Currents News Staff
Coronavirus has touched all of our lives in one way or another, but for Father Joseph Dutan, this pandemic hits especially hard: he lost both his father and his mentor to this virus.
Not only did his biological father pass away from coronavirus, but his spiritual father as well: Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay was his mentor in the priesthood, and the first U.S. priest to pass away because of COVID-19.
As a young priest ordained just two years ago, in that timespan he’s faced much loss. Meanwhile he is ministering during a pandemic to a parish also facing the loss of loved ones, being jobless, and, in some cases, being undocumented.
Fr. Dutan has seen the toughest parts of this pandemic up close, and at a time where New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has made the decision to allow protests but keep religious services restricted, many Catholics around the Brooklyn Diocese want to receive communion now
He joins Currents News from his parish of St. Brigid in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to talk more about how he is coping with this loss, and how his parishioners feel about returning to church during this time.