New York's Catholic archbishop, Timothy Dolan, not only backs relocating the proposed ground zero mosque but also has volunteered to help find another spot for it to settle the national controversy the issue has roiled.
During an impromptu news conference Wednesday, Dolan said he doesn’t have strong feelings about the proposed mosque and Muslim center, but his “major prayer” is for a compromise, according to a report in today’s New York Times.
The most prominent New York religious leader yet to address the divisive issue also volunteered to be the mediator, in the manner of Pope John Paul II. In 1993, the Pope intervened in an uproar surrounding a Catholic nuns’ convent at the former Auschwitz death camp, and simply ordered the nuns to move out.
Pope John Paul is “the one who said, ‘Let’s keep the idea, and maybe move the address,’ ” the Times quotes Dolan as saying. “It worked there; it might work here.”
Dolan, who declined a New York Times request to expand upon his thoughts, had defended Muslims’ religious freedom earlier in the day during a WCBS TV interview.
Since the controversy erupted in the spring, Dolan has condemned prejudice against Muslims, the Times reported.
However, the newspaper noted, “in July, the church backed away from a plan to
sell a vacant convent on Staten Island to a Muslim group that planned to turn it into a mosque. A Catholic parish there had agreed to sell the building, but after strong local protests, the pastor decided to pull out of the deal and the parish board — which includes Archbishop Dolan — agreed.”
For a New York Times story on Dolan’s comments — Go Here Now.
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