Diocese of Brooklyn School’s New Wellness Center Tackles ‘Pandemic Burnout’ With Holistic Approach

By Jessica Easthope

For third graders at Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy in Astoria, Queens – it’s their first time seeing and touching a yoga mat. In their brand new wellness center they’re going to soon learn how a yoga mat can keep them healthy.

The 30-thousand-dollar facility, paid for by the Diocese of Brooklyn and donations, will be for more than just yoga. The school is rolling out programs on faith formation, healthy cooking, nutrition and even had one on dental hygiene.

“She came and she was talking about how you should brush your teeth two times a day for two minutes,” said 8-year-old Ian Klingman.

Over the last nearly two years, studies have shown kids are feeling the effects of the pandemic. Hospitals have seen more mental health emergencies among kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics found emergency room visits for children in a mental health crisis rose by 24 percent for kids ages five to 11 and 31 percent for kids ages 12 to 17.

“Using this room for relaxation, bringing in kids to relieve stress, a lot of kids are under a lot of stress and we can offer these kids activities to help relieve that stress,” said principal Brother Joseph Rocco.

The best part – it’s not just for students, teachers and even parents can participate in wellness programs too.

“If we want our children to be well educated and well informed we need the parents to be part of that and there are many issues parents would like to have knowledge and clarification on so they can help their children,” said Brother Joseph.

Their feet can’t reach the floor, but Brother Joseph says knowing how to be healthy is the first step to reaching their full potential.

“I like how we get to learn new stuff and important things to keep you healthy and make your parents happy,” Ian said.

The center was created to be a place where kids can find their center and stay well – mind, body and spirit.

Currents News Special Edition: The Eighth Bishop of Brooklyn

He’s the newly installed eighth Bishop of Brooklyn and it’s a homecoming for Bishop Robert J. Brennan.

Where the bishop attended primary school, his call to the priesthood and his journey back to the big apple.

From lighting the tree at Grand Army plaza, to enjoying a dazzling Christmas concert at the new Emmaus Center, we’re taking a look at Bishop Brennan’s first days in Brooklyn and Queens.

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday, 12/23/21

Two COVID pills are now available to the public. One from Pfizer and the other from Merck, are meant to be taken by sick people at home, before they reach the point of hospitalization.

One priest in the Philippines stood his ground to deliver Mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, saying “even if there’s a typhoon, faith continues.”

As you get ready for your holiday celebrations, it’s always important to remember the real reason for the season. And the Vatican is reminding you, in more than 100 different ways.

The ‘Reason for the Season’ Comes to Life Through the Vatican’s 100 Art Displays of the Nativity

Currents News Staff

This year’s Nativity display in the Vatican comes from Peru, and is capturing the attention of pilgrims traveling to Rome from around the word. But it’s not the only Nativity display in St. Peter’s Square.

There are more than a hundred others under its colonnade as part of a special exhibit organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization: 100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican. The exhibit shows unique Nativity displays from 15 countries, such as Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela. Each one represents a different culture and a distinct way of celebrating Christmas.

“These 15 countries wanted to represent the Nativity as it is done in their culture, in their own tradition,” said Father Ivan Ricupero from the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization. “They are Nativity displays of varying natures, made from different materials, very particular and some are very precious.”

They come in all shapes and sizes: from occupying the front of a bus, to fitting inside a coffee pot. The Vatican firefighters submitted a Nativity scene inside of a fire extinguisher, while another is made entirely of dark chocolate.

There is even a section dedicated to Nativity displays made by children.

“When someone asks us and we tell them that these are not all made from, let’s say professionals or by artists, they are truly shocked and amazed, by the beauty and by the message they manage to convey,” said Father Ivan.

Over 45,000 people have already visited the exhibit, which aims to be a source of hope at Christmas during another year marked by the pandemic.

“This is just a small way of helping to sustain, accompany, and maybe why not even revive, the faith of many brothers and sisters who in the face of the difficulties we are experiencing have a wavering faith,” said Father Ivan.

Each display has its own story and is a unique testament to the spirit of the season, adding over one hundred reasons that Christmas in the Vatican is like nowhere else.

NYC Officials Say City Will Not Shut Down as Pfizer and Merck COVID-19 Pills Get FDA Approval

By Jessica Easthope

Endless lines at testing sites have people fed up and the trend isn’t just at New York’s CityMD – it’s national.

President Joe Biden, in an interview with ABC News, again responding to suggestions that his administration failed to anticipate the need for more tests.

