Catholic League: Empire State Building against Mother Teresa?

In New York City at times you will see the Empire State Building illuminated with colored lights in honor of some event or group.

For example, a while back they turned on red and yellow lights to honor the Communist People’s Republic of China.

From the Catholic League:

May 12, 2010

EMPIRE STATE BLDG. STIFFS MOTHER TERESA

 

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

On August 26, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. On February 2, I submitted an application to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners requesting that the tower lights feature blue and white, the colors of Mother Teresa’s congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, on August 26. On May 5, the request was denied without explanation.

Mother Teresa received 124 awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. She built hundreds of orphanages, hospitals, hospices, health clinics, homeless shelters, youth shelters and soup kitchens all over the world, and is revered in India for her work. She created the first hospice in Greenwich Village for AIDS patients. Not surprisingly, she was voted the most admired woman in the world three years in a row in the mid-1990s. But she is not good enough to be honored by the Empire State Building.

Last year the Empire State Building shone in red and yellow lights to honor the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Yet under its founder, Mao Zedong, the Communists killed 77 million people. In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa.

We are launching a nationwide petition drive protesting this indefensible decision (TO SIGN THE PETITION, Click here). We are petitioning Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, to reverse this decision.

To protest this decision, contact: lightingpartner@esbnyc.com

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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7 Comments

  1. alipius says:

    Mother Teresa’s medals and awards and prices speak for themselves. No need to beg in front of people who have their priorities all wrong and think it’s a good idea to honor the Chinese Communist Revolution. If anything, I’d petition Anthony Malkin to remember the victims of the Chinese Revolution by illuminating the Empire State Building.
    The Kingdom we long for is not of this world. In view of that, medals and awards are already borderline and a fancy light-show seems to be way too much, esp if the same “honor” was already given to communist killers.

  2. Charivari Rob says:

    Did it occur to him that they may already have the date booked?

  3. elmo says:

    I am being asked to give my money to Donohue so that he can engage in this kind of “defense”? Really?

  4. Did it ever occur to anyone that the reason it may have been denied is that the person asking is the often belligerent Bill Donohue? Maybe if they got someone else to request it they’d get a yes. I doubt Mother Teresa really gives a hang whether or not the Empire State Bldg. is lit in her honor. And poor Fr. Blum must be SPINNING in his grave!

  5. I am very sorry to have to say it, but Bill Donohue is a caricature of himself. He is also the loudest Catholic voice in the public square.

    Louder is not better.

    It is not even, in any meaningful way, “stronger”.

    Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is showing us the way:

    He speaks with the calm and quiet authority of truth – letting the truth speak for itself through him;

    He is entirely and unconditionally open to dialogue – which means he is always ready endlessly to listen and endlessly to respond to any interlocutor;

    At the same time, and as a corollary, he rejects the false and pernicious idea that willingness to compromise on matters of principle should be a precondition of real dialogue.

    Mr. Donohue should take a few pages from his book.

    C.

  6. Why should we strong-arm the Empire State Building into doing this? It’s not our building, and the Empire State Building Lighting Partners can choose to honor or not honor anyone they choose.

  7. Dave N. says:

    Actually, I think Mother Theresa herself would be appalled that someone was ranting this way on her behalf. Donohue is creating situations just so he can be mad about them later and vent on TV. Find some bigger fish.

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