Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 17 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every Catholic college and university in the state of New York 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 of Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, not to overrule those who have chosen 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 denied without explanation. 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 that evening. 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.

To sign our petition click here.

Contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 16 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Today I am writing to every Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Diocese of Rockville Centre 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 of Anthony Malkin, the owner of the storied building, not to overrule those who have chosen 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 denied without explanation. 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 that evening. 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.

To sign our petition click here.

Contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the cover story of this week’s Time:

Jeff Israely and Howard Chua-Eoan are badly in need of a good Catholic education; they could also profit by having a competent editor. The June 7 cover story begins by speculating whether Pope Benedict XVI will apologize for the behavior of abusing priests, yet in no time the authors quote the pope for apologizing. Guess it just wasn’t enough. It never is. Then they get melodramatic: the pope can’t apologize for fear of damaging the magisterium and papal power. Then why does he do it?

The authors wonder why the pope hasn’t mentioned his own role in the scandal. There is a reason for that: no one, including those at the New York Times, has been able to nail him. But this doesn’t stop Time from laying its dirty seed.

Citing the pope’s apology regarding wrongdoing by some Irish priests—decades ago—Time posits that he didn’t apologize “for anything he or, indeed, the Holy See may have done, much less the mystical entity called the Church, the bride of Christ.” Why anyone should personally apologize for offenses he never committed is not explained: it’s just assumed the pope is guilty and, worse, refuses to admit it. This isn’t objective journalism—it’s an indictment.
 
“Why didn’t the church simply report to the civil authorities the crimes its priests were suspected of committing?” For the same reason every other religious, as well as secular, institution did not: following the lordly liberal wisdom of the day, the accused was sent to therapy and then returned to his post. Similarly, the decision not to immediately laicize an offending priest in 1985 was not done for sinister reasons, as implied, but because of an age-sensitive policy (he was dumped two years later).

On the subject of papal infallibility, the authors appear as clueless as their managing editor, Richard Stengel (he was recently interviewed on MSNBC).

Contact Stengel: richard_stengel@timemagazine.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Day 14 of the protest campaign on behalf of Mother Teresa:

Having contacted the bishops in India and the United States, as well as government leaders in the tri-state area, we are now moving beyond the informational stage of our Mother Teresa campaign. Starting tomorrow, we will contact the elementary and secondary Catholic schools in the tri-state area, as well as the Catholic colleges and universities, about our August 26 rally. We will then contact lay Catholic and ethnic Catholic organizations. Next we will contact the Catholic parishes in the tri-state area. Finally, we will contact our allies in the non-Catholic communities.

Bernadette Brady, vice president of the Catholic League, and I met last week with representatives of the New York City Police Department regarding our protest demonstration. We were assured that we would be able to secure 34th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, and the block between Madison and 5th, if necessary. The rally will take place the evening of August 26, the day the U.S. Postal Service is issuing a commemorative postage stamp in honor of Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday.

There would be no demonstration outside the Empire State Building had Anthony Malkin, the building’s owner, decided to overrule those who denied our bid to have the tower lights shine blue and white in honor of the saintly nun. But when this same man allowed the towers to pay tribute to the genocidal Communist regime in China last year, and now stands fast in stiffing Catholics, he is asking for a response. He will get it on August 26, right outside his trophy edifice.

To sign our petition click here.

Contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com