ATLANTA—The publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has sent a written apology to Archbishop John F. Donoghue and Catholics of the archdiocese for publishing an advertisement defaming the Catholic Church.

Roger S. Kintzel, publisher, said that the newspaper should have rejected the advertisement, entitled “Earth’s Final Warning,” which was placed by the Eternal Gospel Church of the 7th Day Adventist Believers. The full-page ad appeared in the “Faith & Values” section of the newspaper on Saturday, Aug. 26.

“Please accept my deepest and sincerest apologies for any pain felt by you and your parishioners because of the advertisement ‘Earth’s Final Warning’ that ran in the Faith & Values Section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,” the publisher wrote to Archbishop Donoghue.

“The ad should have been rejected as unsuitable for publication, but obviously a mistake was made. What happened was an isolated incident, I can assure you. The Journal-Constitution will not participate or encourage any hateful or malevolent attacks on any church by any group. Please be assured that we will be much more attentive in the future.”

Archbishop Donoghue wrote to the newspaper’s editors Sept. 5 and published his letter in The Georgia Bulletin. He characterized the ad as “a bigoted, senseless attack on the Catholic faith” and asked for an apology to Catholics of the archdiocese.

“By printing this ad The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has allowed the teachings of the Catholic Church to be miscommunicated, misrepresented and misperceived by people who do not have a full knowledge of the Catholic faith,” the archbishop’s letter said. “The errors of fact in this ad are too numerous to respond to in a ‘Letter to the Editor.’ That perhaps was the goal of your advertiser.”

“If The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had refused the ad, this hateful message would never have seen the light of day,” his letter said. “By printing it, however, the paper and its editors have allowed themselves to become the vehicle through which the Catholic faith was attacked.”