This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. By using this site, you consent to the placement and use of these cookies. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more.
ACCEPT
The Holy Father has been calling for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war… and the Vatican had high hopes for the peace talks in Turkey, but little came out of the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years.
Their negotiating teams met in Istanbul– without the presidents of either country– and President Donald Trump said there would be no progress on peace talks until he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This– after President Trump was pictured on the phone to four of his key European allies– France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland…
The allies said they were convinced they had the support of Trump– not only for a demand for a ceasefire on Monday that was unconditional and lasted 30 days– but also the sanctions that would follow if Russia didn’t adhere to that.
Instead– Trump, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky all skipped the Istanbul meeting…
Some believe Putin’s absence sends a message that the Kremlin is unafraid of sanctions– and that the Russian leader had correctly gambled that Trump would not be that angry if some kind of meeting continued in Istanbul but Putin didn’t attend personally or accept a ceasefire. It seems Putin isn’t interested in a swift settlement.
A senior Ukrainian official says at Friday’s meeting– the Russian side introduced new, unacceptable demands for a ceasefire– to withdraw Ukrainian forces from parts of its own territory.
What the two sides did agree to– was to exchange one-thousand prisoners of war each– which would be the biggest swap since the war began.
Meanwhile– President Trump says he wants to meet with Putin to discuss the war as soon as possible.
“I think it’s time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going. And I said, if I don’t go, I guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn’t go. I understand that – but we’re going to get it – we’re going to get it done. We’re going to get it done. 5,000 young people are being killed every single week on average, and we’re going to get it done,” President Donald Trump said.
With a little sugar and spice, Talyah Cruz is always cooking up delicious desserts.
It’s a hobby that has turned into her full time job with her company “Sweet Treats Good Eats.”
“I’ve always liked baking. I feel like my whole life, especially since I was a kid, I feel I was put in the family baker role almost immediately,” said Cruz.
When the new Holy Father was announced, she decided to offer a delectable option for Catholics.
“It’s a sugar cookie base. So I make the sugar cookies, use whatever shape I really feel the picture fits. Bake those off, and then I ice them, wait about 24 hours before I then screen print them, and then it gives a pretty good finish,” she explained. “It just looks quite professional,”
Cruz says it was a moment in history that had to be celebrated.
“I thought it was awesome,” she told Currents News. “It was the first American pope I heard, so I was excited and I was excited to make the cookies.”
And she hopes others will savor the sweets as much as she enjoys making them.
“I feel like it’s a good way to honor him,” she noted. “I feel like it’s a good way for people to just feel closer to him or just the religion in general, to make their day slightly better.”
If you would like a taste of the Pope Leo XIV cookies, you can order your own through her website.
The Long Island nun has a lot to be grateful for, celebrating her 112th birthday on Easter Sunday.
“It feels okay to be 112, but I, if you really think about it. I would like to be much younger,” said Sister Francis Dominici Piscatella.
It’s a milestone her friend of 71 years, Sister Francis Daniel Kammer says she nearly didn’t make.
“She had a terrible brain bleed, 10 years ago. and they thought that she was never going to walk again or talk again. and here she is walking and talking,” said Sister Francis Daniel Kammer.
Her room at the sisters of Saint Dominic Motherhouse in Amityville is filled with birthday cards and balloons. A display that shows how much an impact she’s made in the lives of others.
“She’s loyal, she’s faithful, she’s prayerful. She’s human. she’s the best friend you could ever have, thick or thin, she stays by you,” said Sister Francis Daniel Kammer.
Sister Francis Dominici now holds the record as the world’s oldest nun.
“I would say I’d like to. I would like to be the youngest sister in the world, not the oldest,” said Sister Francis Dominici.
During the course of her life, Sister Francis has witnessed 19 US presidents, two World Wars and 11 popes including the recent election of Pope Leo XIV.
“If you’re chosen to be a pope, you must be an intelligent man as well as a good religious,” said Sister Francis Dominici.
Sister Francis nearly missed her chance at religious life after losing part of her arm in an accident. Many communities rejected her.
“The convent is not a place for handicapped people. You have to work when you go to the convent. It’s not a place, it’s not a vacation area,” said Sister Francis Dominici.
But the Sisters of St Dominic opened their doors to her with a simple test.
“It used to be a big laugh with my group that entered at that time, I said, I’m here because I can open a window,” said Sister Francis Dominici.
One of her greatest accomplishments was teaching high school algebra and math for 52 years.
“This is not pride really. Praise God for giving me I was a good teacher and I was a very good teacher to students that needed extra help,” said Sister Francis Dominici.
And she explains the secret to a long life.
“I would say. God doesn’t want me. I don’t know, there’s no secret about it at all. when God wants me, he’ll take me,” said Sister Francis Dominici.
For now Sister Francis is making the most of every day she has.
His brother Jack, who lives in Westchester County, New York, picked up the fight. He worked to get his sibling into Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City to continue treatment.
“I was not going to give up on my brother. I would not give up on my brother,” Jack told Currents News.
Father O’Shea moved to New York in the fall to continue treatment at the Manhattan hospital, but the priest still wanted to be of service. So, he offered to help in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
“I feel I’m doing more for the glory of God than the salvation of souls out here,” said Father O’Shea.
Although his prognosis looks grim, he says his faith has never wavered and he will be strong all the way up to the end, because Father O’Shea knows he has his family.
“We will never leave his side,” said Jack O’Shea. And God is on his side, too.
“I often quote the last words of John Paul II which were, ‘I will go to my father’s house.’ You know my circle is finished and I will go back to my father,” said Father O’Shea.
