Catholic News Headlines for Thursday, 1/27/22

It’s a sad day for the city as New Yorkers say goodbye to slain NYPD Officer Jason Rivera. His wake is today at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.

One of President Biden’s campaign promises was to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court if he got the opportunity to do so. Now that Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring — he’ll get the chance.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Pope Francis wants us to raise awareness among young people about the holocaust.

We’re beginning a new series here on Currents News called “Pulse of the Parish” where we highlight people in the Diocese of Brooklyn who are helping communities — and their parishes thrive.

Back to School: Justice Amy Coney Barrett Visits Her Catholic Elementary School

Currents News Staff

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett went back to visit the Catholic elementary school she attended. Justice Barrett spoke to the students at Catherine of Siena Elementary School in Metarie Louisiana where she graduated in 1986.

She told students her Catholic education helped her develop a passion for reading and served as a launching pad for her becoming a lawyer and judge. Her advice to the students? Study very hard, work hard and dream.

Here’s Why You Might Want to Warm-Up Your At-Home COVID Tests

Currents News Staff

The COVID rapid test kits are shipped in a bag surrounded by two thin layers of bubble wrap, not likely meant to keep it warm.

The test kit, like similar brands, is supposed to be stored between 36 and 86 degrees. It also states not to freeze it.

Health officials say the tests will be fine if they’re sitting in a frigid mailbox for a few hours, but some manufacturers warn that any extended time spent in extreme cold or heat – could affect the test results.

If you can’t get to it right away, one brand recommends you arrange for someone else to retrieve it as soon as possible.

“I would certainly say before you use it, make sure nothing froze or cracked and things like that.”

There is liquid in the test kit. And while manufacturers have not indicated if it will freeze, they do want people to let the kit warm up to room temperature before use.

If you’re worried about constantly checking your mailbox for the package – check your inbox first. Tracking numbers have been sent to the email addresses attached to orders letting people know when they should arrive.

New York’s Mask Mandate Remains In Effect While Governor Hochul Pursues an Appeal

Currents News Staff

New York’s mask mandate is back in effect. An appeals court judge restored the mandate on Tuesday, a day after a lower court judge ruled that Gov. Kathy Hochul lacked the authority to order people to wear face coverings.

The mandate will remain in place while the governor’s administration pursues an appeal. Meanwhile, the Diocese of Brooklyn schools want the mask mandate as an option.

Schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn have spoken out against the mandate. In a letter written by the Office of the Superintendent, they had hoped Gov. Hochul’s mandate would be eliminated and that they can make masks in class optional.

The Catholic schools have said they will be following the state mandate.

Police Officer Jason Rivera’s Wake Attended by Thousands at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

By Jessica Easthope

Thousands of police officers from all over the city and people who both knew Officer Jason Rivera and who didn’t, came to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to say a final goodbye to the 22-year-old fallen officer; a young man who set out to dedicate his life to serving and protecting the people of this city and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Kenny Altidor paid his respects the only way he knows how.

The artist has been painting fallen heroes for more than a decade. He painted a picture of Officer Jason Rivera in the hope of getting inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Thursday, to give it to his grieving widow and family.

“I want the world to know this guy’s a hero,” Altidor said. “To see if this can bring some comfort to the family, the NYPD and the community as well.”

And he succeeded, but not before having as many police officers as he could sign the back with messages they never got to say to Officer Rivera.

Officers lined up to write their messages to Officer Rivera and his family, even high-ranking officials like Police Benevolent Association President, Pat Lynch, who said in the wake of his death, “Please join us to mourn Police Officer Jason Rivera as if he was your own flesh and blood. It can’t just be us. The streets can’t just be full of NYC police officers at this funeral. The public has to come. The public has to send a message.”

Rivera was killed in the line of duty last Friday while responding to a domestic dispute between a mother and son one block from the 32nd Precinct where he started his life of service just eight months ago. But, Thursday he was given a sendoff by members of the NYPD who called him their brother in blue and by the Guardian Angels who say Rivera was a hero.

“What happened should have never happened to those two officers, we just want to pay our respects to the family and the NYPD. It’s just tragic, very sad,” said Guardian Angels Patrol Director Benjamin Garcia.

Officer Rivera’s funeral will also be held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Friday. Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell are expected to speak. Cardinal Timothy Dolan will celebrate Mass.

President Biden’s Possible Justice Picks Are Likely to Keep Campaign Promise of First Black Woman

Currents News Staff

A Supreme Court pick can be a president’s most lasting legacy. Justices can serve for decades. Their decisions can last for generations. Former President Trump solidified a Conservative majority with his three court picks.

