Woman Brutally Attacked Heading to Service at Greek Orthodox Church

Police are still searching for a man who brutally attacked a woman outside a Greek Orthodox Church in Queens.

As you can see from this surveillance video, the man followed the woman who was heading to a Sunday service at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Briarwood.

As she walks up the stairs, he knocks her to the ground.

The NYPD said he then stole her purse and drove away in the victim’s car.

Father Konstantinos Kalogridis, the head pastor at St. Demetrios, told Currents News that he questioned what kind of person could carry out this kind of attack.

The pastor also said the police regularly patrol the church.

He is still asking parishioners to be extra alert of their surroundings.

Corps Will Drum Up Crowd’s Devotion at the Diocesan Eucharistic Revival

By Jessica Easthope

Quiet mornings are rare in Flushing, Queens, but even more so now as the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Eucharistic Revival is just days away. The St. Michael’s Church Drum Corps is practicing tirelessly.

“We’re nervous but we’re excited also, we just do the best,” said corps leader Christy Lin. “We can do our best.”

Their steps are delicate, but their beat is powerful. Lin leads the all-woman team, and behind her march the faces of Flushing, young and old.

“We think God liked that so we want to try to do better,” Lin said.

These women drum with a confidence that can’t be taught. It comes from Christ, because deep down they’re nervous to showcase their chops at a stadium performance in front of up to 10,000 people.

They only started playing two years ago.

But experience is outpaced by raw talent and deep faith. While Christy sets the tempo upfront, Susan Pan is in the back, a spot reserved for the strongest drummers.

“Just like the Bible says, the elephants, the younger ones are in the middle and the older ones around them for protection, and I’m in the back to protect the team,” Pan said.

The drum corps makes noise for God. St. Michael’s pastor, Father Vincentius Do, is excited to hear it ring through the streets as they process to the Eucharistic Revival on Apr. 20.

“We will wake the whole neighborhood up and we will walk there joyfully to give glory to God and to know our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament so I’m very excited about it,” Father Do said.

The women are shattering stereotypes with every hit of their drumsticks and their pounding is prayer.

“I want us to work together, but for all the women on this team, I’m so happy to be their leader and that we can do something,” Lin said. “It’s because of God that we’re together.”

“It’s very empowering to see these faithful women, they did it because of their faith,” Father Do said. “For them it’s not just performing, it’s praying and giving glory to God.”

Their culture keeps them steady and faith guides their hands.

But it’s the Eucharist that drives them forward.

“The bread, our culture and the Bible tells us, that’s the hope and the prayer, it is Christ,” Pan said.

The revival will be on Apr. 20. There’s still time to reserve your seat — just sign up at your local parish.

For more information, just go online to dioceseofbrooklyn.org.

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 4/11/2024

A migrant in Manhattan is on a mission. She’s volunteering with Catholic Charities of New York to help other new arrivals. Her impact is felt by guiding them through the complicated subway system and finding legal representation.

A woman was viciously attacked and mugged outside a Greek Orthodox Church in Queens on Sunday. We have an update on her condition. Meanwhile, the suspect is still on the loose.

U.S. bishops are on a campaign to inspire Catholics to get closer to Christ in the Eucharist, and the Bishop of Brooklyn, Robert Brennan, is helping in that Eucharistic revival.

The drumline at St. Michael’s Church in Flushing will perform at the Diocese of Brooklyn Eucharistic Revival! The celebration will take place on April 20.

Bishops Take Part in Social Media Trend, Gaining More Than 7000 Views

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a bishop? Well, two Minnesota prelates are giving you an inside look.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul in Minneapolis and Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston participated in the online trend of discussing everyday experiences among a certain group.

The reel has more than 7,000 views. You can find it on their diocese’s Instagram page.

Diocese of Brooklyn’s Eucharistic Revival: A Preview Unveiled in This Week’s Tablet

The Diocese of Brooklyn is preparing for its Eucharistic Revival, which you can read about in this week’s Tablet newspaper.

Learn everything, from the preparations at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows Park to the culturally diverse choir set to perform and the thousands of pilgrims, including Bishop Robert Brennan, who will make the pilgrimage on the Subway via the 7 train to get there.

