Colorado Supermarket Shooting Victims Remembered by Friends and Family

By Jessica Easthope

Against the backdrop of the picturesque Colorado mountains, tragedy struck. Ten people, their ages spanning from 20 to 65, were killed while working and shopping at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder.

If you were to walk into the grocery store, Rikki Olds would be one of the first people you’d see as the front-end manager.

“She was giggly and bubbly,” said her aunt Lori, “you couldn’t be sad around her.”

Rikki was gunned-down alongside two of her co-workers, King Soopers employees’ Teri Leiker and the youngest victim, 20-year-old Denny Stong.

“I kind of stepped outside, saw someone shooting,” said Logan Smith, one of Denny’s friends, “ran back inside, more shooting when I got back inside.”

Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51, was killed. He was one of the first members of law enforcement to get to the store where Tralona Bartkowiak was shopping. Tralona managed a local yoga and accessories store. She was recently engaged.

“She was just always a caring, giving, wonderful person,” said friend Tricia Hunter. “I’m just devastated.”

Kevin Mahoney was described as a dad to everyone. Yet, no one was more devastated by his passing than his own daughter, Erika, who took to Twitter to express her heartache, writing “my dad represents all things love.”

Families and friends are in mourning over a senseless act of violence. Now their loved ones live on in the memories.

NYC Data Shows Big Difference in Zip Code and Racial Vaccination Rates as Officials Work to Fix It

By Emily Drooby

People are waiting in lines for one of the country’s most precious commodities: a COVID-19 vaccine. However, vaccine distribution rates haven’t been equal.

“The vaccination rate among the Black community is still lagging,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a March 24 press conference, “the vaccination rate among the Hispanic community is still lagging.”

Twenty-eight percent of the Asian community and 26 percent of the Caucasian community have been vaccinated. That’s compared to the 15 percent of the Latino community and 14 percent of the Black community who have received their shots.

Location has also been a place where discrepancies show.

City data shows that in Manhattan, 34 percent of people have received at least one shot. But that number drops down to only 23 percent in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

The difference is stark on the northeastern side of Manhattan. In historically low-income areas, like central and east Harlem, only 12 to 15 percent are fully vaccinated. However, just 30 blocks south in the Upper East Side, those numbers jump from 26 to 31 percent.

One reason is the difficulty when it comes to scheduling an appointment. Dr. Shani Andre is the chief medical officer of The Floating Hospital, a nonprofit that provides free healthcare to those in need.

“Those that may be working from home and have the ability to spend 30 minutes every morning at 7 a.m. trying to get an appointment,” Dr. Andre said, “It’s a lot different than someone who is working in the service industry where they need to be out the door at 6 a.m. and at work at 7 and don’t have time to do that.”

Dr. Andre said adding weekend and off-hour slots at vaccinations sites helps address this issue. She also says education is crucial.

The Floating Hospital has been helping seniors get the shot. They’ve also focused their vaccine and education efforts.

“To target those populations that are either public housing, homeless or either limited English proficiency,” Dr. Andre said, “we make sure that we are offering first to those communities.”

The city is trying to address the discrepancies too, announcing community pop-up vaccination sites.

“This is why we opened in so many NYCHA Centers, churches, houses of prayer, and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, with the people from the Bronx,” said Dr. Ramon Tallaj, board chairman for SOMOS Community Care. His organization provides medical services to those in underserved communities.

Dr. Ramon was on hand as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the “Roll Up Your Sleeve” campaign. The campaign, which will launch in April, allows houses of worship to sign up to host pop-up vaccine sites. The idea for the pop-up sites is that people will be more receptive to receiving the vaccine if they feel they’re more comfortable in their own community and churches.

In order for more people to feel comfortable, SOMOS Community Care is also pushing for the state to allow community doctors with the authorization to give out vaccine shots.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 3/24/21

Pope Francis names a prominent abuse survivor and whistleblower to a Vatican panel to protect children.

The very latest on the mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado – the shooter is set to make his first court appearance.

Remembering the victims: an in-depth look at those who were killed during the attack – including a police officer described as a Catholic of strong faith.

Immigrants Continue to Support Family Back Home Despite Financial Struggles During Pandemic

By Jessica Easthope

The pandemic, financial struggles and unemployment haven’t stopped Central and South American immigrants from sending money back home.

Every year, more than 270 million migrants living and working abroad send money back to their home countries according to the United Nations.

But as the pandemic, financial struggles and unemployment consumed New York City’s undocumented population, the Wall Street Journal reported the amount of money sent back to Central and South America has surged. The question is, how?

“I try to control it here,” said Juan Sarmiento. “We don’t buy anything extra so we can send something.”

Juan is an example of how families here are putting their own financial pain on the backburner in order to support their loved ones back home.

“They need it more than us,” Juan said, “because in those countries, there are poor people. In the mountains, they live off of what they get on the farm.”