“I have long been told that the most important decision a president can make is the appointment of a Supreme Court justice,” Trump said.

For Breyer’s spot, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is seen as the frontrunner.

A former Supreme Court clerk for Breyer, she was vetted recently by Biden and his team and confirmed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the seat left vacant by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The circuit is seen as a feeder for the High Court and the move was meant to groom her for a justice position if a vacancy came open.

“When you become a judge, you take an oath to look only at the law in deciding your cases,” said Justice Jackson. “That you set aside your personal views about the circumstances, the defendants or anything else.”

A close second choice is California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger – a former acting deputy solicitor general in the Obama administration, she argued a dozen cases before the court. While she has not been thoroughly vetted by the administration, she once clerked for the late Justice John Paul Stevens.

“I think we tend to forget when we’re in the outside world that really conversations about these very difficult cases are confined to a very small number of people,” said Justice Kruger.

Other names circulating: Minnesota District Court Judge Mimi Wright; Outgoing NAACP Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Iffil; Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Eunice Lee; Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi and J. Michelle Childs, a South Carolina judge who’s been pushed by House Majority Whip James Clyburn.

“I have a high regard and sincere appreciation for our legal system, which is the form of order in our court, in our democracy,” said Judge Childs.

During the 2020 campaign, Clyburn gave Biden the endorsement he needed to help boost his floundering candidacy after Biden promised to appoint a black woman.

“This country is at an inflection point. It is time to restore this country’s dignity,” said Rep. Clyburn.

The eventual nominee will likely face a daunting confirmation process: Breyer told several people who nudged him to retire the confirmation process shouldn’t be political.

“If the public sees judges as politicians in robes, its confidence in the courts and in the rule of law itself can only diminish,” said Justice Breyer.

Wth the 2022 midterms looming, senate Republicans have already raised the stakes around Justice Breyer’s retirement, with five GOP lawmakers saying they would likely oppose any nominee out of this White House if they take the majority in November.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 1/26/22

The Holy Father is hoping to use the power of prayer, declaring this a day of prayer for Ukraine.

Schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn are now getting the resources they say is needed to keep students safe in the classroom.

Pope Francis, known for his usual greeting of the crowds during his general audiences, stayed seated Wednesday. The pontiff is suffering from an inflamed ligament in his knee.

Rail Theft on the Rise: Union Pacific Blames New District Attorney

Currents News Staff

In Downtown Los Angeles, packages are being stolen from trains and trash on the tracks is the aftermath.

“What the hell is going on?” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “I mean, looks like a Third World country.”

Union Pacific blames in large part, LA’s new-ish, woke-ish district attorney elected in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and flanked, for his one year anniversary presser, by progressive DA’s from around the country.

“We have set a path for ourselves to turn around the criminal legal system in this country,” said District Attorney George Gascon.

Gascon has ordered his deputy DA’s: no under-18s charged as adults; no more ‘three strikes’; and in many cases: do not even prosecute most misdemeanors like trespassing; and don’t seek more prison time if guns or gangs are involved all, he says, to make the system…

“More humane, more equitable,” Gascon said.

But Union Pacific is now actually asking the DA to rethink his reforms because of this: they claim more than more than 100 arrests have been made, but apparently not one prosecution.

“They have not presented 100 cases, ok,” Gascon said.

Gascon is also taking heat after a spate of smash and grab robberies before Christmas.

“Whether it’s fair or not to point the finger at him, the finger is being pointed,” said Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson.

Gascon is also taking heat for some headline-making murders: a well-loved Beverly Hills philanthropist shot dead in her home, a 70-year-old nurse murdered at a bus stop and a young clerk stabbed to death in a furniture store.

The DA easily survived on recall attempt last year, but now faces another.

“He has abandoned all of us victims, in favor of criminals,” said mother of the victim Desiree Andrade.

The union that represents Gascon’s own deputy DA’s is suing him.

“Yes it is rare,” said Vice President of The Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County, Eric Siddall.

Claiming the directives ‘are not merely radical, but plainly unlawful.’

“He has created this environment where there’s no accountability,” said Siddall. “Criminals are arrested and within 24 hours they’re back on the street committing crime.”

Professor Levenson says they need new directives.

“I don’t think we have the statistics to show how these new directives are really impacting what’s happening on the streets of L. A.,” she said.

Latest stats from the sheriff show robbery, burglary and arson have actually fallen since Gascon took office.But like many places, murder is way up. The sheriff calls Gascon’s tenure ‘god awful’.

