Thanks to a charity called, the Gift of Chess, a young girl who just arrived in the U.S. from Colombia last year is now a nationally ranked player.
New York City has come up with a new pilot program to deal with the migrant crisis.
The highest court in the land is considering a case involving herring fishermen that may have an impact on certain religious liberty cases.
Pope Francis has penned a letter– addressed to “My Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel.”
A special look at Catholic Schools Week in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
The students from the Canarsie school put faith behind their lessons and on Thursday, Feb. 1, they had a lesson in faith from the saints.
Students at Our Lady of Trust spoke about the holy men and women at their saints fair.
They studied the lives of a saint of their choice and presented what they learned to their classmates.
Be sure to stay with Currents News and The Tablet for continuing coverage of Catholic Schools Week.
If you’re interested in sending your children to catholic school, just visit catholicschoolsbq.org or call 718-965-7380 for more information.
A new study is showing the power of faith. According to a survey from the Pew Research Center, 70% of American “nones,“ that’s people with no religious affiliation, still believe in God or a higher power.
This comes as the number of “nuns,” meaning religious sisters, is dropping across the country. According to a projection from the U.S. bishops’ conference, the amount of religious men and women in the U.S. will drop over 50% in the next decade.
National Correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, John Lavenburg, breaks down the numbers and what they all mean.
We’re bringing you stories from across the Diocese of Brooklyn, showing how they not only excel in helping students academically, but in growing their faith.
Bishop Robert Brennan as he took part in a science experiment at Our Lady of Trust.
The robotics team at Holy Savior Menard Central High School in Louisiana is helping a puppy get around.
There’s a new survey out that says about 70 % of American adults who describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, or NONES, still believe in God.
From a lesson in history to an experiment in the science lab.
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan took part in a STEM lesson at Our Lady of Trust in Canarsie, making rock candy from scratch.
The younger students showed the bishop their artistic side, performing faith-based songs for him.
The school ended the day with sports and games in the gym.
Be sure to stay with Currents News and The Tablet for continuing coverage of Catholic Schools Week.
If you’re interested in sending your children to catholic school, just visit catholicschoolsbq.org or call 718-965-7380 for more information.
This week some Catholic schools aren’t just looking to the future; they’re honoring their past.
Auxiliary Bishop James Massa traveled back in time Wednesday with help from students from Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Bayside.
It was all part of their 100th anniversary celebration.
Each grade dressed up as a different decade, learning about the important events happening at that time.
Bishop Massa says those lessons are helping the kids get some perspective.
Alumni also recently visited to talk to students about the school’s history.
Be sure to stay with Currents News and The Tablet for continuing coverage of Catholic Schools Week.
If you’re interested in sending your children to catholic school, just visit catholicschoolsbq.org or call 718-965-7380 for more information.
It’s a church in Brooklyn that attracts attention because of its size and beauty.
But if you walk through the doors at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, you’ll notice the outside doesn’t even compare to what’s inside.
“Wow. I can’t believe this beautiful gem exists here. I feel like I’m in Rome,” said Father Christopher Heanue, rector of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. “I feel like I’m in Europe and that’s the feeling that I love to see when people walk into this church for the first time, this awe.”
The Prospect Heights parish was founded in 1851. The original church, which ministered to an Irish congregation, is a far cry from the grand building that replaced it in 1912.
But over the years, the church fell into disrepair. One of the bell towers even collapsed.
So about a hundred years after it was dedicated, the rapidly deteriorating church was restored and named a co-cathedral.
“Recognizing the needs of the diocese, the needs of a location where we can gather large audiences, large congregations. So for this church, which was on the verge of absolute ruin and destruction, the option was clear, we either tear down the church or we restore it to its beauty,” Father Heanue said.
And that beauty shines through the stained glass windows that depict the life of Joseph, and the images above of our Blessed Mother.
The sacred artwork shows the various cultures in the diocese, so every parishioner whether they speak English, Spanish, or even Creole, can see their own mother in Mary.
And those parishioners travel from all over just to attend Mass here.
“They keep coming back because they love this parish, they love assisting here, they love praying here,” Father Heanue said.
Take Nancy Cardinale, for example.
“Nancy is a parishioner that attends every daily Mass — like the USPS, come rain or shine, sleet or snow or hail,” Father Heanue said. “She is here and she really, for me, is inspiring in that regard in her faith.”
But Cardinale doesn’t just attend Mass, she sets up for it, every morning.