“No I don’t think it’s a failure, I think you could argue that we should’ve known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago,” he said.

But in the new year people could be able to treat COVID-19 at home – two pills now have the green light from the FDA: Pfizer and Merck.

“I’ve purchased several million already. I think it’ll be a matter of weeks to a month to get the pills,” President Biden said.

Both pills are recommended to treat mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 at home but Merck only narrowly passed through FDA approval. Data shows it cuts the risk of hospitalization by 30 percent among high risk adults – lower than earlier testing that showed that number could be up to 50 percent.

As for Pfizer, the Biden administration is indicating that 250,000 treatment courses will be available starting in January, the first of 10 million courses purchased.

And in South Africa where the Omicron variant was first detected, one of the country’s top researchers says they’ve passed the peak of their Omicron outbreak and are now seeing a rapid decline me in cases.

In the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci also pointed to new data on the severity of Omicron.

“It appears that in the context of South Africa there is a decrease in the severity compared to delta,” Dr. Fauci said.

Fauci says more research is needed to know if that could end up being the case in the U.S. but here in New York City officials are keeping up confidence. Mayor Bill de Blasio reminded New Yorkers about the severity of the issue.

“I want to be really clear with everyone, it’s going to be a tough few weeks, but it will only be a few weeks. Omicron has come on real fast but it will be over soon. I am adamant and I’ve had this conversation with Mayor-Elect Adams and I know he feels the same way, we are not shutting down, we are not falling back, we are going to fight our way through this,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Mayor de Blasio says Monday starts the most aggressive vaccine mandate for private sector employees in the country. He says that is what will see the city through this rampant spike.

FDA Authorizes First Pill to Treat COVID

Currents News Staff

Big news coming from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Wednesday, Dec. 23 with the authorization of the first antiviral pill for COVID patients.

Omicron has taken over the past two weeks, and now accounts for 90-percent of new cases in several regions of the U.S. The FDA granted Pfizer’s new antiviral pill – Paxlovid – emergency use authorization.

“Folks that took paxlovid early, within three days of symptom onset, had a 90% reduction in hospitalization or death compared to those that took the placebo,” said Professor of Medicine and Surgery at George Washington University, Dr. Jonathan Reiner. “So this is a very, very potent agent.”

One problem? The highly-effective treatment has to be administered within the first five days of symptoms, making hard-to-come-by tests all the more important, even as retailers like Walgreens and CVS limit the number of tests customers can buy at once in the face of sky-high demand.

Meanwhile, the now-dominant, highly contagious Omicron variant – first detected in the U.S. just weeks ago – is helping drive new COVID-19 case numbers back up to levels last seen three months ago in the midst of the Delta surge.

New infections are jumping more than 20 percent over last week with nearly 70,000 people hospitalized with the virus.

“I’m pretty worried that the surge that we’re going to see in the coming weeks is going to be worse than the surge that we saw last winter said Emergency Medicine Physician Dr. Richina Bicette-Mccain.

COVID deaths are rising 11 percent over last week as the CDC reports COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020 and life expectancy dropped by nearly two years.

Despite the spike in cases, holiday travelers do not seem deterred, with the TSA screening around 2 million or more people a day for the past six days.

The CDC director is reminding holiday travelers to stay safe.

“How safe your holiday is is about how safe you are in the time leading up to the holiday,” said Director Of The US Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

As Israel considers rolling out a fourth dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for medical workers, the immunocompromised and people over 60, U.S. health officials say, they will follow the science.

“Right now we feel confident if you have a booster that you have a high level of protection against overall infection,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, “particularly against hospitalization and death, the most severe outcomes of COVID.”

Meanwhile – after the United Kingdom reduced the required isolation period for vaccinated people who test negative twice for COVID from 10 days to seven, new debate arose over whether the U.S. should follow suit.

“We’re actively examining those data now,” said Dr. Rochelle, “and doing some modeling analyses to assess that. And we anticipate that we’ll have some updates soon.”

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 12/22/21

A former city worker living a NYCHA nightmare. Charles Hertzog was a repairman for the New York City Housing Authority for decades – he says the protocols he once helped keep in place are not being met.

Two years into the pandemic and most Americans are still not sure when and how to get tested, how long to quarantine if they are vaccinated, or where to get take home tests.

Ahead of Christmas, Pope Francis is pleading with political leaders across Europe to protect migrants and refugees. The plea comes as 160 people drowned in the stretch of sea between Libya and Lampedusa.

