It is unfortunate that there have been so many recent articles about Mosques opening in America. Even Christians allow their houses of worship to be used as temporary Mosques. Today, we get some good news about Christians finally taking a stand on behalf of their beliefs! Like I have been saying, fighting Islam is not about religion to me. It is about preserving our freedoms and our Western values for ourselves and our future generations. Considering the largest part of our country’s populace identifies with Christianity, we are going to need a strong Christian voice to win this war.
St. Nicholas Church Sues Port Authority for Right to Rebuild at Ground Zero
February 15, 2011The small church, destroyed on 9/11, is accusing the Port Authority of fraud and defamation.
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church has sued the Port Authority for the right to rebuild their house of worship after its destruction on 9/11.
For the past several years, the leaders of the small church, previously located just south of the World Trade Center, have been embroiled in a battle with the Port Authority over where and how to rebuild it. Now, in a lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday, the church is accusing the Port Authority of seizing the church’s land without permission and of violating the church’s freedom of religion.
“It’s not about money,” said Father Mark Arey, spokesman for the church and Ecumenical Officer with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. “We have the responsibility to protect the property of our church. [The Port Authority] won’t talk to us. What else are we supposed to do?”
The two sides reached a preliminary deal in 2008 that would have given the church a larger parcel of land to the east of their original site and $20 million to rebuild.
But the Port Authority broke off negotiations in 2009, saying the church was making too many demands. The Port then took over the church’s property and has been using it to build infrastructure for the World Trade Center site.The Port Authority declined to comment on the litigation directly but released a statement defending the agency’s actions:
“After eight months of negotiations in which the demands of the Orthodox Church continued to increase over and above what was originally agreed to in 2008, the Port Authority had to make a practical decision to move on or risk further delaying the entire World Trade Center project,” the Port Authority said in the statement.
7 comments for “Ground Zero: Christians Fight Back!”