Thousands Protest Refusal to Light Building to Honor Mother Teresa

By Beth Griffin

Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) — More than 1,000 people dressed in blue and white filled a cordoned traffic lane across from the Empire State Building Aug. 26 to protest the decision of the building's owner to deny a request to illuminate the upper floors in honor of the 100th birthday of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. The event, organized by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, featured a melange of local political, religious and entertainment personalities who addressed the crowd from a podium set on the back of a flatbed truck.

Since 1976, the top 30 floors of the Empire State Building have been lit regularly with colored lights to mark national holidays and recognize events as diverse as home team World Series victories, the death of Pope John Paul II, the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the DVD release of "The Simpson's Movie."

Catholic League president Bill Donohue said his application to bathe the tower in blue and white lights, the colors associated with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, was turned down in May without explanation after he was given verbal assurances that it would be accepted. He said he then launched a worldwide campaign to protest the "indefensible decision."

Guidelines on the building's website say, "The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings. Outside of its tradition of lightings for the religious holidays of Easter, Eid al-Fitr, Hanukkah and Christmas, the Empire State Building has a specific policy against lighting for religious figures, religious organizations and additional religious holidays." Donohue said the prohibition on religious figures was added after his request was made.

Maureen Fusco attended the rally with other parishioners of St. Sebastian's in Woodside, in the Queens borough of New York. She said she was there to pay tribute to Mother Teresa as an inspirational model of kindness and mercy. "In a sense, Mr. Malkin did us a favor," she said. "The orderly, peaceful demonstration let us call attention to Mother Teresa in a positive way."