Brothers Battle NYCHA Over Neglect and Decade of Damage Inside Red Hook Houses Apartment

By Jessica Easthope

Eric Hertzog is fighting for his family. That’s because the place they call home is falling apart, but he’s alone in that battle.

“I had to do something to reach out to them, I tried to reach out to them, they didn’t have any gas or electricity they gave them hot plates, for months, I had to do something about it, I had to intervene and help them,” said Eric.

Eric’s three brothers live together in a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartment inside the Red Hook Houses. Mold, mildew and crumbling paint plague the $1,700-dollar-a-month apartment where the men have lived for close to 20 years. Eric said he was told by someone who works for NYCHA there’s lead paint in the apartment.

“They said the work was completed and they never even showed up and that really ticked me off,” he said.

After trying to expose the issues in the apartment, NYCHA sent someone out to do repairs even though close to 100 work order tickets were ignored over a period of years. Eric said all they did was a patch job – painting over the mold instead of removing it.

Eric says his brother Charles, who was a NYCHA repairman himself for 25 years, has been having cognitive issues because of the conditions inside the apartment. According to the CDC, prolonged exposure to mold can cause memory loss, confusion and trouble concentrating.

“Coming in here, seeing my brother having difficulty breathing, being disoriented, coming in seeing the conditions of the apartment, the mold, the asbestos, the mildew, the living conditions are horrible,” Eric said.

Eric is trying to have his brothers moved to another building but he says NYCHA suggested a dangerous area of Brooklyn far from family and their doctors – but he’s not giving up.

“I give myself to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ and that’s where I get my faith and I hope something can be done immediately,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Currents News reached out to NYCHA about all of the Hertzog’s issues, but our requests were not answered. At the time of airing – there was an UPDATE from NYCHA: “NYCHA staff is en route to this apartment to assess what repairs are needed and will schedule accordingly. We ask that all residents continue to use the MyNychaApp or call the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 to create a work order ticket for any maintenance needs.”

Life After Being Kidnapped in Haiti: Oregon Missionary Returns Home

Currents News Staff

Seventeen American and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti are now free. Some were released and others made a daring escape. One man who got away from the gang is from about 100 miles outside Portland, Oregon and now — he’s finally home.

“It was with great joy and deep thankfulness to God that I confirm that all seventeen staff members of Christian Aid Ministries who were held hostage in Haiti by the 400 Mawozo Gang are free,” said David Troyer, General Director of the organization.

Angela Rhodes is running her store with a lot more ease knowing Austin Smucker, one of the kidnapped missionaries, is home.

“She texted me first thing and told me that they were, that they were out,” Angela said.

Angela opened up “Penelope’s Soap and Such” last February and sells homemade candles from her friend Laura Smucker. When she found out Laura’s 27 year old son Austin was kidnapped in Haiti, it didn’t seem real.

“All these simple things that you think about when you go out of the country,” she said, “and then it’s like one day, and she tells me that he’d been taken, and I’m like, ‘What? And we were worried about antibiotics?'”

News spread about Austin, and people from all over the country started donating money and buying Laura’s candles.

But Austin’s safety was always the main focus.

“She’d just come,” Angela said, “and, and I’d say, ‘What’s happening?’ And she goes either, ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘I can’t talk to you about any of it because it just puts their life in, in danger if I say a word.'”

Austin and the other Christian Aid Ministry Members were initially captured on Oct. 16 when a violent Haitian gang surrounded them at a road block.

After two months in captivity, the group slipped out the door, put the three young children on their back, and hiked nearly 10 miles using just a landmark and the moonlight to find their way. The group discussed escaping several times, but Austin never felt like it was the right moment. On the day they finally escaped, it was Austin who gave the group the okay.

“And he’s like, ‘Nope, I think we should go,” Angela said, “and they just walked out.'”

She says Austin lost 20 pounds while being held hostage, but something else in him changed as well.

“And then something that stuck out to me was probably at the beginning of this,” she said, “he was not in a leadership position cause he was just a kid, and there was older people, but um, he was in the end because they listened to him.”

Bishop Brennan Celebrates Mass at Brooklyn Church with Historical Family Ties

Currents News Staff

Brooklyn’s Bishop Robert Brennan just made a special visit to his own father’s parish growing up.

The parishioners of St. Brigid’s Church in Bushwick greeted the bishop with music and homemade signs. Bishop Brennan was feeling as if they were family, even though it has been decades since his father and grandparents attended Mass there.

The bishop made time to celebrate two Masses there and blessed newly renovated confessionals in the back of the church.