The Empire State Building declined the Catholic League's request to light the building blue and white...
Green/AP...to honor what would have been the 100th birthday of Mother Teresa.
The ultra-conservative Catholic League got an unlikely ally Monday in its fight to get the Empire State Building to honor Mother Teresa: City Council Speaker Christine Quin.
Quinn weighed in after building owners denied the Catholic League's request to commemorate the beloved holy woman's 100th birthday with blue and white lights - the colors of her religious order.
"The question of why the building will not be lit is a question that deserves answering," Quinn told The Daily News. "As far as I'm concerned, the answer should be yes."
Quinn, who is openly gay, has often been on opposite sides of the League on issues from gay marriage to whether gays should march in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
Quinn said she reached out to the Empire State Building ownership last week after learning from another Council member that the lighting application had been denied.
"We urged them to try to find a way to light the building," said Quinn. "We are all very disappointed."
Asked if the owners gave a reason for refusing the request, Quinn replied, "Not particularly."
Quinn called on the owners to reevaluate their decision and "choose to honor this wonderful woman who has given so much to the world."
She would have been 100 years old on Aug. 26.
Among other things, the saintly nun best known for her work with poor in
Calcutta also opened the first hospice for AIDS patients in Greenwich Village, said Quinn.
"She was voted the most admired woman in the world three years in a row and even won the Nobel Peace Prize," Quinn wrote.
There was no immediate response from the Empire State Building Lighting Partners, which has been hit with thousands of petitions - egged by Donohue and his group - requesting they reverse their decision.
In a statement, an outraged Donohue pointed out that New York's most iconic building lit up its tower in red and yellow lights last year to mark the 60th anniversary of China's Communist Revolution, which installed a regime that murdered millions of its own people.
Mother Teresa was 87 when she died in 1997. She has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church, a step before being named a saint.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/07/2010-06-07_catholic_league_council_speaker_quinn_blast_empire_state_building_over_mother_te.html#ixzz0qDvhFyf1
April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008