Edwards stands by his bloggers.

John Edwards said Thursday that he was offended by the “intolerant language” of two employees of his presidential campaign, in writings on their personal Web logs, but he said they would remain with the campaign.

“They have both assured me that it was never their intention to malign anyone’s faith, and I take them at their word,” Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina, is quoted as saying in a news release. “We’re beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can’t let it be hijacked.”

The bloggers, Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen, wrote opinions that have since been widely described as anti-Catholic. The opinions were also tinged with profanity.

In June 2006, Marcotte described Catholicism as an “ancient mythology” and ridiculed the belief, held by many Catholics, that Jesus was divinely conceived. In November 2006, McEwen described President Bush’s supporters as “wingnut Christofascist.”

Marcotte is a graduate of St. Edward’s in Austin, a Catholic college.

The blog itself – today with various statements from Edwards and the bloggers claiming their deep respect for everyone:

My writings on my personal blog Pandagon on the issue of religion are generally satirical in nature and always intended strictly as a criticism of public policies and politics.  My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs, and I am sorry if anyone was personally offended by writings meant only as criticisms of public politics.  Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are central rights, and the sum of my personal writings is a testament to this fact.

My take: There’s no point in anyone "demanding" that anyone be fired, etc. I mean – it’s Edwards’ campaign, he can hire who he wants. I don’t care. But his hires – as is the case with any candidate from whatever party – to give an indication of, well, who he’d hire. For the files.

Onward!

Get Religion has more, with links to what the bloggers actually wrote, which is important to read for yourself.

Update:

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good – a group headed by Alexia Kelly, a former DNC and Kerry campaign staffer, has sent out emails:

I saw that you’ve been covering this story; and wanted to give you a different perspective on it than you’ve seen from some other Catholic groups.  While we certainly find some of the writings of those junior staffers repulsive, I think most Catholics have a different take on this.  Happy to talk.

The rest of the email contains a statement that can be found here.

"Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good condemns these and all religiously intolerant remarks. We accept Senator Edwards’ assurances that he too was offended by comments made by recently-hired staffers and that religious intolerance has no place in his campaign. Catholics comprise more than one quarter of the U.S. public, and neither John Edwards nor any other candidate can afford to take this constituency for granted."

"We hope this unfortunate incident will initiate a deeper conversation on the part of all presidential candidates regarding the broad range of issues and values of primary importance to the Catholic community, including the Iraq War, a concern for the poor, human life and dignity, the availability of health care, and a commitment to the common good."

(Hat tip to Mark Shea, who got one too.)

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