Pastor who backed McCain apologizes for remarks

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas evangelical leader who endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain earlier this year has apologized for anti-Catholic remarks that angered Church members and embarrassed McCain's campaign.

John Hagee, pastor of the 19,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, wrote a letter of apology to the Catholic League on Monday for comments in which he called the Church "apostate" and likened it to the "great whore" in a passage of the Bible.

Hagee's comments, which circulated on the Internet, drew comparisons with the controversy surrounding Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over statements by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

McCain, who accepted Hagee's endorsement before the Texas primary in March, had faced a call by Catholic League President William Donohue to repudiate the pastor, who, he said, had "a history of denigrating the Catholic religion."

Hagee said in the letter to Donohue made public on Tuesday that he now had an "improved understanding of the Catholic Church" and expressed his "deep regret" for any comments Catholics had found hurtful.

McCain welcomed Hagee's apology, telling reporters at a campaign stop in North Bend, Washington, that "whenever someone apologizes for something they did wrong, then I think that that is a laudable thing to do."

Since accepting Hagee's endorsement, McCain has distanced himself from some of the preacher's remarks, including labeling as "nonsense" a statement by Hagee that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina for planning a gay pride parade.

At the start of this year's primary nominating season, the Arizona senator had limited support among Christian conservatives, an influential bloc in the Republican Party.

Hagee's comments about the Catholic Church were made in conjunction with his support for Israel. He says the Church did not do enough to prevent the Holocaust.

"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," Hagee wrote to Donohue.

McCain told reporters, "I know that pastor Hagee and the head of the Catholic League, Mr. Donohue, have joined together and exchanged letters, and that's the kind of reconciliation that I've been engaged in for many, many years."

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor in North Bend, Washington; Editing by Anna Driver and Peter Cooney)