WEBBER TO INTRODUCE RESOLUTIONS TO COMMEMORATE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF MOTHER TERESA

CALLS ON EMPIRE STATE BUILDING TO RECONSIDER DENYING REVERED WOMAN THE SAME HONOR GIVEN TO COMMUNIST DICTATOR MAO ZEDONG

Assemblyman Jay Webber, R-Morris and Passaic, will introduce two resolutions to honor Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta on August 26, 2010, the 100th anniversary of her birth.

The first resolution responds to the recent rejection of an application to illuminate the Empire State Building in blue and white, the colors of her congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, on Mother Teresa’s centenary. The Empire State Building Lighting Partners denied the request without explanation.Yet last Fall, the Partners approved of lighting the tower in red and yellow to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist revolution, whose dictator Mao Zedong was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. The resolution urges the Partners and owner Anthony Malkin to reconsider their decision.

"Outside Calcutta, few places have been more touched by Mother Teresa than our metropolitan area," stated Webber. "Her Missionaries of Charity minister to the poor in the Bronx and across New Jersey, from Newark to Plainfield to Asbury Park. It is absurd and beyond belief that the Empire State Building would honor an oppressive Communist regime defined by terror and tyranny, but refuse to honor a life-saving Catholic woman defined by compassion and caring.

"The New York City skyline is a treasured part of daily life for millions of New Jerseyans, many of whom have been helped or inspired by the heroic life of Mother Teresa. On their behalf, I ask the Empire State Building Lighting Partners to use their powerful icon to honor this great saint. Such a tribute in lights would be fitting for a woman who brought the light of love to so many suffering in darkness," continued Webber.

The second resolution would declare August 26, 2010, to be Mother Teresa Day in New Jersey, to honor and celebrate her centennial. Mother Teresa received in her lifetime 124 awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Medal of Freedom.

"New Jerseyans of all beliefs and backgrounds agree that Mother Teresa will be a model of selflessness for centuries to come, and I call on my colleagues in the Legislature to join me in honoring her extraordinary life and work,” concluded Webber.

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