Push Towards a COVID-19 Vaccine Continues in the U.S.

Currents News

It’s been called the “light at the end of the tunnel”: a potential vaccine for COVID-19 and the race to the finish line is ramping up.

Nov. 30 is when White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx says she hopes to brief projected winner Joe Biden’s administration on America’s response to the pandemic.

It’ll be critical for moving forward.

“We’ve spent that last nine months really developing sophisticated databases that are bringing together information from across the country down to the county level,” said Deborah. “We can see who’s being admitted, we can see who’s getting sick, we can see where this virus is moving in communities.”

On Dec.1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee On Vaccines will hold an emergency meeting.

Rick Bright, a Biden COVID-19 advisory board member, says it’s a good sign.

“They will have further discussions on how to prioritize that vaccine primarily because we know that the vaccine will be available in very limited doses,” said Rick.

On Dec. 10, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccine Advisory Committee will consider Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use authorization. The FDA says approval could take days or even weeks. Some experts say, at the earliest, vaccinations for those deemed priority could begin by Dec. 12 or 13.

By the end of the year, health experts say there should be enough doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for 20 million people.

Pope Francis Creates 13 New Cardinals, Names Wilton Gregory Historic First African American Cardinal

By Jessica Easthope and Cindy Wooden

One by one 11 senior churchmen, including two U.S. citizens — Cardinals Wilton D. Gregory of Washington and Silvano M. Tomasi, a former Vatican diplomat — knelt before Pope Francis to receive their red hats, a cardinal’s ring and a scroll formally declaring their new status and assigning them a “titular” church in Rome.

But with the consistory Nov. 28 occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis actually created 13 new cardinals.

Cardinals Jose F. Advincula of Capiz, Philippines, and Cornelius Sim, apostolic vicar of Brunei, did not attend the consistory because of COVID-19 travel restrictions; however, they are officially cardinals and will receive their birettas and rings at a later date, the Vatican said.

In his homily at the prayer service, Pope Francis told the new cardinals that “the scarlet of a cardinal’s robes, which is the color of blood, can, for a worldly spirit, become the color of a secular ’eminence,’” the traditional title of respect for a cardinal.

If that happens, he said, “you will no longer be a pastor close to your people. You will think of yourself only as ‘His Eminence.’ If you feel that, you are off the path.”

For the cardinals, the pope said, the red must symbolize a wholehearted following of Jesus, who willingly gave his life on the cross to save humanity.

The Gospel reading at the service, Mark 10:32-45, included the account of James and John asking Jesus for special honors. “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left,” they said. But Jesus reproaches them.

“We, too, pope and cardinals, must always see ourselves reflected in this word of truth,” Pope Francis said. “It is a sharpened sword; it cuts, it proves painful, but it also heals, liberates and converts us.”

According to canon law, cardinals are created when their names are made public “in the presence of the College of Cardinals.” While many Rome-based cardinals attended the consistory, more members of the college were “present” online.

The pandemic also meant the gathering was unusually small; each cardinal was accompanied by a priest-secretary and could invite a handful of guests, so there were only about 100 people in the congregation at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Also missing were the “courtesy visits,” a reception lasting several hours in the early evening when the general public was invited into the Vatican to greet the new cardinals.

In addition to some Rome-based cardinals, the congregation at the consistory included the pastors or rectors of the 13 Rome churches to which the new cardinals were associated. Cardinals are given a “titular” church in Rome, formally making them members of the Rome diocesan clergy, which is what the church’s first cardinals were.

In fact, the formula for the creation of cardinals, recited in Latin by Pope Francis, says, “It chiefly concerns the church of Rome, but it also affects the entire ecclesial community: We will call certain of our brethren to enter the College of Cardinals, so that they may be united to the Chair of Peter by a closer bond to our apostolic ministry.”

Cardinal Gregory’s titular church is Immaculate Conception parish on the ancient Via Flaminia in the Grottarossa neighborhood of northern Rome. The church was built in 1935 and became a titular church for cardinals in 1985.

