McCain backer recants: God may not have sent Katrina to destroy gay pride

The Rev. John Hagee, from whom Sen. John McCain aggressively sought endorsement, told National Public Radio in 2006 that God sent Hurricane Katrina to destroy New Orleans because a “homosexual event” was planned there that weekend. Last week he repeated that claim to conservative talk radio host Dennis Prager.

The statement put McCain on the defensive and put the controversial Hagee back in the spotlight. Hagee released a statement this weekend disavowing his own previous statements:

“As a believing Christian, I see the hand of God in everything that happens here on Earth, both the blessings and the curses. But ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise. No matter what the cause of the storm, my heart goes out to all who suffered in this terrible tragedy. There but for the grace of God go any one of us.”