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Friday, August 27, 2010
House of Worship Patiently Waits Its Turn
By Harry Moskos
Of the Journal
President Obama says America's "commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg emphasizes that "government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another."
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist stresses that "America is a place where you're supposed to be able to practice your religion without the government telling you you can't."
And Sen. Tom Udall tells the Journal that freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution and that "every American is entitled to that basic right."
I am pleased to see such figures in high places urge religious freedom, because it is focusing attention on whether a religious structure will be rebuilt in New York City.
Oh, I'm not taking about the plans of iman Feisal Abdul Rauf to build a $100 million Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from ground zero. I'm speaking of another victim of that Sept. 11, 2001, attack — the attackers also destroyed a Christian church in their assault on the World Trade Center.
Destroyed on that day was St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was built on its site in 1916 by a group of immigrants and remained opened until the falling south towers of the World Trade Center crushed the building, with hardly a trace remaining of the structure or its contents.
I must point out that I am of the Greek Orthodox faith and had an opportunity to visit the ground zero site in 2002 as a part of a delegation led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. But I cannot explain why efforts to rebuild the church have stalled.
St. Nicholas was a landmark in its neighborhood and on Wednesdays would open its doors to the public, according to a 2008 article in The New York Times, "and dozens of office workers and tourists found it a soothing refuge from the hurly-burly of Lower Manhattan."
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New York pointed out that St. Nicholas was the only house of worship destroyed on that day and since then they have "fully cooperated and worked closely with the relevant authorities," including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. One of the issues appears to be a vehicle security center that could go under the proposed church and the costs related to the project. That New York Times article attributed the delay to "endless negotiations, design disputes, delays and mounting costs."
Stephen Sigmund, the chief of public and government affairs for the Port Authority, said, "St. Nicholas Orthodox Church has always had and will continue to have the right to rebuild on its original location. The question was whether public money would be spent to build a much larger church at a separate location on the site and ensuring that construction won't delay the World Trade Center further."
Archbishop Demetrios, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, said, "We believe and affirm that the new Church of St. Nicholas will have a far greater scope and outreach than a parish house of worship and envision the site as an appropriate memorial to the 3,000 innocent people of all faiths who lost their lives that day."
But, no progress.
Former New York Gov. George Pataki now has urged the Port Authority to resume negotiations with the archdiocese immediately, so the rebuilding can start as soon as possible. It would be nice if Pataki's action spurs other officials to join the effort to get St. Nicholas — established almost a century ago — rebuilt after its wanton destruction nine years ago.
hmoskos@abqjournal.com
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