Bowing to pressure from Staten Island’s xenophobic reactionaries, a local pastor has reversed his decision to sell a convent to an Islamic group that would use it as a community center and mosque.
In the wake of an ugly community meeting last week, Rev. Keith Fennessy, the pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church, sent a letter yesterday to Archbishop Timothy Dolan explaining that upon reflection he had “concluded that the contemplated sale would not serve the needs of the parish.” Fennessy had already signed a contract with the group, the Muslim American Society, to sell the vacant convent for $750,000.
MAS didn’t find out about Fennessy’s reneging until a reporter called to ask them about it – after seeing a press release on the Archbishop’s website.
Update: See “Muslim American Society responds to Staten Island pastor’s bid to cancel sale of convent”, SILive, 18 June 2010