For now, Father O’Shea has started a new chemotherapy treatment and will continue to serve as much as he can. The rest, he says, he’s leaving to the Lord.
After taking part in the conclave, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, travelled to Ireland and was reunited with his former teacher, who just turned 100!
Sister Mary Bosco Daly taught the cardinal at the beginning of her teaching days at Holy Infant Catholic School in Ballwin, Missouri.
The native of Ireland returned home to live in retirement at the convent of St Joseph’s in Tullamore.
After being told he had weeks to live, Father Morty O’Shea is still here, serving God at a Queens parish while receiving cancer treatment.
Peace talks on Ukraine are set, and while Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin sees it as a hopeful step, Vladimir Putin’s absence is raising doubt about Russia’s commitment to ending the war.
A church organist in Iowa is celebrating 70 years of melodic Sunday services, calling her musical talent a blessing from God.
BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — A thought came to Father Mortimer “Morty” O’Shea on March 5 while putting Ash Wednesday blessings on parishioner foreheads at St. Sebastian Parish in Woodside.
This priest, who has dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland, has battled multiple myeloma cancer since 2013. He began treatments in 2021 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.
But, he explained, the medical insurance industry in Ireland does not cover the higher levels of cancer treatments that are available in the U.S.
“So,” he recently told The Tablet, “I was out at St Sebastian’s on Ash Wednesday, and I was putting [the ashes] on people’s foreheads, and it just hit me.
Father Morty O’Shea delivers the homily during a recent Mass at St. Sebastian Parish in Woodside. He helps out there when he is not undergoing cancer treatments in Manhattan. (Photo: Katie Vasquez)
“If I was anybody else in Ireland, without this wonderful care at Sloan Kettering, I would be [these ashes]. I mean, because that’s what we are after four years inside the coffin.”
Chemo Blasts
Father O’Shea praises God that his days on earth were extended. Still, he knows his days are numbered.
Multiple myeloma cancer, which forms in bone marrow, is a “very clever cancer” that develops resiliencies to even the most modern treatments, Father O’Shea said.
His options, he added, seem limited, so he has been undergoing chemotherapy “blasts” to buy more time.
“Maybe another trial will come up,” Father O’Shea said. “It’s a big exercise in kicking the can down the road.”
Still, he pushes on, like he has no time to waste. When he’s able, he helps out with pastoral duties at St. Sebastian Parish in Woodside, Queens.
But even while recovering from harsh treatments like chemo, he maintains a missionary zeal, sharing the Gospel and proclaiming pro-life positions via his blog — simply titled, “Fr Morty O’Shea” — at frmorty.wordpress.com.
A Mighty Adventure
With a name like O’Shea and his obvious Irish brogue, it’s easy to surmise that this priest hails from the Emerald Isle, where he spent most of his childhood. However, he was born in Detroit to parents from Ireland who returned to raise the family in County Kerry, on that country’s southwest coast.
Father O’Shea graduated from college with a degree in electrical engineering. He returned to the U.S. to begin his career and settled in Boston.
“And that was a mighty adventure, I must say,” Father O’Shea said. “That was for nearly three years. But, on Mother’s Day 1990, I felt called to a kind of religious life.”
He then joined the Society of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas, which has worldwide missions.
A Complete Inspiration
During his 28 years as a priest, Father O’Shea’s ministry has taken him to Texas, New Mexico, England, Wales, and back to Ireland before his 2013 cancer diagnosis.
The fight continued for several years until, in 2021, his treatment options in Ireland started dwindling due to Irish insurance restrictions. That’s when his younger brother, Jack O’Shea, who had settled in Bronxville, got involved.
Cancer treatment options for Father O’Shea were limited in Ireland, but his younger brother, Jack, (shown here at right) helped arrange treatments at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. (Photo: Courtesy of Father Mortimer O’Shea)
“My wife and I started looking for options here in New York,” Jack said. “We were fortunate enough that Sloan Kettering opened the doors to my brother.”
Jack recalled how, when he made his own return to the United States in 1984, his brother, the electrical engineer in Boston, helped him get settled.
“I’ve always looked up to my brother,” he said. “He was just a complete inspiration of truthfulness, honor, hard work, and loyalty to his family.”
‘Half the Man He Is’
Jack said his brother has never complained about cancer and has remained faithful to his calling. Case in point: Father O’Shea did not want to be idle during his latest round of cancer treatments, which began last November.
Father O’Shea approached Bishop Robert Brennan at the Dec. 9, 2024, funeral for Msgr. Philip Reilly, a nationally known pro-life champion who inspired the Irish priest’s own work in that field. He offered to help out at a parish, and Bishop Brennan accommodated him. Father O’Shea subsequently began helping out at St. Sebastian Parish in Woodside until his most recent “chemo blast” in April.
“He never said ‘Why me, or poor me,’ ” Jack said. “When I got the news in 2021 that his life was coming to a short end, I was not going to give up on my brother.
“I wish on my best day that I would be half the man that he is.”
Ultimate Life Insurance
Father O’Shea said he has made peace with death.
“I guess I am kind of running out of clear light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Still, he said, there is more reason for hope over grief, considering an eternity spent with Christ.
“This is such a dangerous world that none of us gets out alive,” he said. “But, as I told one of the nurses yesterday, if we believe in Jesus, then that’s the ultimate life insurance policy.
A seminarian in the Diocese of Brooklyn once worked restaurant jobs across New York City. But after rediscovering his faith, he’s now just weeks away from becoming a priest.
Pope Leo XIV welcomed Eastern Catholics to the Vatican during a Jubilee celebration.
Currents News breaks down the elements of the Holy Father’s new coat of arms.
