Posted on 04/05/2014 1:52:17 PM PDT by NYer
A city board on Thursday gave a Muslim group the go-ahead to remove six crosses from the roof and spires of a century-old former Catholic church so the now-vacant Gothic structure can be used as a mosque.
More than 200 people had signed an online petition calling on the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board to deny an application by North Side Learning Center, the church’s new owner, to remove the crosses and build a six-foot chain-link fence.
Before the vote to allow the church alterations, Chairman Don Radke said the board cannot interfere with a decision that involves religious freedom.
About a dozen people who spoke at the meeting were evenly divided for and against the church conversion, The Post-Standard reported.
Petition-signers, who included some local residents and former church parishioners, had argued that the former Holy Trinity Catholic Church was a neighborhood landmark built by German immigrants 100 years ago and removing the crosses would deface the architecture.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse closed the church in 2010 and merged the parish with that of St. John the Baptist because of a declining congregation as population shifted from the city to suburbs. The North Side Learning Center, a nonprofit group that provides literacy programs for immigrants, bought the church and its school and rectory for $150,000 in December.
The Christian Post is also writing about this.
This seems like common sense to me. Despite its historical significance, the building is no longer a church, and will be used by a non-Christian religion as a house of worship. The same request would be made if it were being converted to a synagogue. (Taking it a step further, a Catholic group taking over a mosque would logically ask to have the star and crescent removed.)
One headline I read said, outrageously: City Permits Muslim Group to Desecrate Catholic Church. This is patently false, and seems an obvious example of anti-Muslim bigotry. It’s no longer a Catholic church, so there is nothing to “desecrate.”
Personally opposed, ping!
I AM an anti-muslim bigot !
Once you let the building become a mosque, the ball game is over
I would f’en move
I didn't realize that buildings could be had so cheaply in Syracuse. I'd like to know more about this 'northside learning center' non-profit, tho.
I think this is horrible.
But, I’m afraid, once you close down a parish church and sell it to the highest bidder, it’s up to the new owner what he wants to do with it.
This wouldn’t be happening if our bishops and pastors hadn’t so mismanaged their jobs over the past few decades, bleeding parishioners, losing donations, and closing parishes.
The best thing would either to put these old building on ice, in case there is a renewal, or tear them down. The problem is that the same financial difficulties that forced the closure also force the sale. They are running out of money to maintain the churches that our ancestors sacrificed so much to build.
Sad. But once the Muslims own it, they have a legal right to defile it.
I didn’t see that detail. Sounds like maybe the North Side Learning Center convinced the Bishop that they would put the church to good use. And then, after they bought it, they flipped it, and pocketed the difference in prices.
If so, then the diocese ought to sue them for the difference, at least. To teach them a lesson and get a bit of badly needed money for remaining diocesan activities.
The church sold it. End of story.
“Personally opposed, ping!”
To what?
It’s always sad to see crosses being removed, but this is different. The building was sold and is being repurposed. It’s up to the new owner what they wish to show on the outside. Perhaps some Christian Churches can buy the crosses to display elsewhere. This is not necessarily another example of Muslim-Creep and encroachment.
The Churches around the country are being abandoned. In my diocese, the church property is being sold to cover the costs of sexual assault claims.
The Church is falling apart—not from the outside, but from within.
If the Muslims have purchased the property, they have every right to do with it what they wish. The local government has no right to get involved with religious symbolism of any sort.
How very sad it is. Obam is flooding our country with the followers of A.
You can tell a tree by its fruits. The followers of A are terrorizing, murdering, bombing, killing, and threatening good Christians ( and Jews and Hindus and others) all around the world. Not to mention what they do to women ( and sheep and goats). A is Satan. And his Legions are pouring in here Right now.
Once the building is sold (circumstances and conditions will vary depending on the city, the "historic landmark" designation, etc.), then it's nothing but a building.
The real tragedy is all the beautiful and fantastic old historic churches that are everywhere...like "century homes", the plain upkeep and maintenance costs can be astronomical. Also for "historic" downtown/city buildings.
It's very sad to see historical and heritage sites keep going down the drain, nevertheless. It's also a little disturbing to me to see a Catholic Church building being converted into a Mosque, but that's just my personal opinion.
Lets all chip in, buy the property around it and make it a pig farm.
If the building is no longer a church, why wouldn’t the crosses be removed regardless of who owns it?
You just can't shake that private property mentality, can you?
You know "where two or more are gathered in my name"
A church building is a structure...brick and mortar...nothing sacred or holy about it...
It's a piece of property...nothing more...nothing less...
Ditto
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