Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 38 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to the Holy Name Societies in the New York Tri-State area informing them of our protest demonstration on August 26 outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

The rally is being held to protest the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birthday, was originally denied without explanation, and was later denied on appeal by invoking a “policy” that prohibits honoring religious individuals or institutions. If this were in fact true, then (a) they would have said so from the beginning (instead they told me the application looked fine), and (b) they would not have honored Cardinal O’Connor when he died; Pope John Paul II when he died; the Salvation Army; and Rev. Martin Luther King.

Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong. By contrast, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp.

Everyone is being asked to pass the word about our demonstration and to join us on August 26. They are also being asked to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Contact Daniel Hernandez: daniel.hernandez@edelman.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on writer Anne Rice’s decision to quit Christianity while still professing a belief in Christ:

Anne Rice started as a believing Catholic; then she quit the Church; then she rejoined the Church; now she has quit again. All of this is as amusing as it is sad, and would be of no interest to the Catholic League save for her parting shots at the Catholic Church.

Rice said this week that when the American bishops opposed homosexual marriage, that was the “last straw.” She offered, “I didn’t anticipate in the beginning that U.S. Catholic Bishops were going to come out against same-sex marriage.” Did she think they would be silent on one of the most contentious moral issues of our day? Or that they were silently cheering for gay marriage all along? Either way, her virginal views are startling.

Here’s another beauty. She said this week that “I refuse to be anti-gay,” thereby separating herself from all those awful Catholic bigots. But when she was asked two years ago on ABC-TV whether the Catholic Church condemns her gay son to hell, she said, “I don’t think anybody in my church would say that. I think our view is far more compassionate.” She got that right. But does she have any idea how she looks now?

Last night, Rice told Joy Behar “I myself am anti-abortion.” It didn’t take long before the pro-abortion and anti-Catholic Behar snapped, “You would deny other women the choice to have an abortion?” To which Rice said, “I would not deny them the choice.” Yet in the same breath she added, “I do think it’s the taking of a human life.”

Rice came back to the Catholic Church in the 1990s, but only the day before yesterday did she learn that the bishops are not fond of guys marrying. She said in 2008 that Catholicism is not anti-gay, but in 2010 it was so anti-gay she had to quit. She is pro-life, knows abortion kills, but sides with the agenda of Planned Parenthood. She wants Christ without the Christianity. This is more than an odyssey—it’s a tragedy.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 61 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every parish in the Diocese of Metuchen informing them of our protest demonstration at 6 p.m. on August 26 outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

The rally is being held to protest the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birthday, was originally denied without explanation, and was later denied on appeal by invoking a “policy” that prohibits honoring religious individuals or institutions. If this were in fact true, then (a) they would have said so from the beginning (instead they told me the application looked fine), and (b) they would not have honored Cardinal O’Connor when he died; Pope John Paul II when he died; the Salvation Army; and Rev. Martin Luther King.

Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong. By contrast, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp.

Everyone is being asked to pass the word about our demonstration and to join us on August 26. They are also being asked to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Contact Daniel Hernandez: daniel.hernandez@edelman.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 60 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every parish in the Diocese of Paterson informing them of our protest demonstration at 6 p.m. on August 26 outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

The rally is being held to protest the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birthday, was originally denied without explanation, and was later denied on appeal by invoking a “policy” that prohibits honoring religious individuals or institutions. If this were in fact true, then (a) they would have said so from the beginning (instead they told me the application looked fine), and (b) they would not have honored Cardinal O’Connor when he died; Pope John Paul II when he died; the Salvation Army; and Rev. Martin Luther King.

Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong. By contrast, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp.

Everyone is being asked to pass the word about our demonstration and to join us on August 26. They are also being asked to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Contact Daniel Hernandez: daniel.hernandez@edelman.com

An editorial in today’s New York Times says “The attacks of Sept. 11 were not a religious event. They were mass murder.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue replies as follows:

The New York Times is half right: the attacks of 9/11 were mass murder, but to say they were not a religious event is delusional. What were they? Celebrations of separation of church and state?

The FBI possesses a letter written by the ringleader of 9/11, Mohamed Atta, telling his fellow terrorists what to do on that fateful day. Here is what he instructed them to do the night before the attacks:

• “When you board the P or place you foot, before your enter [the plane] recite the prayers and remember: It is a raid for the sake of Allah. Recite the prayer. As you take the seat, recite the prayer. Mention Allah a lot.”
• “When you strike, shout Allah is great because this shout strikes terror in the hearts of the infidels.”
• “Seconds before the target, your last words should be there is no God but Allah. Muhammed is his messenger.”