“I can say it’s been an absolute disaster for the community. It’s been a disaster for public safety,” said LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

Gascon’s response: “My dad used to say that when you wrestle with a pig, you both get muddy and the pig likes it.”

For now, Gascon’s reforms roll on.

“If at some point the voters decide this is not the direction they wanna go and they wanna go in a different direction: that’s what a democracy is all about,” he said.

Gascon just wrote back to Union Pacific about all those stolen packages, passing the buck back to them.

“UP does little to secure or lock trains,” he wrote.

Union Pacific says it started reporting the increase in robberies around November of 2020 and just last Thursday, California Governor Newsom announced a multi-agency push to clean up the tracks as well as a planned state effort to combat the robberies.

Church Observes Day Of Prayer For Peace In Ukraine

By Currents News Staff and Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On the day Pope Francis established as a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine, the pope appealed for an end to all war and prayed that dialogue, the common good and reconciliation would prevail.

“Let us ask the Lord to grant that the country may grow in the spirit of brotherhood, and that all hurts, fears and divisions will be overcome,” he said at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI audience hall Jan. 26.

“May the prayers and supplications that today rise up to heaven touch the minds and hearts of world leaders, so that dialogue may prevail and the common good be placed ahead of partisan interests,” he said.

With rising tensions in the region and the threat of a possible Russian-Ukrainian conflict spreading, Pope Francis had set Jan. 26 as a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine.

With the day coinciding with his weekly audience, the pope asked people to pray throughout the day.

“Let us make our prayer for peace in the words of the Our Father, for it is the prayer of sons and daughters to the one Father, the prayer that makes us brothers and sisters, the prayer of children who plead for reconciliation and concord,” he said.

The pope said that as people remember the Holocaust on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, also “think about the more than 5 million people who were annihilated (in Ukraine) during the time of the last war. They are a suffering people, they suffered famine, they suffered so much cruelty and they deserve peace.”

Russia annexed Crimea in early 2014 and, shortly afterward, Russian-backed separatists began fighting Ukrainian government forces in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Some 1.5 million people have fled the region to other parts of Ukraine and thousands of civilians and soldiers have died or been injured.

While in the spring of 2021 Russia was accused by many Western nations of trying to provoke more active fighting by holding military exercises near the border, a massive Russian buildup of troops just over the border created alarm in early December. The buildup has continued and, late Jan. 22, Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office released a statement saying it had evidence that Russia was developing plans to install a pro-Russian government in Ukraine.

Diocese of Brooklyn Students Given Take Home COVID-19 Tests by City and State

By Jessica Easthope

Boxes of take-home rapid COVID-19 tests are the first and only assistance Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy has ever gotten from the city or state.

“It’s just our continued effort to slow the spread of COVID it’s just another preventative strategy to make sure our children are safe,” said principal Kelly Wolf.

Students took home the tests this week – parents say they opened their backpacks and found relief.

“It saves money, we’ve had to buy tests at CVS for ourselves and it’s not cheap and we’ve done a lot of testing over these years,” said Robert Dohn.

“Tests are expensive and they’re hard to find and if your child isn’t feeling well it’s hard to get to the store so it’s a great resource we now have the tool at home,” Lisa Scalfani said.

But not all parents say more testing is the answer. Jennifer Careri says she’s happy Catholic schools are finally being given what DOE students are – but thinks that it’s up to parents to be responsible.

“If my kids are sick or have a cold I’m quick to keep them home, bring them to the doctors, double check everything so I feel like bottom line if your kids are sick, keep them home,” she said.

A sentiment echoed by educators who are still working to keep cases under control –

“You know your children best and when the symptoms aren’t there they can return to school,” Wolf said.

During the course of the pandemic, for public schools, supplies have been at the ready. Meanwhile, Our Lady of Grace had to completely replace fundraising with PPE in the school budget and rely on private donations for wipes, sanitizer and cleaning supplies. Councilman Robert Holden fought to make a change.

“How can you offer tests to one population and not the other, you have to offer it to everyone if you want to stop the pandemic,” he said.

And now teachers say this is one more way to prevent students from falling behind.

“If you were out for a week or two weeks it was really hard to recover from that and that was constantly happening with the kids and now we have something where we can get them back as soon as possible,” said 8^th grade teacher Michele Cirelli.

Diocese of Brooklyn students are able to use these to “test back in” when there’s an outbreak at school. Schools were given a supply from the state and city so they can restock as needed.