Anthony Malkin, owner of the Empire State Building, says his decision to deny Mother Teresa the honor of having the building’s towers light blue and white on her centenary is “final and irrevocable.” Apropos, our decision to call for a demonstration outside the building on August 26 is “final and irrevocable.”
The support we have garnered is wide and deep. Media outlets all over the world are carrying this story, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Liberals, conservatives, moderates—all are on board. So are people of every religious and ethnic affiliation; we have been especially pleased by the strong response from Mother Teresa’s own ethnic community, the Albanians. Indeed, Malkin has brought people together the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
In fact, few can believe that Malkin has dug himself such a hole. While he has been paying lawyers and consultants for advice, we’ve been reaching out to a record number of bishops, priests, religious and lay leaders. Of special note is the warm reception we have received from several bishops in India; they have fond memories of Mother Teresa. We’ve also been gaining new members at a fast pace.
We called off our petition drive when it was clear that Malkin would not budge. But in just a few weeks, we managed to collect approximately 40,000 signatures; we would have picked up many more had we chosen not to change gears. Instead, we decided to conduct a positive PR campaign via our website: we posted the names and contact information of pro-life organizations in the New York tri-state area, urging people to make a donation in the name of Mother Teresa.
We have a lot of prominent people coming to the rally. Moreover, we are pleased to note that not only will many New York buildings shine blue and white that night, we have learned that buildings in places ranging from Miami to Belfast will do likewise. We encourage everyone—no matter where they live—to wear blue and white on August 26.
While stiffing Mother Teresa is driving much of the response, the lying and arrogance associated with this event are also important factors. On p. 5, see a copy of the application that we filled out in February; see also a copy of the application that was drawn up after our protest was lodged. In other words, they simply invented a new policy regarding religious figures so as to give themselves cover.
August 26 will go down in American history as an important Catholic date. The time has come to rally, and rally we will.