Juan kept his job with a pest control company throughout the pandemic, but with rising food and utility prices, his family had to do without – in order to send money home to Ecuador. He had to send money to family members who take care of his mom. His mother also had a stroke, nearly two years ago.

“She needs attention like 24 hours a day,” Juan said. “She lost her voice. She can’t speak anymore. I see her on camera and sometimes it makes me cry, but the main thing is my family.”

But there is a flipside to this coin.

“The family depends on my money,” said Luzceli Bravo. “And with me not working, there’s no money for my family. It’s terrible. The conEdison bill, no jobs. The bills aren’t waiting. I have to pay.”

Luzceli says she used to send up to $500 a month back to her sister and parents in Mexico. But since work as a cleaning lady during the pandemic is scarce, most months – all she can afford is $15. She says her teenage daughter here is the priority, but the stress and guilt are unimaginable.

“Food and the internet,” Luzceli said. “The internet is very important because the school is closed for one year and my daughter is home, eating lunch at home. Nothing is the same.”

Father Nestor Martinez at Queen of Angels Church in Sunnyside, Queens, hears stories like Luzceli’s all the time.

“Here in the parish, especially in confession, we hear a lot about that,” Father Nestor said. “They’re trying to support their family here and their family back in their country. But it’s very hard, especially at this time during the pandemic because many people lost their jobs.”

And the priest can relate because he’s supporting his parents back in Colombia. Father Nestor says for Latin American immigrants, sending money home is closely tied to their faith.

“Latin America is very Catholic,” he said, “and we have a very deep mentality of honoring and supporting our parents.”

In spite of the hardship that the pandemic has put on immigrants here in the states, Latin American families are determined to not let it reach home.

Pope Francis Adds Prominent Clergy Sex Abuse Survivor to Pontifical Commission

By John Lavenburg and Currents News Staff

HARTFORD, CONN. — On Wednesday, March 24, Pope Francis appointed a prominent clergy abuse survivor and advocate to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Chilean Juan Carlos Cruz joins 15 previous commission members whose terms were all renewed for one year.

Cruz was instrumental in uncovering the case of Fernando Karadima, an influential priest in his home country who was found guilty in 2011 of sexually abusing minors in a canonical process conducted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Though not mentioned in the release, sources confirmed to The Tablet that Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston and U.S. Msgr. Robert Oliver would retain their roles as president and secretary of the commission, respectively. The commission was formed in 2014.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, Cruz said he is “very grateful to Pope Francis for trusting me with this appointment. I deeply appreciate it. This renews my commitment to continue working to end the scourge of abuse and for so many survivors who still do not have justice.”

Cruz was first proposed for the commission back in 2014. It was later discovered that two Chilean cardinals — Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago and his predecessor, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz — conspired to block his appointment.

A gay man, Cruz was also outspoken last week against a March 15 Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith document that restated the church’s stance against the blessing of same-sex couples.

In a column for the Chilean publication La Tercera last week, he called the statement “dismal.”

He added, “I will never allow them to tell me that I do not belong to something in which I believe, where a merciful God lives and where we all fit.”

Joining Currents News to discuss what this appointment could mean for the Church is John Allen Jr. from Crux.

Getting the COVID Vaccine Can Help Prevent New Variants, Catholic Doctor Says

By Emily Drooby

During Spring Break in Florida, there were people partying in the streets. Traveling has increased at airports.

“These people that are not following the instructions are hurting you,” said Internal Medicine and Viral Specialist Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. “If they get infected, they are going to create variants that are going to spread.”

Variants are already showing up across the country. Variants like P1, the highly contagious variant first found in Brazil, is now in Brooklyn.

That’s just one of several variants the Centers for Disease Control has labeled concerning along with B.1.427 and B.1.429 – which were first found in California. Variant B.1.351 is known as the South Africa variant and B.1.1.7, which was first spotted in the U.K., is now spreading rapidly all over.

These variants have been popping up across the U.S. as the country scrambles to vaccinate as many people as possible.

“This is a moving target,” said Dr. Robert Tiballi, infectious disease specialist with The Catholic Medical Association. “The genes will keep on reasserting and mutating and so the vaccines will have varying degrees of effectiveness against the variants.”

More than 40 million Americans have been fully vaccinated – that’s about 13 percent of the population. As far as success when it comes to the vaccine fighting the variant – it depends.

“If you’ve had a MessangerRN vaccine, Pfizer, Moderna, its effective against the British variant, but against the South African variant, and against the California variant, and against the Brazillian variant, not so much,” explained, Dr. Tiballi.

He says, so far, it looks like when it comes to the variants, the mRNA vaccines maintain a high degree of effectiveness. The non- mRNA vaccines, like Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, have a substantial decrease in protection when it comes to the variants.

However, he still strongly advocates for the shot.

“We do want to recommend strongly that people get vaccinated and not let this news about variants paralyze you about getting a vaccination,” said Dr. Tiballi. “It’s in your best interest.”

