It seems a reasonable request.
The Catholic League requested that Empire State Building officials light the famous New York skyscraper on August 26, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
They’ve done as much for dog shows, Mariah Carey, and even the 60th anniversary of communist China. But for Mother Teresa, they say No. In an unsigned, faxed letter, they say No. And they have since refused to answer questions put to them by the Catholic League or in any way explain their refusal to honor the Catholic saint and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In typical form, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League is incensed. Say what you like about Bill Donohue, but in a world where many of us seem all too willing to roll over and play dead while the Catholic Church is maligned and disrespected, this man knows how to become properly incensed.
“They’re bigots! They have an animus against Catholics!” Catholic League President Bill Donohue told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
At the Catholic League website, you can see a video of Donohue discussing the Empire State Building’s rejection of Mother Teresa. You can also read and sign a petition addressed to the owner of the Empire State Building. It reads, in part:
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.
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.
According to the application one must use to request an honorary Empire State Building lighting, selection is “a privilege, not an entitlement” and a decision is made “at the sole discretion of the (company’s) ownership and management.” The Empire State Building Company “is under no obligation to provide specific feedback to any individual or organization regarding the status, merit and/or denial of its application.”
Well yes, apparently so. But it seems in this case, where so much press has been given to their rejection of Mother Teresa, a little bit in the way of an explanation would be in order.
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Bill also discussed this on Raymond Aroyo’s “The World Over” this past week.
http://youtu.be/8LZRMnBbaMI
Who owns the Empire State Bldg? Find out and we can let them know our displeasure.
Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, but so did Obama. How much does it really mean? In the same way, how much does the Empire State Building award really mean? Why is it so important for Mother Teresa to be associated with Mao in this way?
This isn’t to say the decision by the ESB people is at all defensible. I can’t imagine what good reasons they could possibly have.
Boycott the businesses in the Empire State Building. Starbuck’s and Heartland Brewery are two of them. Also boycott the tenants as best possible. It’s not the fault of any of these enterprises, however, that’s how consumer strikes work, right? Any better ideas besides signing petitions, etc?
“In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa.”
Well, at least it follows. :-7 Ultimately, I think we should be glad Mother Teresa isn’t part of such a creepy club.
Is Mr. Roth a communist?
It would have been nice to have paid that tribute to Sister Theresa. The Empire State Bldg. of NYC is known all over the world and Sister Theresa has done so much good all over the world, but then again I agree with (David B-above). After hearing that a communist was honored in this way, (by the owners of the empire state building), I would not want this Great Woman to be honored in the same way as a communist who killed millions of people.
This is who owns the Empire State Building. Give them a call to voice your disapproval at the decision not to honor Mother Teresa.
Empire State Building Associates L.L.C. subleases the Empire State Building to Empire State Building Company L.L.C. in New York. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in New York, New York.
Joseph Bellina, RPA has been a General Manager of Empire State Building Associates LLC since August 2009. Mr. Bellina is a senior real estate executive with broad experience in all facets of commercial real estate, including large Class-A office properties for owner/managers and third-party clients. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Bellina was with Newmark Knight Frank and served as its Executive Vice President and property management department Head. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Bellina ...
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
60 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10165
United States
Phone: 212-687-8700
They are not taking calls…just an answering machine…I used to think that I lived in the JU.S.A…but now I am wondering whegther or not I live in “Little Kenya”..with Joe Boden and Obama in Kenya this week to oversee the writing of their constitution. Do0 you LIKE this..? I thought we were the land of the free..Maybe we have been a little too “free”..?
It seems that many especially in the WEST do not know what is real secularism They think that hurting the sentiments of believers is the core of secularism. Are they not MAD ?
Would Mother Teresa even appreciate this “honor”? Maybe a little humility would go a long way in this case.The kind that led Our Lord to bear the cross for us.
Melissa..Are you a Hindu..? Ghandi, you know, recommended that we all just walk into the bullets…Just love…no resistance. Are you ready to do that..? Jesus was different. I recommend that you read more about Jesus…or maybe you can just contemplate your navel for the rest of your life.
Wow, Mia! I thought Christianity was a path of sacrifice. My only point is this may not be the right fight because Mother Teresa was a woman of great humility and sacrifice, her example may be the one to follow. But, thanks for the suggestion. God bless.
Mother Teresea’s question was one of “doing”..and it was, “what have you done today..?”. Don’t make her out to be a person willing to take a back seat. She was strong. She was resilient. God was on her side and so she NEVER backed off. And if you ever met her..you know that. Christianity is not all sacrifice. And when needed..God will help us wield the sword…the mightiest sword EVER..the cross. Please read the story of St. Joan of Arc….She died a horrible, miserable death..BUT without her action..there would be NO FRANCE TODAY..!
So, you poor Hindu..tell me that what she did meant nothing..! And you can stay at home and sit on your hands. I will ride with Joan..!
All things in their season, Mia. I too have fought the good fight. I am questioning whether this is a good fight or not. I wonder if Mother Teresa would find more peace in the smile of someone she just lifted from the gutter or people fighting over her image in lights. The fight must be worthy and for the right reasons. Whose soul is being saved? How is Our Lord being glorified? It’s not the fight or the soldier that are important, but, what you are fighting for. That is truly Christian!
Melissa..you are SOOO full of yourself ! You are missing the point…!
Mother Teresa is not even here..! It is we who wished to honor her memory who are at odds (I hope) with the change from American to Muslim..!..or Communist..! or whatever ...But I suppose you don’t mind. You would love hearing the minerets..
But I tell all of you and your ilk..I WILL RIDE WITH St.JOAN…!
“Mother Teresa is not even here..! ” What?! So let’s see. It’s ok to go against her spirit of practice in order to “honor her.” Is that really honoring her? Ah. It really isn’t even about her. “It is we…” got it. It is about you, not Mother Teresa.
Henry..SHAME on you..! Mother’s “Spirit of practice” was never to be a doormat. You didn’t know her very well, did you..? Thats too bad.You sound like a kindergartner, trying to recite what a saint is…Go take your afternoon nap…!
Mia, I love the Ride with Joan comment….and God Bless your passion - We all get carried away once in a while and rightly so- and things like the Empire state building lit up with Mother Theresa’s colors become uber meaningful, the heart is in the right place but the words are a tad unkind…not the worst thing on an internet post…lets acknowledge that we see the face of Christ in each other as Mother did every day on the streets of Calcutta - Mother will be honored with or without the Empire State…we love her and she knows it and is praying for us this moment…you know that’s true…I have to have surgery tomorrow so I am appreciating all of your comments here in an intense way:) You all inspire me…Mia never lose your excellent passion for our Lord and our Church, a gift from the Holy Spirit - Melissa never lose that wonderful patience and gentleness, a quality that our Lord and his Mother directly inspires in you…God Bless you all…
Melinda T..I do not always speak kind words. “Kind Words” are not my purpose in life. Just Truth . I am not a good diplomat…That is not my way of being in the world. I hope your kindness serves you well…
My prayers will be with you at your surgery today, and afterward as well..Stay as honest as you are…!
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