Cardinal Tomasi’s titular church is the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Prison, a 12th-century church with a 16th-century facade built on the site of an earlier church that was constructed over the ruins of an ancient temple.

Mexican Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, retired bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico, told Vatican News Nov. 27 that the new cardinals are called to reconfirm their commitment to making Christ the center of their lives and “to collaborate with the pope in his ministry as bishop of Rome, and so we are assigned a parish in this city, as a sign of communion between that community and the one who presides over this local church, which is the pope.”

Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, was the first mentioned by the pope Oct. 25 when he announced he was creating new cardinals. As such, it fell to Cardinal Grech to address the pope on behalf of the new cardinals.

“Convoked in consistory at such a serious time for all humanity because of the pandemic, we want to turn our thoughts to all our brothers and sisters enduring hardship,” the cardinal said. He prayed that people would react to the pandemic as an “opportunity to rethink our lifestyles, our relationships, the organization of our societies and, especially, the meaning of our lives.”

Cardinal Grech also led the others in the recitation of the Creed and of an oath of fidelity and obedience to Christ and his church and to Pope Francis and his successors.

The new cardinals came from eight countries: Italy, Malta, the United States, Brunei, the Philippines, Mexico, Rwanda and Chile.

Cardinal Gregory, like the other new cardinals coming from outside Europe, was tested for COVID-19 before flying to Rome and again upon arrival. Even after testing negative, he and the others were required to quarantine for 10 days and were tested again immediately before the consistory. Cardinal Gregory stayed at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lives, and his meals were left outside his door.

In an interview with Catholic News Service, the cardinal said he hopes Pope Francis will find him to be “supportive, encouraging and trustworthy” in his role as a cardinal, but his primary ministry is still to be the archbishop of Washington.

Of course, he said, he regrets that “my two sisters are not here, and the many people I know and love from Chicago and Belleville (Illinois) and Atlanta and Washington,” who were watching the livestream instead.

One of Cardinal Tomasi’s guests was the pastor of his boyhood parish, San Rocco in Casoni di Mussolente, a town of fewer than 8,000 people in northern Italy. In the past 80 years, the cardinal told CNS, the parish has produced more than 100 priests and religious sisters, “and now also a cardinal. I hope it will help to continue the flourishing of vocations from the parish.”

With the consistory the College of Cardinals now has 229 members, 128 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to enter a conclave to elect a new pope. Pope Francis has given the red hat to 57% of electors.

With Cardinals Gregory and Tomasi, who was born in Italy but is a U.S. citizen, the number of U.S. cardinals rose to 16; nine of them are cardinal electors.

Entering the college Nov. 28 were Cardinals:

— Grech, 63.

— Marcello Semeraro, an Italian who is prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, 72.

— Antoine Kambanda of Kigali, Rwanda, 62.

— Gregory, 72.

— Advincula, 68.

— Celestino Aos Braco of Santiago, Chile, 75.

— Sim, 69.

— Paolo Lojudice of Siena, Italy, 56.

— Mauro Gambetti, custos of the Sacred Convent of Assisi in Assisi, 55.

— Arizmendi, 80.

— Tomasi, 80.

— Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, 86.

— Enrico Feroci, 80, former director of Rome’s Caritas.

USCCB’s Bishop Thomas Daly Looks at Future of Catholic Education During the Pandemic

Currents News Staff

Earlier this month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) elected a new Chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education who hopes to help Catholic schools focus on their mission to strengthen the faith foundation, especially during this pandemic.

Bishop Thomas Daly from the Diocese of Spokane joined Currents News to discuss his new role and the Church’s mission for Catholic schools.

Currents News full broadcast for Weds, 11/25/20 (Catholic news)

Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

Help could soon be on the way for people in public housing living without heat or a way to cook for their families.

This weekend, Cardinal-designate Wilton Gregory of Washington D.C. will be the first African American to ever be given the red hat.

Kicking off The Tablet’s annual Bright Christmas Campaign to help kids in the Brooklyn Diocese.

