Bachmann: Misinformed or Lying?

Michele Bachmann denied last night that her church believes the Catholic

papacy is the Antichrist.  She was either
misinformed or, well, lying.

Michele Bachmann, candidate for Congress in Minnesota's
6^th district, denied last night that her church believes the Catholic
papacy is the Antichrist.  She was either
misinformed or, well, lying.

The revelation first appeared here at FaithfulDemocrats.com
last week and made it yesterday into the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  That her denomination holds such a belief is
not in serious dispute; as we reported, the church's doctrines are posted on
its website for all to see.  But
Bachmann, using her pastor as her source, still denied it.  One reason might be that her district is 30
percent Catholic.

In a televised debate last night, WCCO's Pat Kessler asked
the following:

"We'll start with Senator Bachmann. Religion and politics.
That has crept into this campaign over and over and over again. The
Minneapolis-based Star Tribune reports today, Senator, that the church you
belong to is affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod which, it
says, regards the Roman Catholic Pope as the Antichrist. Is this true? Do you
share the views of your church? And, why should any Catholic in the 6th
District vote for you if it is true?"

Bachmann's response:

"That's a false statement that was made, and I spoke with my
pastor earlier today about that as well, and he was absolutely appalled that
someone would put that out. It's abhorrent, religious bigotry. I love
Catholics, I'm a Christian, and my church does not believe that  the Pope is
the Antichrist. That's absolutely false. And again, I think it's abhorrent, and
I welcome and have as part of our family many Catholic members as well. And so
I'm very grateful my pastor has come out and been very clear on this matter,
and I think it's patently absurd and it's a false statement."

So let's get this straight: Bachmann attacks those who read
from her church's website and calls them bigoted for pointing out what the website says.  Where's the bigotry?

If Bachmann would step up to the plate and call her church's
doctrines religiously bigoted, we'd applaud her in a heartbeat and move
on.  But that's not what she's
doing.  She's just denying a plain fact.

Now, her pastor may well have misled her on this.  I mean, he has to know what the church's positions are, but she might not.  Still, can't Bachmann just look on her own
denomination's website?  It's right
there.

Perhaps a reporter would consider reading Bachmann the actual text from
her church's website — including the part that says congregations have to
accept these doctrines or admit they're not really Lutherans — so she has to
give a real answer as to whether she rejects
her denomination's teaching or accepts it. 
Misrepresenting the nature of that teaching when the truth is
politically inconvenient is not a real answer.

A reporter might also consider calling the WELS office.  That place will likely be staffed with true believers who have less sympathy for a straying, politically embattled congregant than a pastor would.

Late update: The local network that asked Bachmann about this issue is now speculating that her "non-answer" in last night's debate could prove very costly among Catholic voters.  See the video on the right-hand side, though it may be moved from the home page soon.