Combining the permissibility of praying in a church with the prohibition of praying in a place of idols

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: How do you reconcile the permissibility of praying in a church if it contains no statues, with the prohibition of slaughtering or praying in a place that had an idol for the polytheists?

Answer:
This one has no idols. Its original purpose was for worship, for worshipping Allah, and it has no idols. If an idol is placed in it, one does not pray in it. But if it has no idol and no cross, and it is pure, one prays in it.