He explained that it’s a good way to fight against future variants.

“If we could get everyone vaccinated as soon as possible, we would see the reservoir of circulating infection drop dramatically,” Dr. Tiballi said, “and that would conversely drop the number of variants we would be seeing emerge in our country.”

Testing is still being done to determine the exact ways different variants affect different vaccines.

Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson have all announced they’re working on additional modifications for future vaccines to better cover the emerging variants. In the future, booster shots could address these prevalent variants.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 3/23/21

The suspect is identified in the deadly mass shooting in Colorado.

Governor Andrew Cuomo still has no plans to resign despite growing scandals.

New video and pictures show the dire situation along the southern border.

A milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic – when New York City wants to have employees back to working in-person.

Despite Misconduct Allegations, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Maintains Support of Some NY Voters

By Emily Drooby

Lawmakers believe the impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo could take months. This comes after eight women accused him of sexual harassment.

The New York governor lost support of top politicians like Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. However, polls show that so far, he’s managed to hold onto the support of the public.

“The majority of New Yorkers say, ‘we don’t want you to run for re-election Gov. Cuomo, but there’s no need at the moment for you to resign,’” said Steve Greenberg, who conducted the poll for Siena College.

According to Siena College’s March poll numbers, 35 percent of people said he should resign, while 50 percent said he should not. However, 52 percent said as of right now, they wouldn’t vote for him in 2022.

In a recent Quinnipiac Poll, the numbers were a bit closer. Similarly, 43 percent want the governor to resign but 49 percent said they want him to stay in office. Thirty-six percent said Gov. Cuomo should be impeached.

Steve says these numbers could change as more information about the allegations and investigations come to light.

“A poll is nothing more than a snapshot in time,” Steve said, “and events have changed and what people know has changed, and therefore their opinion may change.”

In a March press conference, Gov. Cuomo said he was relying heavily on the public’s support saying he wouldn’t resign because he was elected by the people and not by politicians.

New York City Rolls Out Vaccines for Homeless in Shelters and on the Streets

By Jessica Easthope

The homeless population takes on many risks during the pandemic: eating, sleeping and cooking outside in the bitter cold – just to name a few.

“Homelessness is on the brink of becoming a pandemic itself,” said Rev. Terry Troia the president of Project Hospitality.

According to the latest data from the Department of Homeless Services, more than 53,000 people sleep in New York City’s shelters every day. Nearly 90 percent of them are black and Hispanic, which are the communities that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Rev. Terry Troia advocates for them and the street homeless that live in encampments. During the pandemic, Project Hospitality was the only church-based shelter network in the city to stay open.

“This past year we have seen an unprecedented number of homeless people hunker down in encampments,” Rev. Terry said. “People who were forced out very early because of losing their job during COVID or being forced out of their room because they didn’t have the money to pay.”

Homeless people across New York City have been eligible for COVID-19 vaccines for several weeks. So far, the city has administered more than 7,500 vaccines to Social and Homeless Services clients. The city has been using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“It’s a risk factor,” Rev. Terry said, explaining the reason for the vaccine choice. “People don’t exactly have a post office box or an address for where they live in the streets, but the most important thing is to get people vaccinated so they don’t get so sick. That one shot is the solution for people who might not make it back a second time.”

Rev. Terry says the recent explosion of homelessness in New York City can be turned around if everyone does their part, especially during the season of Lent.

“Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the three pillars of our spiritual life in this Lenten journey,” she said. “Almsgiving is giving money, or giving your talent or your service to the poor, that’s all it is. If our lives revolved around those three pillars every day, not just 40 days, we would be a more holy and healthy world.”

The city has been vaccinating people in the shelters where they live and working with its Street Medicine program to vaccinate people living outdoors. Project Hospitality will make the Johnson & Johnson vaccine available to its residents in shelters starting next week.

Mass Shooting at Colorado Grocery Store Leaves 10 Dead

Currents News Staff

Ten people were killed in a Boulder, Colorado supermarket March 22. It is now the seventh mass shooting in the U.S. this week.

Among the victims yesterday, Boulder police officer, 51-year-old Eric Talley, who rushed to the scene to help.

“We know of 10 fatalities at the scene, including one of our Boulder PD officers by the name of Eric Talley, whose been on the Boulder police department since 2010,” said Chief Maris Herold.

The terrifying scene was captured on video as the event unfolded.

“I just looked at my son and I told him we have three seconds, stay low and don’t look and just move fast,” said Sarah Moonshadow.

Others describe how shoppers helped each other get to safety.

“The employees in the back of the house didn’t know what was going on and we told them there was a shooter, and they told us where the exit was,” said Ryan Borowski.

Police say a 21-year-old man taken into custody and is in stable condition. The suspect was charged with 10 counts of murder and the investigation into the shooting will take at least five days.