c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Pat Robertson spoke to TV viewers Monday (Aug. 22) on his “700 Club,” publicly calling for the assassination of the three-time elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Calling Chavez a “terrific danger” in the Americas, Robertson said: “We have the ability to take him out and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator.”

Robertson has said some outrageous and appalling things in recent years. But this statement was almost beyond belief. When I heard the news, I first said a quick prayer, hoping that Robertson was not sending up a trial balloon for an assassination policy his friends in the Bush administration might be considering.

But mostly I was appalled at the religious hypocrisy in the statement. Isn’t he one of the self-declared spokespersons for “moral values” in this country? Isn’t Robertson one of the preachers who constantly touts the importance of being “pro-life”? Isn’t he one of the public religious figures who want to post the Ten Commandments in public places? Isn’t this televangelist supposed to be a minister of the gospel and a follower of Jesus?

Since when does the murder of the president of another country represent any “moral value”? How in the world can someone claim to be pro-life and advocate assassination? And those Ten Commandments he wants posted everywhere? Maybe he should read them. One of them says, “Thou shalt not kill.” And Jesus, of course, tells us to love one another _ even those we perceive as our enemies _ to turn the other cheek, to walk the extra mile.

Advocating premeditated, coldblooded murder is utterly unacceptable for anyone, let alone a minister of the gospel. Yet the Bush administration gave a weak response, merely calling Robertson’s remark “inappropriate.”

A lot of people these days want Muslims who believe in a peaceful Islam to speak out against Islamic extremists who advocate violence. The same applies to Christians, or those of any faith tradition.

All people of faith need to speak out against their own extremists. The National Council of Churches and other groups condemned Robertson’s statements, and so did a number of conservative Christian leaders, including Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Robertson himself, responding to this avalanche of criticism on Wednesday (August 24), at first claimed the media misinterpreted his statement. But when the tapes of his TV show suggested otherwise, he finally offered a brief apology.

“Is it right to call for assassination?” Robertson said in a statement on his Web site. “No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him.”

But a weak apology, while a step in the right direction, is not enough to rectify a call for violent assassination. Robertson needs to fully and formally retract his outrageous and immoral statement. Anything less would have betrayed and damaged the Christianity he claims to profess.

JL END RNS

(Maureen Fiedler is a Roman Catholic Sister of Loretto and the host of “Interfaith Voices,” a public radio show heard on 42 stations in the U.S. and Canada.)

Editors: This story first moved on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Please substitute with this corrected version, as some edits did not reflect the intended tone of the writer.

Search the RNS photo Web site at https://religionnews.com for photos of Fiedler and Robertson.