NYCHA Residents Hopeful Utility Accountability Act Could Reduce Rent for Those With Utility Outages

By Emily Drooby

The sound of the stove turning on is music to Silvia’s ears. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) resident, whose last name is not being disclosed for safety, went months without being able to cook for her family because of a building-wide gas outage.

“I thought it was only for a week or two weeks but then when I saw it was a month, and next month, and two months and almost four months with that problem,” she told Currents News.

To compensate for the lost stove, she was given a hot plate. Her priest and long-time housing advocate, Father Edward Mason, said that’s not enough.

“Which you really use to heat something up, make a cup of coffee, boil some water for soup, it’s not something you’re going to cook a meal on for a family of people, so it’s just terrible,” explained Father Mason, who’s also the administrator at Mary, Mother of the Church in Brooklyn.

The outage meant Silvia had to spend additional money she wouldn’t have normally had to spend, with expenses including a $150 cooker and premade meals.

“I was worried because it’s not easy to buy food, every time, every day, almost three times a day, because I have kids,” she explained.

Silvia is not alone. NYCHA is constantly making headlines for long utility outages. It’s a problem Father Mason sees often.

“My first thought a couple of years ago, the first time I saw this happen with a family, was they were actually asking to borrow money from me to pay for their food, buy their food and I said, ‘They should be paying less in rent,'” said Fr. Mason.

New York State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris had the exact same idea.

“This would not be tolerated in a private residence,” he told Currents News. “The residents of NYCHA should be treated the same as everyone else in this situation.”

Inspired by recent gas outages in Astoria, Queens, he introduced legislation that would cut rent for NYCHA residents experiencing utility outages, dropping it by 10 percent during the outage in hopes of easing the financial pressure on families like Silvia’s.

“Why should they be asked to be paying their full obligations in rent when they’re not getting the services they’re paying for,” asked Senator Gianaris.

NYCHA is arguing this bill would hurt their ability to help.

In a statement sent to Currents News, they wrote:

“Restoring gas for private or public housing is a lengthy, multi-pronged process that involves numerous steps, including shutting off the gas, visiting the units for a scope of the work needed, making necessary repairs, investigating for asbestos, getting permit and inspection approval from our city partners and then coordinating with the utility company to safely turn the gas back on. Reducing or stopping rent payments would not speed up the process and would adversely affect NYCHA’s ability to make repairs, as it would decrease NYCHA’s day-to-day operating budget.”

Still, Senator Gianaris says he expects the bill to start making its way through the Senate and Assembly in January.

St. John’s Bread & Life Feeds Thousands Ahead of Thanksgiving

By Jessica Easthope

At St. John’s Bread & Life, feeding those in need is a numbers game.

70,000 — that’s the number of pounds of food that has been given out ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. 3,000 — the number of meals served every single day — has been quadrupled during the pandemic.

“A lot of people who never expected to be on our lines are on our lines asking for help and you see the fear in people’s faces, like ‘What do I do? I have to pay my rent, I have to feed my kids.’ So if we can be that support for them, we feel like we’ve accomplished a lot,” said Sister Caroline Tweedy, the Executive Director of St. John’s Bread & Life.

For Sister Caroline says staying ahead of the numbers and the need is what makes the soup kitchen successful. When it comes to the “bread,” they have it covered. But in recent months, the “life” part of their mission has been challenging.

“The one thing that really is missing for us is that sense of community. Bread & Life has always been that place, that refuge for people. Come in, have a meal, see a movie, go to crocheting class, we can’t do any of that,” Sister Caroline explained.

The day before Thanksgiving, staff and volunteers — a team that’s been severely cut down for social distancing — is working double time.

“I have social workers who are on this line handing out food, case managers who are stuffing bags, directors who are running out in the street, everybody is doing their part,” Sister Caroline said.

They all have the same goal: to help people like Rebecca Crowley.

“It’s a blessing to make sure my children don’t go to bed hungry,” said Rebecca, a client at the soup kitchen.

Rebecca and her veteran husband both lost their jobs during the pandemic. With three young kids at home, Rebecca relies on St. John’s Bread & Life to make Thanksgiving special.

“It’s the best feeling in the world to be able to make a meal knowing you came here and put it down in front of my family just the look in their eyes,” she said.