St. Luke School Times Newspaper Makes a Comeback

By Jessica Easthope

Luciano Amoroso, a fourth grader at St. Luke’s School in Whitestone, delivers the weather report to his classmates daily. It’s how they know whether or not recess will be outside.

“I watch the news every morning,” Amoroso said. “I get out of bed, I go on the couch, get the remote, and I hear the weather, the traffic, everything you need to know.”

Recently, Amoroso and around 20 other students explored their journalistic talents in a more official capacity by publishing articles, illustrations, and photos in their school newspaper.

The Saint Luke’s School Times newspaper is back up and running for the first time since COVID, and Principal Jan Brunswick said the students couldn’t be more passionate about the project.

“I sent out an interest form and was overwhelmed and thought we can put out multiple issues a year and give everyone a turn and have students play different roles,” Brunswick said.

The newspaper has a little bit of everything: sports, pieces on parish life, popular culture, and current events. The students come up with the ideas themselves, gather their elements, and, like professional journalists, they’re their own worst critics.

“I wrote about parish life and the choir,” Amoroso said. “There are some things I wish I would have included in there, but I didn’t. A little disappointed, but I feel like I wrote enough. I did a good one-page.”

Others find the paper, which comes out once a trimester, quite impressive.

“It was just fascinating seeing some of the kids in second and third grade, like I said, ‘You’re going to do it on a Google doc?” said Anthony Rau, a teacher at St. Luke’s and the paper’s moderator. You’re going to email it to me.’ And they did without their parents, and they just kind of looked at what they wrote.”

Rau said the students are learning how important it is to have an unbiased source of information and make their voices heard.

“If it’s important to you, it’s news, basically, and that’s kind of what I think we’re focusing on [with] them because they are so little and having them have that freedom to look at, you know, well, this is what really happened,” Rau said.

Through the Elizabeth Ann Seton Grant, the school has been able to outsource the formatting and printing of the paper. The grant even paid for a new camera to take pictures.

The next edition of the St. Luke School Times is set to hit classrooms around Memorial Day, just in time for the May crowning.

Experts Say Going Meatless Outside of Lent Could Help the Environment

by Katie Vasquez

Fridays during Lent are a time for Catholics to give up meat, a recognition of Christ’s sacrifice for us all.

But once upon a time, people of faith would follow meatless Fridays all year round.

“When I was very young, it was, that was the rule. You did not eat meat on Fridays, not just during lent, but throughout the year,” said Tom Hinchen, a parishioner at St. Andrew the Apostle Church.

It’s a practice that hasn’t been official in the church for almost 60 years,

but St Andrew the Apostle parishioner, Tom Hinchen still follows the fast.

As a member of the Metro New York Catholic climate movement, he, along with fellow member Rosa Waldron believes if more Catholics continued to not eat meat on Friday, they can get closer to God and God’s creation.

“It’s important to me because I care for the earth,” said Hinchen “and it’s also important to me because, Pope Francis came up with the encyclical, Laudato Si, and he’s leading us in deepening our care for the earth and showing us ways that we can do that.”

“I would say that it would be great for it to be instituted again, but in a way that people are brought back in touch with how holistic our faith is,” said Rosa Waldron, a parishioner at Our Lady of Refuge church.

In fact, statistics show that if all 73 and half million Catholics globally gave up meat once a week throughout the year, it could make a deep impact on the environment.

It could save more than 20 and a half trillion liters of water which is the same as 8 million olympic swimming pools.

It could also cut back on the gas equivalent of 7 million cars.

“Cattle produce a lot of methane. It goes into the atmosphere. it’s just very negative,” said Hinchen.

Rosa says even if a dozen people make the sacrifice, it could create a change that will help our planet

“Just like our faith started with 12, you know, virtually 12 people. and it ended up over the millennia, millions of people,” said Waldron.

And Tom’s advice for those looking to start?

“A little bit at a time I think that’s very good advice like a meatless Friday or meatless Monday.”

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 4/10/2024

Students at St Luke’s School in Whitestone are keeping their peers updated on everything happening in their school and beyond, thanks to the school newspaper, which is back up and running for the first time since COVID.

There’s a special blessing for the participants of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress. Pope Francis has graciously granted plenary indulgences, a testament to the significance of your participation.

