Press Release: Catholics Urge Sen. Lieberman to Avoid Speaking Appearance with Rev. John Hagee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Gehring
Senior Writer
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Phone: (202) 429-9683
E-Mail: jgehring@catholicsinalliance.org

Friday, May 30, 2008

Catholics Urge Sen. Lieberman to Avoid Speaking Appearance with Rev. John Hagee

Washington, DC- The leaders of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United today urged Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) to withdraw his support for Rev. John Hagee and the Texas pastor’s “Christians United for Israel” summit. Sen. Lieberman is scheduled to appear at the event in July. In a letter to Sen. Lieberman, the groups cited Hagee's “long-standing pattern of intolerant behavior” that includes comments offensive to many groups of Americans.

Hagee has stirred controversy in recent months for having referred to the Catholic Church as “the great whore” and claiming that God sent Hurricane Katrina to punish residents of New Orleans for immoral behavior. More recently, revelations surfaced that Hagee believes Adolf Hitler’s persecution of Jews was carried out in fulfillment of God’s will. The pastor has also made comments offensive to Muslims, women, and African-Americans.

“Senator Lieberman must send a strong message to all Americans that Hagee’s bigotry and extremism have no place in our political system,” said Alexia Kelley, executive director of Catholics in Alliance. “The best way to do this is to renounce his support of Hagee, and withdraw from the ‘Christians United for Israel’ summit.”

“Americans of all political stripes are desperate to move beyond the divisiveness and partisanship that have characterized U.S. politics in recent years,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. “By participating in Hagee’s summit, Senator Lieberman risks perpetuating the acrimony and intolerance that the pastor has come to represent.”

The text of the letter reads:

Dear Senator Lieberman,

We are concerned to hear of your plans to attend Rev. John Hagee’s “Christians United for Israel” summit this July. On behalf of our organizations, Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, we urge you to withdraw your support for Rev. Hagee and this event.

Rev. Hagee, as you know, has a history of making offensive and bigoted comments about many groups of people, including Catholics, Muslims, women, African Americans, Hurricane Katrina victims, and Jews. Although he has attempted to repudiate some of these views, the comments are part of a long-standing pattern of intolerant behavior.

We support Rev. Hagee’s freedom to hold whatever private opinions he chooses. However, we believe that such intolerance has no place in our political system, and that our elected officials must reflect this value by disassociating themselves from such incendiary figures as Rev. Hagee.

Please take a principled stand and reconsider your participation in the “Christians United for Israel” conference.

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Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good promotes awareness of Catholic social teaching and its core values of justice, dignity and the common good to Catholics, the media and Americans of all faiths. Through communications, grassroots outreach and strategic coordination, Catholics in Alliance works to advance the common good in the American public square. For more information please visit http://www.catholicsinalliance.org/.

Catholics United is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic Social Tradition. This is accomplished through online advocacy and educational activities. For more information, visit www.catholics-united.org.