Catholic newspaper blasts Ralph Reed for endorsing book on end-times prophecy.

A leading Catholic newspaper has criticized Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed for endorsing a book on biblical prophecy that contains anti-Catholic language.

Reed's endorsement of Earth's Two-Minute Warning: Today's Bible-Predicted Signs of the End Times by John Wheeler Jr. drew fire from the National Catholic Reporter, a widely read Catholic newspaper.

In the book, Wheeler warns that a "Satanically empowered" Vatican could support the Antichrist in the end times. He asserts that the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) may merge and writes, "Thus the WCC will be controlled by the papacy at the time of the Tribulation, when the false religious system they represent will be revealed as the `Great Whore.'

Wheeler is founding editor of the Christian Coalition's Christian American publication and is still listed as a contributing editor and writer on its masthead. In his book he writes it would be "grossly wrong to mislabel all Catholics as willful followers of the Antichrist" but adds, "there is some legitimate cause for concern that the Vatican may one day run amok."

Reed is quoted on the book's back cover, calling Wheeler's tome a "compelling look at the controversial subject of the end times ... an important contribution to this vital discussion."

Editorializing against the endorsement, the National Catholic Reporter asserted that "Ralph Reed has some serious explaining to do to the Catholics he so ardently courted last election season." The paper called Wheeler's volume a "vicious, anti-Catholic tract."

The paper criticized some Catholic prelates, like New York Cardinal John J. O'Connor, for working with Reed. Asserted the editorial, "Beneath the respectable Washington sheen of Reed and the group he runs with are characters who ought to inspire deep skepticism. They should not be invested with trust and introduced as someone Catholic voters should heed."

Originally, the ultra-conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights also blasted Reed for the endorsement. In a Dec. 12 press release, League President William Donohue wrote, "Earth's Two-Minute Warning shows the darker side of Protestantism. A polemic representative of a medieval mind, Wheeler seeks justification for his cause by repeating old canards about Catholicism. The apocalyptic impulse that drives this book appeals to prurient and insecure needs. By advancing the premise that the Catholic Church is the Antichrist, Wheeler resurrects a legacy that deserves to be buried once and for all."

Concluded Donohue, "While it would be unfair to hold Reed responsible for everything Wheeler has written in this book, it is distressing to learn that he has leant his name to this sensationalism. Reed owes Catholics an explanation for his endorsement."

But Donohue abruptly reversed himself and withdrew the complaint a month later after Reed issued a statement saying he had not read the entire book and did not endorse all of its conclusions. Reed also asserted that his blurb was edited without his knowledge.

"I provided the blurb as a personal favor to a former employee without reading the book in its entirety," said Reed's statement. "Needless to say, I disagree with many of the conclusions of the book, including those regarding the Catholic Church and its purported role in any end-times scenario. Anyone who has done a favor for a friend or employee can understand my intention. It was not to endorse the author's views on the Catholic Church or on the end times. Indeed, my consistent record has been one of respect, honor and cooperation with Catholics."

Donohue accepted Reed's story and subsequently issued a statement declaring the League satisfied. "I am convinced" he observed, "that Ralph Reed never intentionally sought to disparage Catholicism."

Ironically, Donohue went on to blame the flap on "the eagerness of Reed's critics to exploit this incident for political purposes." The comment was a slap at Americans United. The Reed book endorsement was first reported in Church & State. (See "Ralph Reed Endorsement Of Prophecy Book Could Hurt Catholic Alliance Resentment," December Church & State)

Meanwhile, Reed and his boss TV preacher Pat Robertson continue their efforts to recruit Catholics. Shortly after the November elections, the Christian Coalition's Catholic front group, the Catholic Alliance, sent out a fund-raising letter beginning for contributions "because we are your Catholic lobby before Congress!"

Citing House Speaker Newt Gingrich's recent talk about America's spiritual and cultural and moral deficit," the Alliance asked for donations to support "Speaker Gingrich's `moral reform' agenda for the 105th Congress."