Today’s the last day of The Tablet’s Catholic School Fundraiser.
The Synod on Synodality continues at the Vatican today.
We’ll have an update on the National Eucharistic Congress.
The celebration of Italian heritage will begin with a Mass at st. Patrick’s Cathedral led by Bishop Robert Brennan.
By Katie Vasquez
Pews of people from Brooklyn and Queens came together Wednesday night, Oct. 4, at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, as four clergymen stepped up to lead different parts of the diocese.
The four men were installed as Regional Episcopal Vicars, meaning they will be in charge of a group of parishes, known as deaneries, that have been grouped together into a region.
The diocese previously had two regions, but now, there will be four, two in Brooklyn and two in Queens.
Bishop Brennan said the plan to split the diocese is actually meant to help bring everyone together.
“We can take this step,” Bishop Brennan said. “Be a little more present in each of the four vicariates and work on and continue to foster those means of communication and collaboration.”
Auxiliary Bishop Witold Mroziewski will be the Episcopal Vicar For Brooklyn West, a title he doesn’t take lightly.
“I will deal with the priests and with the laypeople with the parishes,” Bishop Mroziewski said. “So it’s a very significant position and a very significant responsibility to me.”
Father Joseph Hoffman will lead Brooklyn East, bringing with him his more than 40 years of priesthood and his experience as an FDNY chaplain.
As a priest in the diocese for 34 years, Father John Costello also has extensive knowledge of the church. But as the Episocal Vicar for Queens East, he wants to focus on listening to parishioners.
“I think we need to give people that respect to help us plan what the future is going to be,” Father Costello said.
Father Peter Purpura, who will be in charge of Queens West, already has some plans on what he would like to change.
“I felt over the years that very often we’re competing with one another, parish against parish,” Father Purpura said. “So how can we kind of approach pastoral work in a way that we can complement one another to serve as many people as possible?”
The four men will work with deaneries, support diocesan initiatives, install and assist new pastors, and address any complaints.
The people in the pews are excited to be able to have their voices heard.
by Jessica Easthope
For two years Catholics around the globe gave their input, and now issues that have been off limits for generations of Church leaders, are on the table.
The Synod on Synodality puts forth questions in an effort to make the Catholic Church a more welcoming and collaborative institution. Some of those questions regarding women in decision-making roles, the blessing of same-sex unions, and married priests have caused media speculation. A factor Pope Francis says is unwelcome in the process, citing how it interfered in past synods.
“With the synod on the family, there was public opinion that came not from our worldliness to give Communion to divorcees and that is how we started the synod,” Pope Francis said. “With the Amazon synod, there was public opinion and pressure to make ‘viri probati.’ We started with this pressure. Now there are some hypotheses about this synod, but what are they going to do here: Maybe women priesthood? I don’t know these things that are said outside.”
For the first time in history, women and laypeople are full participants in the synod. The Holy Father said the meeting is an opportunity for true discernment, one that was widely called for.
“It is not easy, but it is beautiful,” Pope Francis said. “It is very beautiful. A synod that all the bishops of the world wanted. In the survey that was done after the Amazon synod to all the bishops of the world, the second place preference was this one.”
Members are forbidden to record, film, or disclose their interventions in synod issues in both general sessions and small group discussions.
The Diocese of Immigrants is currently ministering to tens of thousands of new arrivals as the migrant crisis continues to rock New York City.
Bishop Robert Brennan was personally on hand at one Queens church that opened its doors to help.
Bishop Brennan handed out hot meals at St. Pius V Church on Wednesday.
The Jamaica church started the soup kitchen last year along with Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, they feed dozens of people every week.
Bishop Brennan said helping the migrants is part of our faith and it’s something the migrants appreciate.
Four new regional vicars were installed in the Diocese of Brooklyn during a Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.
Mayor Eric Adams is visiting some Latin American countries trying to stop migrants from coming to New York City.
Bishop Robert Brennan is helping out the migrants that are already in New York.
It’s day two of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican.
It’s a big day for the global Church as the Synod of Bishops kicked off Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Pope Francis celebrated the opening Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
The month-long meeting is focused on how to transform the Church, making it more collaborative.
John Allen, Vatican expert and editor of Crux, joins Currents News to discuss what the bishops will discuss.Be sure to stay with The Tablet and Currents News for continuing coverage of this synod meeting all month long.
