Controversial televangelist Pat Robertson made waves on Wednesday when he stated that earthquake-ravaged Haiti has been “cursed” because of a “pact with the devil.”
During “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Robertson offered the following reason for the disaster in Haiti, “Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, ‘okay it’s a deal.'”
Rev. Robertson went on to say, “Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other.” He talked about the contrast between Haiti and its nearest neighbor. “Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have and we need to pray for them a great turning to God.”
The White House slammed the remarks made by Robertson. Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, said that the remarks of Robertson left her “kind of speechless.” She went on to say, “That’s not the attitude that expresses the spirit of the president or the American people, so I thought it was a pretty stunning comment to make.”
Later in the day, Robertson’s website issued a statement indicating that he didn’t mean to imply that the earthquake was the Haitians’ fault and that he was merely repeating a legend.”
View Robertson’s comments on the video below.