Even though Lent is over, many Catholics still don’t eat meat on Fridays. That decision could help the environment.

A couple of bishops are having a little fun on social media. They’re getting in on the TikTok “Of Course” trend, where you highlight something about yourself and mention a situation you encounter daily.

Catholic School Employee Dedicated to the Job Honored For Years of Service

By Katie Vasquez

When you call Good Shepherd Catholic Academy, Marie Delgaizo is the voice on the other end. She started as an administrative assistant at the Catholic school in 1992.

“You know, we start a day with prayer, we end the day with prayer and all that happens in between,” Delgaizo said. “It’s just a big part of how I live my life as well.”

“I wasn’t looking for anything big time,” Delgaizo said. “I worked on Wall Street from high school to about seven years. Then, I started a family. And then from there, I was, you know, stay-home, mom, luckily. And then it was time, you know, midlife area, and yeah, it’s time to go back.”

Now, it’s been three decades of watching students grow up like Emerson Raimundi, an 8th grader at the school.

“Every family needs a sturdy foundation, and for us, that’s Marie,” Raimundi said. “She’s an amazing secretary. And even through the most difficult situations, she’s been there for us through thick and thin.”

That’s why the school principal decided to surprise Delgaizo on her 75th birthday.

“She had no idea what was happening, and she was completely overwhelmed, a little nervous at first, I think,” Timothy Dillon, Principal of Good Shepherd Catholic Academy, said. “But, you know, just to see the amount of love that everyone here has for her.”

The singing wasn’t the only surprise. A statue of Jesus with the image of the Divine Mercy was dedicated to the hard worker. A gift that she hopes others will find the same comfort in.

“Not that I am drawing attention, but I hope those who see me stop there that maybe will just take a look at the statue and just offer up a word to Jesus.”

She has no plans to retire anytime soon.

“I just have the drive and. And being around here and the young kids, you’re forever young,” said Delgaizo.

For more than 30 years, one woman has helped shape young Catholics in Marine Park. Marie
Delgaizo, or as she’s usually known, “Miss Marie,” has been the face of the main office at Good Shepherd Catholic Academy.

Two Catholic Food Pantries Team Up to Fight Hunger, Inspired by Currents News Report

By Katie Vasquez

The line to the Father Felix Varela Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen in Corona wraps through the parking lot and down the block. People wait as early as 7 am for the doors to open at 3 pm. It’s a demand that Our Lady of Sorrows Pastor Father Manuel Rodriguez says can sometimes be overwhelming.

“People here, they need food. And the number of asylum seekers, refugees, and new immigrants is growing every day, every day,” said Father Manuel Rodriguez, Pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows. “So, you see more people coming, more people in need of food.”

The church opened the food pantry in September 2023 and quickly began feeding dozens of people weekly at the soup kitchen and every month at the food pantry. But more was needed for the growing lines.

Luckily, this report on Currents News caught the eye of Sister Caroline Tweedy at St. John’s Bread and Life.

“We were watching Currents News one night, and we saw this piece that Currents did on, you know, Our Lady of Sorrows and the fact that they were really reaching out into the community to serve the newly arrived and especially the people in the community itself who were struggling,” Sister Caroline said. “And we said, ‘You know, this is what we do every day. How can we partner with them to make a difference?'”

Bread and Life started supplying more food to the Queen’s Pantry, giving enough to feed 300 more people and enabling the pantry to open its doors for a second day every month.

“To me, it was a sign from God,” said Father Rodriguez. “Sister Caroline and the team, her amazing team at St. John’s Bread and Life, they became aware about the goodness, you know, of this initiative, actually through our wonderful media connection with our currents and DeSales.”

Sister Caroline and Father Rodriguez believe the pantry can have a more significant effect on the Corona community.

“I think that this helps not only the actual families who receive the actual food, but it helps everyone because when people are hungry in a community, bad things happen. Crime rates skyrocket, people get agitated, more violent violence takes place.”

“Our hope is that we can continue to make that grow so that there’s less of a reliance on the parish community itself. And the parish then can take their resources and grow the parish.”

They will keep helping those in need, one bag at a time.

For more information on how to help or donate to the Father Felix Varela Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen at Our Lady of Sorrows in Corona, go to OLSChurch-Corona.org.