Empire state: in the dark

New York City's Empire State Building has said "yes" to Mariah Carey, dog shows, cancer charities - and even the 60th anniversary of communist China...

But the landmark skyscraper's owners have declined to illuminate the building in honour of the late Mother Teresa, in a decision that has angered some Catholics.

"They're bigots! They have an animus against Catholics!" Catholic League President Bill Donohue said.

He said his lay advocacy group had put in a request for an illumination on Aug. 26 to mark the centennial of Mother Teresa's birth. The request was denied in an unsigned, faxed letter, Mr Donohue said: "and they never gave an explanation."

He said Empire State Building officials were "stonewalling" not only the Catholic League, but also the media and members of New York's City Council.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, another prominent New York Catholic, said that she had spoken to the Empire State Building's owner Anthony Malkin.

Although the real estate mogul was "very professional" and said he "would reflect on the points I made," he refused the request, she said.

The building's owners have not commented to the media.

In New York, Mother Teresa helped open a pioneering hospice for AIDS patients in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.

"Her impact on the world was so much greater than one religious group," Ms Quinn said.

Illuminating the 102-story high-rise on Fifth Avenue in different colours to mark an important date, cause or personality is a New York tradition. The building is colour-decorated for religious holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah and other special occasions.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk