New Mosque approved, Old Church denied.

"130 Liberty Street was promised to us."  These are the words of Father Mark Arey in regard to the New York and New Jersey Port Authority denying the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox church a permit to relocate and rebuild.   

On September 11th, 2001, Father Mark Arey's Greek Orthodox church was destroyed as a result of the terrorist act that brought down the World Trade Center.  Many buildings were damaged or demolished.  Many buildings have been repaired or rebuilt.  For some reason, the Port Authority does not want the church to be rebuilt.

Shadow of the Greek Orthodox church cast upon the World Trade Center prior to 9/11
(Picture from newsweek.com)

The New York Port Authority promised the church a patch of land and up to 60 million dollars to rebuild.  20 million would go to the construction of the building and 40 million would go to creating a "bomb-proof platform" below the church.  This support was promised in 2008.  Recently, the Port Authority and the church disbanded their negotiation talks after common ground could not be found.  The Port Authority says the church is free to rebuild on its original site, but the Greek Orthodox church proponents say the original site (perhaps the foundation of the bedrock) is in a state of disrepair.

Arey goes on to say that this church must be rebuilt because it's symbolic.  It's symbolic not only for Orthodox Christians or any particular religion, but for Americans.

So which of these two news stories should be most prevalent in people's minds?  The church or the mosque? Is the mass media doing a good job of dispersing the coverage for these separate stories (which, in my view, are parts of one larger story)?

Maybe the mass media is covering the mosque story more predominantly because of the sheer emotionality of the words "mosque" and "Ground Zero" in the same context.  Maybe there are biases that cause a majority of outlets to ignore or skimp on coverage.  Then again, media are in business to make money.  Don't forget that.




http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/02/the-other-religion-at-ground-zero.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/18/leaders-disappointed-government-declares-deal-rebuild-ground-zero-church-dead/

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/mayor-bloomberg-says-deal-to-r.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/23/ground-zero-greek-orthodo_n_691708.html#