Huge piles of debris remain in Kentucky, weeks after deadly floods ravaged parts of the state. A massive clean-up is underway and Catholic Charities is there to help.
Texas is continuing to load migrants from the southern border onto buses which are then sent to other states.
Good news for those with mild to moderate hearing problems – hearing aids will soon be available over the counter.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to bus migrants to the northeast and New York City is causing a stir everywhere, but especially in Tennessee.
Chattanooga has been serving as a pit stop – and this latest bus of migrants had a different destination in mind.
Currents News Staff
Monday was a nice day for the beach. Just ask the Catholics in Breezy Point who celebrated Mass with Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan.
The service in the sand celebrated the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Mass included 500 parishioners from Blessed Trinity Parish and the traditional blessing of the waters.
Bishop Brennan, who was the Main Celebrant, said he was especially happy to have the chance to connect with Christ along the coastline.
National Correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, John Lavenburg, is on the ground in Kentucky and stopped by the Diocese of Lexington Catholic center, which houses their Catholic Charities offices. He joins Currents News with an update on the relief efforts there.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan met with some of the migrants who have recently arrived in the Big Apple.
Catholic agencies have been on the ground in Kentucky ever since last month’s devastating floods. National Correspondent for The Tablet, John Lavenburg, is there now and will have an update for us.
It was a perfect day for the beach – so why not celebrate Mass there? That’s exactly what Bishop Robert Brennan did yesterday at Breezy Point.
Help from FEMA is on the way for the victims of devastating flooding in Kentucky.
The agency announced new steps after hearing frustrations from people who say their claims were denied.
Migrants have been arriving by the bus load in New York and the Catholic Church is the first to welcome them.
Catholic Charities of New York is supplying food, clothing shelter and other needs for the migrants already in the big apple.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan also met with the migrants on Tuesday, and they are already thankful for the assistance they need so much.
By Bill Miller
CHINATOWN — The Church of the Transfiguration pushed back Sunday, Aug. 14, against the pandemic’s lingering effects of a stagnant economy, Asian hate crimes, and continued grief for those who died from COVID complications.
More than 500 people filled the historic church on Mott Street for the parish’s 26th annual Assumption feast Mass and procession honoring Mary, Mother of Jesus.
It was the first Assumption feast procession since 2019. Since then, New York City has suffered about 2.7 million cases of COVID-19 and 41,322 deaths.
“This year, there still is a pandemic, but people are kind of getting back to normal,” said Karen Louie, a parishioner who helped organize the feast. “We felt we should do something to get the parishioners back.”
Father Roger Kwan, the administrator, said his parish has about 450 registered members, but 90% of them don’t live in Chinatown.
While the population of the neighborhood is estimated at about 100,000 people, most of Transfiguration’s members come from Brooklyn and Queens, including Louie, who is from Flushing.
She explained that church attendance lagged during the pandemic, but not just because of the disease.
“The majority of parishioners have to commute from somewhere,” Louie said. “We have a lot of elderly people. They can’t walk faster if something happens. So a lot of them don’t come out because they’re afraid of the subway.”
Father Kwan said the themes of this feast were praying for the intercession of Mary toward peace in Ukraine, an easing of tensions between China and Taiwan, and an end to the pandemic.
“This is a very important turning point in their lives,” he said. “It has been hard to bring people back together — all the groups that we used to have, all the meetings, all the societies. Now we’re slowly reviving, so the people are very hopeful.”
Pandemic’s Wake
Infection rates have fallen dramatically in recent months in New York City. According to data, the average daily death toll in New York City by Aug. 13 was 15 deaths per day — way down from 788 in mid-April 2020.
Still, nearly everyone at Sunday’s feast took the pandemic seriously and wore masks during Mass.
The 10002 ZIP code, which includes Chinatown and the Lower East Side, so far has a total death rate, as of Aug. 14, of 569 per 100,000 people, according to city health data. That statistic is higher than the death rate of 282 for all of Manhattan and 408 for all five boroughs.