By Jessica Easthope
Joly Maginnis is a total daddy’s girl.
She wishes the pictures in these albums would bring up loving memories of him, but she doesn’t have any. Joly was just a year old when her dad, Sgt. Peter Maginnis died.
“It feels like there’s a missing piece of me,” Joly said. “Basically I keep going to look for more pictures but I kind of ran out. It’s a very weird feeling having people tell you about someone you’re supposed to know. That’s supposed to be my person. I wish I got to know him.”
Peter was larger than life, always with a smile on his face, had three beautiful children and his wife Maryann who adored him.
“He was a great guy,” MaryAnn Maginnis said. “He was a good guy. It still happens 21 years later. He had a giant heart, funny. He was always making somebody laugh.”
He was the last person you’d ever think would take his own life. Peter was 37 when he shot himself with his service weapon on an overpass on the Belt Parkway on Sept. 20, 2002. MaryAnn came home to the goodbye letters.
“As I’m reading it I’m calling him and his phone is ringing downstairs, I’m on his phone calling his friends and parents I’m on the house phone calling 911,” MaryAnn said. “And then, when I ran outside, I saw Msgr. Romano and Msgr. Cassato. I knew it was true.”
Msgr. David Cassato, deputy chief chaplain of the NYPD, celebrated the first Mass for Peter and the more than 230 other active duty members of the NYPD who have died by suicide since 1989. It was organized by MaryAnn who serves as the widow liaison for the Anchor Club, a Catholic organization of officers who are Knights of Columbus.
“I’ll never forget walking down the block on that beautiful day and walking into that family,” Msgr. Cassato said. “I’ll never forget that day.”
“They started inviting me to things and the kids,” MaryAnn said. “I got to hang out with the police officers and my kids got to see the blue uniforms and how they stick together. That’s how I kept my husband alive.”
Today Peter’s legacy is carried on by his three children. The oldest, TJ, is a police officer.
“My entire life is based around him,” TJ said. “I’ve been following in his footsteps since I can remember, I’m in his precinct, I have his shield, I wanna be like him as much as possible and then, if I was ever in that situation, I know I could fight it.”
A community for families affected by suicide didn’t exist 21 years ago when Peter died, but since then MaryAnn has created one.
“I’m honoring them because we love them and it’s how they lived, but it’s not OK how they died,” Maryann said.
Now her life is dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding suicide.
“MaryAnn Maginnis has become a real consoler,” Msgr. Cassato said. “I think we need to talk more and more about it and get people to talk about it and their feelings that cause such a thing.”
“Peter gave me this life so I have to do it the best that I can,” MaryAnn said.
Her children are daily reminders of the joy Peter brought to their lives and all he left behind.
“I will never know what it’s like to have a catch with my dad,” TJ said. “I’ll never know what it’s like to get taught how to shave. I had to do that myself. Use my family as an example if you need to, your family are the only ones who are suffering, not you.”
MaryAnn’s hope sounds familiar to members of the NYPD. New Yorkers have heard it countless times.
“If you see that something is bothering somebody, you have to say something,” she said. “Hey are you OK?”
In Peter’s memory, for Maryann and her children, if you see something, say something.
For anyone who may need help, you can call the Catholic Charities Mobile Crisis Team at 718-514-8031.
You can also call the National Suicide Prevention lifeline at 988.
The first ever mass for the more than 230 active duty members of the NYPD who have died by suicide since 1989 was celebrated last week.
The month-long Synod on Synodality is underway in Rome.
A Brooklyn church was broken into on the evening of Sept. 21.
A man was caught on camera stealing sacred items at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Williamsburg.
The man broke in through the church’s window, according to officials.
He took a chalice; a relic of the patron saint of cancer, St. Peregrine; some priestly vestments; and more.
Police are still searching for the suspect.
There’s a new movie about Mother Teresa and it’s set to hit theaters for one night only.
“Mother Teresa and Me” depicts the struggles and sacrifices of the famous nun through the eyes of a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz, the actress who plays Mother Teresa and a co-producer of the film, sat down with Currents News to talk about this new look at the popular saint. “Mother Teresa and Me” hits theaters this Thursday Oct. 5, head to https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Mother-Teresa-and-Me.