understand, I have no choice in the matter…and, over time, I’ve not only learned that I must do so, but to do so brings great joy to my heart…I no longer carry the burden of anger about such things. As to whether Spitzer should remain Governor – that is another issue; on the face of it, the violation of public trust would indicate his need to resign, but other matters may supervene to give him a plausible case for remaining in office. If he does, then it will be up to the judgement of the voters of New York whether or not his apology and atonement suffices.
sotherner,
I said the matter is closed as far as I am concerned – others will have to make up their own mind on the matter.
But, if you want to know, I do, indeed, forgive them – in fact, I not only forgive, them, but I do try to remember them in my prayers, from time to time, in accordance with Our Lord’s command that we pray for our enemies. I bear no hatred towards them – they are my brothers; erring, it goes without saying, but still my brothers and my hope remains that they will repent and that we will all, one day, be with God in the life of the world to come.
As for Hagee, himself; he’s one of a long line of my Protestant brothers who have gotten it very wrong about a lot of things – it is a natural result of a religious body of thought without the corrective of a final earthly authority to render judgement. On the other hand, I do believe that Hagee is sincere and I’ll bet that his ministry does do a lot of good for the poor and the outcast. As far as that goes, what he does would be a credit to his faith, even as his views of Catholicism are a discredit to his sense of charity.
So Mark, that still doesn’t answer the question of why you only seem to volunteer your forgiveness in posts that you start about allies of the republican party. How come we never see you initiating such posts about the supposed wrongdoings of Obama or Hillary or anyone else in the team you seem to regard as your arch rivals? It all seems very convenient.
Also interesting to note that you think Hagee’s fantaticism is the “natural result” of “a religious body of thought” (I take it that by this you mean Protestantism) “without the corrective of a final eartlhy authority to render judgement” (by this you obviously refer to the Pope). This is very interesting stuff Mark, it exhibits not only your unquestioning love of authority figures but also your consideration that anyone who does not submit to some form of authority figure must neccessarily fall into error, or possibly – as in this case – outright maniacal fanatacism. I’m sure the Protestants who post on this board will find your comments interesting.
…you have to understand, I have no choice in the matter…
You’re asking for too much, Mark. These kooks have no understanding of the forgiving nature of a true Christian.
But they are forgiven…
Ever heard a Christian sermon? Here’s your chance to see one. Listen and learn about the Christian concept of “forgiveness”…
(Video) “The Landmine of Unforgiveness” – Dr. Charles Stanley, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia.
Interesting how the topic of John McCain gets turned into an attack on Mark Noonan. Be that as it may, as a Protestant (Presbyterian Church in America), I likewise reject the anti-Catholicism of John Hagee. Perhaps we should accept McCain’s distancing from Hagee as the Media have accepted Barack Obama’s distancing from Louis Farrakhan? At the very least, I suppose, McCain’s pastor hasn’t bestowed any honors upon Hagee.
Mt 7:6 – Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
how can the unforgiving understand the truth from the Living God? it is not but folly to them, whose souls are filled with thier own indignations, when we hand the the truth on a golden platter. they overturn the righteousnous of it in glee, and flock to the countenance of vengeance in the blink of an eye.
southerner,
As a Protestant (Southern Baptist) I do find Mark’s comments interesting. At the same, this is merely a point on which we disagree.
What I can see is that Mark is a mature Christian and does not condemn me for our differences.
I believe Mark would agree that our differences are not things that will keep us out of heaven.
If we keep our eyes on Christ, pray that God will give us wisdom in interpreting his word, and live our lives the way he would have us live our lives…it does not matter what Christian faith you follow.
All of our differences such as: purgatory, once save always saved, authority of the Pope, etc. don’t matter as long as our complete faith and trust are on Christ.
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Back to the topic of this thread. Was McCain’s statement good enough to satisfy people like Catholics who were offended by Hagee’s fanatical rants? I’m a Catholic and I will say for me that it was close to enough but not quite. I would like to have heard him say that he rejects Hagee’s radical positions and refuses to accept his support or endorsement in any way. I’m tired of politicians “distancing” themselves while still reaping the benefits of relationships with those they profess to disagree with on some fundamental level. You can’t have it both ways, and I think McCain is still trying to do just that. He is in damage control mode rather than taking a stand.
How come we never see you initiating such posts about the supposed wrongdoings of Obama or Hillary or anyone else in the team you seem to regard as your arch rivals?
Simple–because in Noonan’s world, “the left” is inherently anti-god, anti-America, anti-everything that could possibly be thought of as “good.” Therefore, anybody on the left deserves no quarter. The right are his “brothers in Christ,” while the left is his sworn enemy. And although that sounds both paranoid and hypocritical, Noonan will gladly spin you all sorts of ethereal tales about how it isn’t.
Govitman,
Looking at my comment, I believe that I put it in a rather clunky way which can cause offense amongst Protestants – and I didn’t mean it to be anything of the sort, and I do apologise if I caused any offense. My point is that Hagee seems to be a loose cannon – there is no body of authority able to call him to account, and thus he can get off the rails quite a bit. Most Protestant demoninations do have at least some mechanism of correction for the erring and I believe we’ll find that most people like Hagee in history have been people pretty much out there on their own.
But, on the other hand, I’m sure I’ve gotten it wrong from time to time, too, and thus I’m not about to condemn Hagee outright…he’s wrong about the Catholic Church, that is as far as I’ll go, and I pray that he’ll come ’round to a more loving view of his Catholic brothers and sisters.
southerner,
The thing about the “question authority” slogan of the left is that in practical terms it means “automatically reject Christian authority”. You’ll never question the authority of a global warming proponent, nor would you dream of questioning the authority of NARAL on the subject of abortion. So, spare me your attempts to place my acceptance of Church authority as some sort of mindlessness in relation to your allegedly open mind.
As it is, there is authority in this world – I adhere to the authority I believe was conferred on the Church by Christ while he lived on earth as a man. Given that this authority is run by human beings, it can make mistakes, but I am of the view that the Holy Spirit will never permit the Body of Christ, as a whole, to come out wrong on matters of fundamental doctrine (the gates of hell never being permitted to prevail against the Church, you see?).
Tract,
Sworn enemy, indeed – but I am to pray for my enemies and love them. So, I pray for you and love you and, yes, I forgive you. That you haven’t seen it before probably relates to your very nasty comment style coupled with a lack of desire on your part to seek any forgiveness from me.
George,
Ah, but we can try…some day some bit of the Word that we present to them just might shake them loose from their narrow views and lead them, step by step, to the real enlightenment.
Mark,
No apologies needed.
My wife is a strict Catholic and I am a strict “if it ain’t in the bible, I question it.”
While we have had are heated debates, it is amazing the misconceptions each religion has about the other. I go to my wife’s church and she goes to mine. She will never convert to being Protestant and I will never convert to Catholicism. But, by being open and accepting to each others beliefs, knowing that each of our faiths is solidly grounded in Christ, gives us security in where each of us stand.
From my experience and what little knowledge I have…I would say that there are many more similarities than differences when it comes to the importance of Christ.
-Govitman
Mark said – “You’ll never question the authority of a global warming proponent, nor would you dream of questioning the authority of NARAL on the subject of abortion.”
Just wrong and wrong again Mark. I can, will and do question everything I encounter in life. That’s the difference between you and me, I don’t have blind faith in ANYTHING. I believe that our best tool to help us make our way through this world is reason and I do not feel the need to supplicate myself before some kind of father-figure as you obviously do.