The pandemic’s impact on the neighborhood’s economy got much attention in a study released last month by “Welcome to Chinatown,” a community nonprofit organization.
According to “Chinatown Impact Study (2022),” the neighborhood lost 57% of food service jobs — about 54,000 positions — compared to 45% citywide.
During those years, Chinatown lost 26% of total jobs, compared to 14% citywide. By comparison, 13% of jobs went away in Flushing, which also has a large community of Asian immigrants.
The study also shows that visits to the neighborhood were still down 50% in late 2021 from where it was in 2019. Tourism is picking up for the Chinese restaurants and retail shops, but these businesses, like the rest of the nation, are also facing 8% inflation rate.
The Mother Church
Father Kwan said many of the people at the feast find it more affordable to live outside New York City.
“They’re coming from places like deep in Pennsylvania or Delaware,” he said. “It’s cheaper because of the cost of living. A lot of them are blue-collar workers, restaurant workers, so they work six days a week.”
The parish was founded in 1827, but the church was built by Lutherans in 1801. The Archdiocese of New York bought it in 1853, and it became the home of Transfiguration Church. The parish now is mostly Chinese, with members who speak Mandarin or Cantonese.
“This is the mother parish of the Chinese community,” said Father Andrew Tsui, a concelebrant at the Mass.
Father Tsui grew up in the parish, so the feast for him was a homecoming. He was ordained in June and became the first American-born Chinese priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn. He is now parochial vicar at St. Bartholomew Parish in Elmhurst, Queens.
“So, a lot of us come back, even if we’re from different parts of the country, just for this event,” Father Tsui said. “It really is a family event because it’s an honor of our Blessed Mother.”
Yang Sciscent of Manhattan is a catechist for the parish. She has missed not having the feast and procession for the Assumption of Mary during the pandemic.
“This procession is not only our sincere faith,” she said. “We want to share her with the community around our church because we believe God teaches us to love our neighbors.
“So we share this woman. And she is always there on our behalf. We can be certain about that.”
On Tuesday, August 16, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, met with recently arrived migrant families and then held a media briefing addressing the recent influx of migrants to New York City. This is that press conference in full.
By Fredrick Nzwili
NAIROBI, Kenya ( CNS) — Some Catholic leaders have joined the Coptic Orthodox Church in mourning the 41 people — including 18 children — who died in a fire in Egypt’s capital, Cairo.
According to news reports, at least 5,000 Coptic Christians were preparing for the morning liturgy Aug. 14 at the Martyr Abu Sefein Church in Imbaba, a suburban area of the city, when the fire started. The deaths resulted from an ensuing stampede and smoke inhalation.
Eyewitnesses said of some screaming worshippers jumped out of windows, as the fire spread to higher floors of the church building. Church officials said the blaze was caused by a short circuit in the air conditioner, but The Associated Press reported that witnesses also pointed to a faulty generator.
“We have received the news of the deaths in the Orthodox Church with much shock,” Bishop Noel Seyoum Fransua of Hossana, Ethiopia, told Catholic News Service. “I wish to express my condolences to the Orthodox Church in Egypt. We really feel sorry about the sad occurrence.”
Cardinal Souraphiel Berhaneyesus, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia, offered “my sincerest sympathies on the behalf of the Ethiopian Catholic Church and myself. … “I assure you (of) our prayers to your church, the deceased and wish a full and speedy recovery to those who were injured.”
In Germany late Aug. 14, Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops’ conference, said his prayers and thoughts were with the victims, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA.
“A place where there should be blessing became a fiery hell,” he said. “Words fail us in view of the high number of fatalities. I grieve with the Coptic Church in Egypt and in our country.”
Although Egypt is 90% Muslim, at least 10 million people are Coptic Orthodox.
Coptic Orthodox Father Joseph Mutie, general secretary of the Organization of African Instituted Churches, based in Nairobi, also expressed condolences.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has directed military engineers to take over the reconstruction and renovation of the church.