Atta’s words are not ambiguous: the attack on the United States was done in the name of Islam. Islam is a religion. Ergo, the 9/11 mass murders were a religious event.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s remarks yesterday endorsing the building of a mosque near Ground Zero:

Never have we heard Mayor Bloomberg more eloquent in his defense of religious liberty. Too bad it took the proposed building of a mosque at a spot where Islamic fanatics declared war on America to do so.

Regrettably, Mayor Bloomberg’s record in dealing with issues affecting Catholics has not been so robust. Just last month, he was almost alone in his refusal to criticize Empire State Building owner Anthony Malkin’s decision not to honor Mother Teresa on August 26; he simply said it was Malkin’s call. Over the last few years, when the Catholic League and New York City Councilman Tony Avella sought to get his support for putting a nativity scene alongside a menorah in the public schools, he refused to cooperate.

In 2007, when an artist made a huge vulgar naked “Chocolate Jesus” and sought to place it in the street-level gallery of a midtown hotel during Holy Week, Bloomberg refused to criticize the artist; he merely advised not to draw attention to it. In 2005, when the Bronx Household of Faith, an inner-city Christian church, won a ruling in federal district court maintaining it had a right to hold religious services on Sundays in a New York City public school, the Bloomberg administration sued to block this exercise in religious liberty.

In 2002, when asked why he would join in an event that bars gays from having their own contingent (the St. Patrick’s Day Parade), his office said, “The mayor believes the best way to change an organization is to do so from within.” Thus did he show his contempt for the religious-liberty prerogatives of the parade’s organizers.

In other words, Bloomberg is not a sincere advocate of religious liberty: he just seems to discover it when it suits his interests.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 59 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every parish in the Diocese of Camden informing them of our protest demonstration at 6 p.m. on August 26 outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

The rally is being held to protest the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birthday, was originally denied without explanation, and was later denied on appeal by invoking a “policy” that prohibits honoring religious individuals or institutions. If this were in fact true, then (a) they would have said so from the beginning (instead they told me the application looked fine), and (b) they would not have honored Cardinal O’Connor when he died; Pope John Paul II when he died; the Salvation Army; and Rev. Martin Luther King.

Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong. By contrast, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp.

Everyone is being asked to pass the word about our demonstration and to join us on August 26. They are also being asked to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Contact Daniel Hernandez: daniel.hernandez@edelman.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 58 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every parish in the Diocese of Trenton informing them of our protest demonstration at 6 p.m. on August 26 outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

The rally is being held to protest the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birthday, was originally denied without explanation, and was later denied on appeal by invoking a “policy” that prohibits honoring religious individuals or institutions. If this were in fact true, then (a) they would have said so from the beginning (instead they told me the application looked fine), and (b) they would not have honored Cardinal O’Connor when he died; Pope John Paul II when he died; the Salvation Army; and Rev. Martin Luther King.

Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong. By contrast, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp.

Everyone is being asked to pass the word about our demonstration and to join us on August 26. They are also being asked to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Contact Daniel Hernandez: daniel.hernandez@edelman.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 57 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every parish in the Archdiocese of Newark informing them of our protest demonstration at 6 p.m. on August 26 outside the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

The rally is being held to protest the decision by Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, to deny a tribute to Mother Teresa: our request to have the towers shine blue and white, the colors of her congregation, on August 26th, the 100th anniversary of her birthday, was originally denied without explanation, and was later denied on appeal by invoking a “policy” that prohibits honoring religious individuals or institutions. If this were in fact true, then (a) they would have said so from the beginning (instead they told me the application looked fine), and (b) they would not have honored Cardinal O’Connor when he died; Pope John Paul II when he died; the Salvation Army; and Rev. Martin Luther King.

Yet the same persons who chose to stiff Mother Teresa decided to honor the Chinese Communist revolution last year, even though 77 million innocent men, women and children were murdered under Mao Zedong. By contrast, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp.

Everyone is being asked to pass the word about our demonstration and to join us on August 26. They are also being asked to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Contact Daniel Hernandez: daniel.hernandez@edelman.com