What a surprise - or not!
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: New York Government Refuses to Allow Greek Orthodox Leaders to
Rebuild Church at Ground Zero
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:02:13 -0500
From: Travis <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/author/doctorbulldog/>
New York Government Refuses to Allow Greek Orthodox Leaders to
Rebuild Church at Ground Zero
<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/new-york-government-refuses-to-allow-greek-orthodox-leaders-to-rebuild-church-at-ground-zero/>
*doctorbulldog
<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/author/doctorbulldog/>* | 18 August,
2010 at 11:16 am | Categories: politics
<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/category/politics/> | URL:
http://wp.me/p1NPg-6pS
/*Where's all that talk of tolerance and crap? What? Crickets? I
thought so. Like I've said before, the main reason the Left embraces
Islam is because they both hate Christianity.*/
/*Mrs. Bulldog makes a good point in saying, "This certainly smacks of
Sharia, doesn't it? ---As in, Islam doesn't allow Christians to rebuild
their churches once they've been destroyed..."
*/
*Decision Not to Rebuild Church Destroyed on 9/11 Surprises Greek
Orthodox Leaders*
/August 18, 2010 | FoxNews.com
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/18/leaders-disappointed-government-declares-deal-rebuild-ground-zero-church-dead/>/
Greek Orthodox leaders trying to rebuild the only church destroyed in
the Sept. 11 terror attacks expressed shock this week after learning,
via Fox News, that government officials had killed a deal to relocate
the church.
The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, once a tiny, four-story building
in the shadows of lower Manhattan, was destroyed in 2001 by one of the
falling World Trade Center towers. Nobody from the church was hurt in
the attack, but the congregation has, for the past eight years, been
trying to rebuild its house of worship.
Though talks between the church and the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey stalled last year, church leaders say they've been trying to
kick-start discussions ever since. But amid debate over whether a
proposed Islamic community center should go forward near Ground Zero,
government officials threw cold water on the prospect of any deal with
the church -- telling Fox News the deal is off the table.
Confronted with the Port Authority's verdict, Father Mark Arey, of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, said it's the first he's heard that.
"Negotiations did break off last year. We were expecting to hear from
their lawyers -- we never did. We're still expecting to hear from them,"
he told Fox News. "We're disappointed. ... 130 Liberty Street was
promised to us."
Arey was referring to the address, about 100 yards away from the
original site, where the government earlier proposed relocating the
church. The Port Authority and the church announced a deal in July 2008
under which the Port Authority would grant land and up to $20 million to
help rebuild the church -- in addition, the authority was willing to pay
up to $40 million to construct a bomb-proof platform underneath.
Within a year, the deal fell through and talks ended -- apparently for
good, according to the Port Authority.
The archdiocese and Port Authority now offer sharply conflicting
accounts of where things went wrong. The Port Authority has previously
claimed the church was making additional demands -- like wanting the $20
million up front and wanting to review plans for the surrounding area.
They say the church can still proceed on its own if it wishes.
"The church continues to have the right to rebuild at their original
site, and we will pay fair market value for the underground space
beneath that building," a spokesperson with the Port Authority told Fox
News.
But Arey said the original site is no good. Archdiocese officials
disputed the Port Authority's claims, saying the church has complied
with all conditions.
"It's not about money," Arey said. He expressed hope that the project
can still be salvaged.
"This little church deserves to be rebuilt. It's symbolic, not just for
Orthodox Christians, not just for Christians, but for all Americans,"
Arey said, calling the mosque debate "helpful" to the church's cause. "I
believe that people around the country are asking themselves the
question -- why all this talk about a mosque being built near Ground
Zero? What about a little church that was destroyed on 9/11? ... This is
basically a bureaucratic impasse. This will dissolve in the face of the
American public consciousness."
Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who worked with the church as
governor, told Fox News on Tuesday that the church should be rebuilt.
George Demos, a Republican candidate for New York's 1st Congressional
District, also has drawn attention to the negotiations. He released an
open letter to President Obama Tuesday urging him to, as he did with the
mosque debate, weigh in on the church discussions.
"While we may disagree on the appropriateness of the mosque, we can
surely agree that it is an issue of national importance that the only
house of worship actually destroyed on September 11, 2001, the St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, be rebuilt," Demos wrote. "Mr.
President, please stand up and defend our Judeo-Christian values,
express your public and unwavering support for St. Nicholas Church, and
ensure that it is rebuilt."
Father Alex Karloutsos, assistant to the head of the Greek Orthodox
Church in America, Archbishop Demetrios, told FoxNews.com that the Port
Authority "simply forgot about the church" at Ground Zero.
Fox News' David Lee Miller and Kathleen Foster and FoxNews.com's Judson
Berger contributed to this report.
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