c. 2008 Religion News Service

Hagee expresses `deep regret’ to Catholics

(RNS) Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee, who endorsed presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and drew sharp criticism for comments critics called anti-Catholic, has written a letter expressing “deep regret” for causing any harm.

Hagee, who leads Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, was harshly criticized by Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and Democratic National Committee officials.

“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,” Hagee wrote in a May 12 letter to Donohue.

Hagee, who also is the founder of Christians United for Israel, said he gained an “improved understanding” of Catholics after recent “constructive dialogue” with Catholic leaders.

“In my zeal to oppose anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its ugly forms, I have often emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews,” he wrote. “In the process, I may have contributed to the mistaken impression that the anti-Jewish violence of the Crusades and the Inquisition defines the Catholic Church. It most certainly does not.”

He said he does not consider the phrases “apostate church” and the “great whore” to be synonymous with the Catholic Church.

“I better understand that reference to the Roman Catholic Church as the `apostate church’ and the `great whore’ described in the Book of Revelation is a rhetorical device long employed in anti-Catholic literature and commentary,” he continued.

Donohue, in response, issued a statement on Tuesday saying “this case is closed,” and expressing hopes for stronger interfaith relations.

“He wants reconciliation and he has achieved it,” said Donohue. “Indeed, the Catholic League welcomes his apology. What Hagee has done takes courage and quite frankly I never expected him to demonstrate such sensitivity to our concerns.”

McCain, campaigning in Washington state Tuesday, told reporters that Hagee’s apology was “very helpful” and “a laudable thing to do.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

School dismisses teen accused of setting Sikh turban on fire

(RNS) A Hightstown, N.J., high school senior accused of setting fire to a Sikh student’s turban has been dismissed from his school and will not return, the East Windsor Regional School District superintendent said yesterday.

In a statement, the superintendent’s office said the district “is appalled by the behavior of this student who committed this act, and we are greatly saddened by this event.”

The May 5 incident occurred at Hightstown High School, which is part of the East Windsor district.

Police have charged 18-year-old Garrett Green with arson and criminal mischief in the incident, which occurred during a fire drill at the school.

The 16-year-old Sikh victim, whose mother asked that his name not be printed, had patches of hair singed on the back of his head but was not seriously injured.

Green, who was released on his own recognizance after his arrest, will no longer be allowed on the school’s campus, Superintendent Ronald Bolandi said. He also won’t be permitted to attend the prom or graduation.

A second student who allegedly gave Green the cigarette lighter to use was suspended for 10 days, Bolandi said.

Hightstown High School, which has 1,400 students, is working with the Sikh Coalition of New York, an advocacy group, to prepare a statement to be read in homeroom classes “about how serious this was and what the turban means in the Sikh religion,” Bolandi said.

The victim’s uncle, Harjot Pannu of Cranbury, N.J., said his nephew was attacked from behind during a fire drill, while seated outside near the school parking lot.

A teacher saw what happened, alerted the student, and helped him pat the fire out, Pannu said.

But the teacher’s apparent failure to notify administrators of the incident upset the victim’s family members and has led to a district review, Bolandi said.

“Very poor judgment, to be frank with you,” Bolandi said. “That incident should have been dealt with immediately.”

Bolandi said another student who witnessed the incident was the first to report it to administrators. Within two hours, police were notified.

_ Jeff Diamant

Mich. man drops bid to remove cross from town shield

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. (RNS) The Frankenmuth cross controversy is finished as far as Lloyd C. Clarke is concerned.

“It is absolutely over,” said Clarke, a local resident who led a month-long charge to remove crosses from public spaces and from the city’s shield.

“After talking with family and friends, I have decided to discontinue my effort to remove the Luther cross from the Frankenmuth shield. It is causing too much turmoil in the lives of too many people. Although I think the city’s endorsement of a religion is a violation of the separation of church and state, I regret that my actions have caused such an uproar.”

The controversy started last month when Clarke contacted city officials about a series of foot-tall crosses on a local bridge. Officials removed the crosses at the recommendation of an attorney.

Then Clarke protested the city’s shield, which includes a shock of grain, an eagle, a Bavarian white-and-blue Harlequin pattern and a cross inset in a heart, the symbol at the center of the Luther Rose, the icon of Lutheranism.

The city, which grew out of a Bavarian Lutheran mission colony established in 1844, has used the shield since elected officials approved it in 1963.

Clarke said he didn’t anticipate the widespread emotional reaction he saw from local residents. “These were unintended consequences,” he said.

The Rev. Mark Brandt was among those who demonstrated against Clarke’s challenge to the cross. Brandt is associate pastor at St. Lorenz Lutheran Church of Frankenmuth, which distributed nearly 1,000 3-foot wooden crosses for city residents to display on their lawns.

Brandt said he was glad that Clarke had dropped his legal challenge, which he shared with his congregation on Sunday.

“They reacted the way we would have expected them to,” he said. “It has been a difficult issue for the citizens of the community, many of whom are members of St. Lorenz. We bear no animosity to Mr. Clarke or anyone else. We wish him God’s blessings.”

Clarke said he didn’t intend to cause such a stir.

“They’re good people and I don’t want to feel unwelcome. I want to be in this community and the only way I can do that is to be able to interact with people. I didn’t mean for it to be this disruptive. Going into this, I was just thinking there was something inappropriate that I’d like to see corrected.”

_ LaNia Coleman

Quote of the Day: Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa

(RNS) “Race is important. You (in the United States) have pretended that it wasn’t really an issue, but it’s important. Katrina comes along and reveals the fissures in your country. I venture to say in the pit of the stomach of every black person in this country is pain that has not been acknowledged.”

_ Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa, speaking to reporters after the graduation ceremony Friday (May 8) at the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. He was quoted by The Huntsville (Ala.) Times.

AMB/JM END RNS