Some of our favorite topics rolled into one!

This is a fascinating article to me because it touches on three of our favorite Visits to Candyland topics… anti-Catholic Evangelicals, The Whore of Babylon and nuns! (VTC is my Catholic apologetics blog).

Below are excerpts from a discussion between Catholic Deal Hudson and Rev. John Hagee. John Hagee was recently scourged in the media for his anti-Catholic remarks after he endorsed presidential hopeful, John McCain.

Anyway, read the entire article. It’s very surprising.

• Deal Hudson: Meeting Reverend John Hagee – Catholic Online – Annotated
  tags: no_tag
  

  • I told him that when I Googled "Great Whore" and Revelation, the first six hits were explicitly anti-Catholic Web sites. He then explained why, in his interpretation of the Book of Revelation, the "Great Whore" cannot refer to the Catholic Church: In Hagee’s eschatology, the end times begin with the Rapture, when all those who are truly in Christ will be taken up to heaven. Hagee says, "Since both Catholics and Protestants are taken up to Heaven, how could the ‘Great Whore’ be the Catholic Church? The apostate church is left on earth during the seven years of tribulation — that is the ‘Great Whore.’"

  • I asked him, "Are you saying the Catholic Church cannot be the ‘Great Whore’ because the ‘Great Whore’ exists only during the period of tribulation?" Hagee answered, "Yes, anyone who is a real Christian, Catholic or Protestant, has been taken to heaven, only those without faith, including Catholics and Protestants, are left behind."

    Hagee teaches that the tribulation is followed by the 1,000-year rule of Christ, who brings perfect peace. After 1,000 years, eternity begins and time is no more. All of this Hagee diagramed for me, at my request, on two small sheets of notebook paper.

  • He told me several personal stories, as well, about his relationship with Catholics over the years. This one, in particular, provides a starting point for seeing another side of the man who has now become a symbol of anti-Catholicism:

    The Ursuline Sisters founded the Ursuline Academy in San Antonio in 1851 — it was the first girls’ school in the city, originally located on the San Antonio River before moving to the northwest part of the city in 1965. By the early 1990s there were too few sisters, and those too old to run the Academy. The eight remaining sisters ranged in age from 63 to 94.

    Consequently, they put their 40 acres of prime real estate and 90,000 square feet of buildings up for sale. The sisters tried to make a deal with the archdiocese, but it fell through several times. Having heard that Hagee was looking for property to build a school, the sisters called him. Hagee went to see the school and was met by a sister who had come from the Vatican to oversee the sale. "It was in perfect condition, there wasn’t a hairline crack," he told me.

  • "I was shocked when I was told the price and asked why it was so low." Hagee was then told that the delay in selling the property had meant the sisters had to draw on their retirement accounts to live. Hagee then said, "I want to buy this school by the close of business tomorrow."

    Hagee, the sisters, and their attorneys met the next morning. The Ursulines’ attorney said, "Shall we tell Reverend Hagee the real problem?" At that point Hagee thought the whole deal would go down the drain because of some monstrous problem he hadn’t been informed of.

    The attorney for the sisters explained that the archdiocese had expected them to move out of the convent immediately after it was sold and asked what Hagee wanted the sisters to do.

    "My plan would be to give them a five year lease to the convent, and I will charge them ten dollars a year. We will pay all utilities and up-keep." Hagee then took a 50-dollar bill from his pocket and paid the lease himself. One sister looked at the attorney and said, "Let’s get this thing done."

  • The following Sunday, Hagee sent his church bus to the Ursuline convent, picked up the sisters, brought them to his church, and seated them in the front row for both services (5,000 attend each service). "I thanked them publicly for their lives of sacrifice and devotion to Jesus Christ. The congregation gave them standing ovations because the campus we bought was the fruit of their labor, a testimonial of their commitment to Christ."

    The Ursuline sisters stayed in the convent for twelve years, free of any cost. "We were glad to bear the cost to express our appreciation for what they had done for the Kingdom of God." During that time, those sisters who were able walked around the campus and through the halls of Cornerstone Christian School.

    "Our children hugged them; they would reach out and grab them by the hands. They were very precious to us for what they had done with their whole lives which had been invested in building this wonderful school. We were glad to honor them as long as they walked on this earth."