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The Mercy House Serves Women and Families in the Archdiocese of Newark

By Jessica Easthope

Every walk of life finds compassion here at the Mercy House.  There are three in the Archdiocese of Newark, the Newark location serves 100 people a day.

“God was like. Oh, if you think you’re only helping women that is not what you’re doing here. We don’t just help women, we help children, families, anyone that needed help,” said founder Cheryl Riley.

Riley who serves as the director of the Archdiocese’s Respect Life Office and the Mercy House started out, she thought she’d only be helping pregnant women who were contemplating abortion but chose life instead, women who made the decision she was too afraid to make 40 years ago.

“They gave me, like, a paper receipt. And I remember just thinking, like, years later, like I received a receipt that day in exchange for my baby’s life. My fear was greater than my faith,” she said.

On May 30, 1985 a 19-year-old Cheryl ended the life of her unborn child. What followed was years of unimaginable pain.

“After my abortion, I didn’t even want to live. That’s how bad the pain was,” Riley said.

Through her faith and Rachel’s Vineyard, an organization offering retreats for women who have had abortions, Cheryl found peace.

“On Rachel’s Vineyard, we asked God to reveal the sex of the baby. I didn’t even have to think about it. The name Christina came to me. And that’s what really helps you heal is when you put a name, it’s your child,” Riley said.

Out of her healing came a new life. Cheryl married and had three children, started the Mercy House and made a promise to God to do his work, helping mothers and anyone who needed her.

” I want to see my baby. When I die, hopefully I’m going to be able to see her. And I know I’m not going to be able to do that unless I make it right here,” said Riley.

Cheryl thinks of all the things Christina never got to do, so this is how she honors her every day.

TONIGHT AT 7: An Inside Look at How the Mercy House Serves Mothers, Community in Need

By Currents News

The Mercy House supports and shelters some of New Jersey’s most in need. It all began when founder Cheryl Riley opened her doors to women who chose life, giving out food, clothing, and baby supplies.

Today the doors are open to all and Cheryl says if it wasn’t for her own healing the Mercy House wouldn’t exist.

 

Bishop Robert Brennan: At March For Life, We Give Witness to the Value of Human Life

By Currents News

Bishop Robert Brennan will be leading a group of parishioners from the Diocese of Brooklyn in the March for Life, and joins Currents News before he leaves for Washington D.C. 

While it’s a march Bishop Brennan attends every January, it’s a year and a new presidential administration that will bring some differences to the experience. 

Donald Trump is president again and Roe v. Wade has been overturned, leaving the issue up to individual states.

New York is perhaps the most pro-abortion state, where the procedure is now enshrined in the state constitution. Bishop Brennan offers New Yorkers advice on how to continue to fight for life in advance of the march.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 1/21/2025

Pro-abortion advocates can sometimes include doctors and hospitals. Meet a couple from Queens, New York, who don’t regret going against doctor’s orders and choosing life for their daughter.

On day one of his second term, President Donald Trump hit the ground running, signing dozens of executive orders shortly after being sworn in. It’s captured the attention of Pope Francis.

A Diocese of Brooklyn priest was among those praying for the Trump presidency and the nation at the inauguration. Learn how he struck up an unlikely friendship with the Commander in Chief.

Queens Parents Chose Life for Daughter Despite Doctors Orders

By Katie Vasquez

In 1996, Laura Vasquez learned she was pregnant.

It was a moment of joy for her and her husband, Andrew Rios. 

“To me, carrying life was God’s gift. I saw it as God’s gift,” Laura, a parishioner at St. Helen’s Church in Howard Beach, Queens, tells Currents News about that day. “I just broke down in tears,” adds Andrew while reflecting on the memories.

Laura says she had a difficult pregnancy filled with multiple hospital stays. At one point, she and her husband had a chilling discussion with doctors. 

“I remember hearing the word ‘terminate,’ and I said, ‘Excuse me. What do you mean by ‘terminate,'” she explains. 

“It took all of about 30 seconds to decide. You know, that’s not an option for us,” says Andrew. 

The parishioners at St. Helen’s leaned on their faith, and viewed their daughter Isabella as a miracle child when she was born.

Days later, doctors noticed some issues. 

“‘Her eyes are rolling up. We want to do a CAT scan of her brain and so on,'” doctors told Andrew at the time.

It took two years of tests to get Isabella’s diagnosis, a rare genetic disorder called Cornelia-DeLange syndrome.

“Failure to thrive is one of the conditions, delayed in walking, delayed and talking,” says Laura, “sshe checked the boxes for all those milestones.” 

Isabella is now 28 years old and has defied the odds.

She loves to dance and do puzzles, just like anyone her age. 

