That Religious Guy: The Empire strikes back ... at Mother Teresa?

..... Catholic League president, Bill Donohue, has made a name for himself defending the Church against rampant anti-Catholicism. He doesn't look for trouble. Trouble finds him. And just recently, trouble did find Donohue in the form of a rejection letter.

..... Like many people, Donohue admires Mother Teresa's contributions to society. Out of a desire to honor her on her 100th birthday, Donohue applied to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners in February to have the structure light up in blue and white, the colors of the Missionaries of Charity. After all, the Empire State Building has been lighted up in red, white, and blue for America and has featured Yankees colors whenever they win. The U.S. Postal Service is even going to publish a Mother Teresa commemorative stamp in honor of her birthday. In May, however, Donohue's request was denied for unknown reasons. Was it because the Empire State Building doesn't try to promote religious groups? Nope, since it apparently flies holiday colors for Christmas, Hannukah, and Islamic holidays. So why can't this structure honor a woman who dedicated her life to helping the poor? When it all boils down to it, it's anti-Catholicism at its best, or should I say worst?

..... Last year amid the protests of human rights activists and U.S. congressmen, the Empire State Building chose to honor the 60th anniversary of the 1949 Maoist Communist  Revolution. The communists are after all, the ideal role models for society right? It apparently didn't matter to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners that the Maoists can now live in infamy for intolerance and murder. Donohue puts it best when he observes, "Yet under its founder, Mao Zedong, the Communists killed 77 million people. In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa."

.....Though she didn't commit hundreds of human rights violations, Mother Teresa did receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. She has also been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and is on her way to becoming a saint. So you decide. Why is the Empire State Building Lighting Partners refusing to honor Mother Teresa? Is it because she helped care for refugees, gave homes for orphans, and fed the hungry? Or is it simply because she's a Roman Catholic, a member of a religion that faces a lot of prejudice to this day. So readers, you decide and post a comment.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz