After the Empire State Building rejected a request to light up in honor of Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s recent promotion, One World Trade Center has taken up the cause.
After being made a Cardinal, Dolan said of his red biretta: “This hat is really for New York. I want to put it on the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.” U.S. Rep. Michael G. Grimm, who represents portions of Brooklyn and Staten Island, asked the Empire State Building to light up in “cardinal red” last Thursday in honor of Dolan’s elevation from archbishop of New York to Cardinal, but it refused. They also would not honor Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday in 2010.
“It’s an insult to Catholics and to the vast majority of New Yorkers who love Cardinal Dolan,” Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League, said in a press release.
Grimm refused to accept no as an answer. “Giving up is not in my DNA,” said Grimm in a statement. “Where there is a will there is a way, and One WTC is even more appropriate as a symbol of hope, courage and the bright future of New York — all of which Cardinal Dolan exemplifies.”
Executive Director Patrick Foye agreed to illuminate One World Trade Center in “cardinal red” in honor of Dolan every night between Friday, Feb. 24, and Friday, March 2.
Yesterday, Dolan led his first Sunday Mass since the promotion.
Follow Emily Anne Epstein on Twitter @EmilyAEpstein