“I gotta do my things here,” Cardinale said. “I gotta clean up over there. I gotta fix the flowers over here, these flowers don’t look right I have to make them straight and I started to do that and nobody said anything to me. I said: ‘You know they need a woman’s touch in here, you know, to do all those things.’”
Cardinale even chimes in during Mass to ring the bells. It’s a job she doesn’t take lightly and one she always shows up for.
The significance of the bells during Mass, Father Heanue said, is they’re an important aspect of the consecration, in that they elevate us and help to center us, to recognize this core tenet of our faith, that the bread and wine are becoming the body and blood of Christ.
“I have to come to church every day because I had so many things in my life that Jesus was always there for me when I prayed,” Cardinale said. “He always gives me an answer.”
Her faith is something she never questions and that rings true every morning when she sits in this pew.
“I just feel it’s a blessing because I want to,” Cardinale said. “I just want to give so much thanks and praise to God that I just, every morning in my prayers, I say get me to the house of St. Joe’s where I can ring the bells to heaven.”
And now you know Nancy Cardinale from the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, and how she makes up the Pulse of the Parish.
By Jessica Easthope
Think of all of the insignificant sounds of an elementary school classroom. Normally they fade into the background, but for Jaxon and Jace Hili, they’re amplified.
In September Jaxon started 4th grade and Jace 2nd grade with their new hearing aids. at first it was impossible to drone out the noise –
“The first day I got them it was hard,” Jaxon said. “I wasn’t used to them, and when you’re not used to them you can feel a little nauseous. Jace didn’t feel nauseous but I felt nauseous when I was wearing them.”
“Sometimes it’s really loud but then I go like this [adjusts earpiece] and that makes the hearing aids normal,” Jace said.
“If the person behind you might be whispering or if someone’s clicking a pen, all of those sounds are magnified and that can be very distracting especially for a child who has always heard a lot of things,” said Maura Hili, Jaxon and Jace’s mother.
Maura, is the Home Academy Association President and a lunch mom at St. Francis of Assisi.
The year that it took from the time they were diagnosed with progressive hearing loss to when the aids finally touched their ears was a battle.
“Catching it later on sometimes I think to myself like that mom guilt what was I thinking,” Muara said. “How did I not know to pursue this further?”
But this year Jaxon, Jace, and Maura have a lot less to worry about because their teachers wear a microphone bluetooth connected to their hearing aids.
Melissa D’angelo, Jace’s teacher says at first he was resistant to the device and it took them both a little while to learn, but that’s when she put her teaching aside and relied on her faith.
“I would try and do things that would make him feel special and be fun,” D’angelo said. “I would whisper something to make sure he had it on, I know that he wants to learn he has that in him,” D’angelo said. However, I can help to do that. Sure I could have had an easier time not using it but it’s made me become a better teacher and a better person.”
Maura says all of their teachers go above and beyond for her boys.
Principal Elizabeth Reilly is new to her role, but came in making sure the Hilis would be supported in and out of the classroom, no student was getting left behind on her watch.
“Every teacher is on board, even last year when they didn’t have the diagnosis knowing the teachers, I know, they did what they needed even if it wasn’t formally on paper because that’s just the kind of faculty that we have,” Reilly said.
“I’ve changed formats of classrooms and I’ve changed personnel in classrooms to accommodate the needs. We fought for more services for her children. You know it’s very rewarding but to know the Healy family is to love them, and it would be impossible not to fight for them.”
Since getting used to their hearing aids and the microphones, Jaxon and Jace’s performance and participation have improved dramatically.
Maura can’t believe at one point she thought she might have to pull the boys out of Catholic school.
“I could take my children elsewhere where they might get an extra service,” Maura said. “Everyone’s going to learn how to read and write, add and subtract, but what else are we gonna learn? Are we gonna learn how to be kind? Are we gonna learn how to love others in ourselves and that’s hard stuff to teach? I think we get that here.”
But she knows now this is where they’re meant to be. Maura said not only do the teachers at St. Francis of Assisi use the devices happily to help her boys. They charge and maintain them and pass them back and forth seamlessly every single day.
Be sure to stay with Currents News and The Tablet for continuing coverage of Catholic Schools Week.
If you’re interested in sending your children to catholic school, just visit catholicschoolsbq.org or call 718-965-7380 for more information.
We’ll show you how one school in Queens goes above and beyond to help students with hearing loss thrive.
They’re traveling through time at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Bayside to celebrate the school’s 100 years.
While we’re shining a light on Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
In tonight’s Pulse of the Parish, we’ll meet the woman who rings, what she calls, the bells to heaven, every morning during Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.