NEW YORK (CWNews.com) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is losing support among New York Catholics despite attempts to link his opponent, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, with anti-Catholic bias.

    On Monday, the Arizona senator attacked Christian conservatives Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance," and in recent weeks slammed Bush for speaking at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, whose founders espoused anti-Catholic views. But a new poll by independent, national pollster John Zogby showed McCain losing support among Catholics in New York, who make up about 45 percent of voters in the state's Republican primary.

    The poll said Bush had closed a 16-point gap with McCain among Catholic voters in recent days. On Tuesday, Bush handily defeated McCain in primaries in Virginia, Washington state, and North Dakota. "We actually have Bush pulling ahead among Catholics by a few points -- enough to make it a trend -- still a statistical dead heat, but a tremendous turnaround among Catholics," Zogby said.

    Zogby said his findings suggest Catholic voters disapprove of McCain's efforts to portray Bush as anti-Catholic.