“Isabella has a love for life. She loves to go out. She loves to shop,” Andrew says of his daughter.

And although she has limitations, her parents say they always knew God wouldn’t give them more than they could handle. 

“The phone rings and she video calls and says ‘Hi, daddy,’the best part of my day,” Andrew tells Currents News.

“I always say, ‘God, I know what you wanted,. You gave me this child because you know my resilience and you know that, no matter what, I am going to do everything that I can just to make her live a sound, a sound life,” says Laura,

The Catholic couple is happy that they chose life, because they now have the light of their lives. 

Meet the 90-Year-Old Tailor Styling Vice President JD Vance

By Currents News

An Ohio master tailor is living the American dream now that he’s dressed Vice President JD Vance for Jan. 20’s presidential inauguration ceremony.

In the sewing room of a custom men’s clothing store that bares his name, 90-year-old Romualdo Pelle, an immigrant from Italy, reflects on his life’s work in fashion saying, “it’s my life I guess, my way to express myself.”

Despite his age he doesn’t need glasses to thread a needle, and doesn’t need to put on airs either. “Are you kidding me? A hillbilly from Italy with a small town for maybe 15,000 people,” he says when asked if he every dreamed of tailoring suits for a U.S. vice president. “No, I would never dream of that.”

He’s been sewing since he was nine yeas old, having learned the skill from a godfather before he immigrated to the states in 1960. His career as spanned more than history, and now includes some notable customers from Vance to Neil Armstrong.

Vice President Vance has now been seen around the globe in Pelle’s handiwork, and the order he placed for the inauguration weekend includes eight shirts, six ties, four suits, three belts, two overcoats and two pairs of gloves. The store’s co-owner Chris Berre says Vance has been a loyal customer of theirs since he first stepped into politics and won a Senate seat.

“The fact that he’s taking time to find a small business in what is now his hometown and supporting a small business in the story like Romulo has, it’s surreal,” he tells Currents News.

Vice President Vance even hand-wrote a note to the tailor that reads “For Romualdo, with admiration for tour hard work and dedication. Pelle says there’s been “so much sacrifice” to get to this point, but with sacrifice comes honor: he’s outfitting the vice president of the United States.

 

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 1/17/2025

While firefighters in California are making progress in putting out the flames, students at Brooklyn’s St. Ephrem Catholic Academy are doing their part to help the wildfire victims.
On Jan. 20, President-elect Donald Trump will take the Oath of Office for the second time, and preparations for the indoor inauguration are in full swing in Washington, D.C.
The Diocese of Brooklyn is the place if you want to live in the Big Apple: Brooklyn and Queens communities are dominating StreetEasy’s “Ten New York City Neighborhoods To Watch” report.

Open Doors International Releases Latest Report on Christian Persecution

By Currents News

According to the 2025 world watch list by the organization Open Doors International, the top five countries where Christians face persecution for their faith are:

  • North Korea
  •  Somalia
  • Yemen
  • Libya
  • Sudan

It is similar to the 2024 list but Yemen rose from the fifth to the third spot, Libya decreased from third to fourth, and Sudan was added to the top five. Here to talk more about this report and what it means for Christians around the globe is the national correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, John Lavenburg.

St. Ephrem Catholic Academy Raises Funds for California Wildfire Victims

By Jessica Easthope

They may be far away, but students here at St. Ephrem Catholic Academy are sending more than prayers to Los Angeles, and making their own efforts towards supporting community recovery initiatives.

There wasn’t a uniform in sight Jan. 17 as students and faculty at the Dyker Heights, Brooklyn school prayed for those who lost everything in the deadly Los Angeles area fires. 

The students donated two dollars each to “dress down,” and the school’s principal Michael Phillips is hoping to send around $400 to California. 

“I kept watching videos of everybody that was losing their belongings, losing their livelihood, their childhood homes, some even perishing and losing their lives. And I said, ‘we have to do something,’” he explains. “We have to show our students that our community transcends more than just the Dyker Heights, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst area, that it also transcends 3000 miles away.”

They’re not just dressing down, but students’ families have also donated clothing, shoes, and canned food in an effort to do their part from the East Coast. 

Among the students collecting dress down money from their classmates were the Riches siblings, Thomas and Abigail, whose father is an FDNY captain.

“Hopefully, the firefighters at least help [fix] the destruction that was caused by what happened. And I’m hoping everyone’s okay,” Thomas tells Currents News. “I hope California is fine. The wildfires are gone, and everyone gets a home eventually.”

“I hope that all the wildfires are gone because all the firefighters are working a lot and I feel bad,” adds Abigail.

St. Ephrem will be making their donation through Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens. They expect to drop off the money and donations in the following week, where it will soon make its way to California.