This Thanksgiving, the pandemic isn’t stopping St. John’s Bread & Life from showing people they still care. 6,000 is the number of people they’ll feed, and the number of reasons to have hope.

Operation Santa: How This Teen Is Making Sure Soldiers Abroad Have a Merry Christmas Amid Pandemic

Currents News Staff

Pandemic travel restrictions have been tough on everyone who’s away from their family during the holidays, but it’s been especially tough on a teen in Rockland County, New York, who hasn’t seen his older sister Sam in over a year.

She’s in the U.S. Army stationed in Italy, and they don’t know when she’ll be able to come home next.

Trey Rolnick joins Currents News now to share how he’s trying to make sure Sam and her fellow soldiers still have a Merry Christmas.

If you’d like to donate to the soldiers stationed in Italy, head on over to gofundme.com and search for “Operation Santa, Sam’s Soldiers.” The deadline to donate is Sunday, November 29.

Enrollment at St. Francis College Grows as Other Schools See Declines During Pandemic

By Emily Drooby

As she steps through the doors of St. Francis College, Gabrielle Lora also steps towards her future. The freshman is studying for a career in education.

“This is a great school, and I love it so much,” she said.

Gabrielle is part of the largest freshman class in the history of the school. For the 2020 school year, St. Francis had 747 incoming freshmen, a 22 percent jump from 2019.

This means the school bucks a national trend. This fall, freshman enrollment dropped 13 percent in the U.S.

Community colleges had the steepest drop off, at almost 19 percent.

While the pandemic financial woes and learning from home is likely to blame for some of the drop, it has actually been an ongoing trend. Enrollment numbers have dropped 11 percent over the past eights years. Experts say it’s due to more immediate job opportunities and the high cost of college.

So how did St. Francis College grow? Alumnus and Director of Recruitment Rob Oliva says it’s because they got creative and personal with recruiting.

“We increased our communication with students by hosting numerous virtual visit sessions, personal visits with high schools and we were able to connect with our students in very personal ways,”he explained. “We know our students’ names, they know us.”

That recruitment style is what drew in Gabrielle.

“St. Francis came to my high school. The president, Miguel, was able to basically talk about the core values: dream, serve, achieve, and something was telling me this was the school,” she told Currents News.

Her decision was solidified by the people.

“I saw how everyone was like, ‘Hi, hi, welcome, welcome,’ and I wanted to be a part of that,” she said.

Money was also at play, as many families have struggled financially because of the pandemic.

An average four-year private college in New York City costs 32,500 dollars. Tuition at St. Francis College is 26,688 dollars but an average student pays 13,500 dollars after institutional aid, and under 10,000 dollars after the government aid kicks in too.

Ninety-nine percent of their students get institutional aid.

This year, the school even offered extra help through an emergency relief fund for students struggling from pandemic financial woes.

“But thanks to the generosity of our alumni, friends and benefactors, we were able to offer a very generous scholarship program to our students,” said Rob.

Currents News full broadcast for Tues, 11/24/20 (Catholic news)

Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

For the first time, Pope Francis is saying millions of Muslims in western China are victims of persecution.

Projected winner Joe Biden gets the green light from the federal government to move ahead with his presidential transition.

A tour of the catacombs beneath Old Saint Patrick’s reveals the amazing history of the Catholic Church in New York City.

Why Saint Francis College in Brooklyn Heights is attracting so many new students.

1,000 Nuns on a Mission With $1,000: How Catholic Extension Is Impacting Communities Across the Country During the Pandemic

Currents News Staff

This holiday season will be different for all of us. It will be really difficult for some who have lost loved ones, their health or their jobs during this pandemic.

But thanks to the papal society Catholic Extension, it’s putting $1,000 in the hands of a thousand nuns, so that they can help those who are most in need.

The Vice President of Mission at Catholic Extension, Joe Boland, joins Currents News to share the goods news about the “Sisters on the Frontlines” initiative.

If you’d like to donate to the Sisters On The Frontlines, head to catholicextension.org, where information on how to give is available on their homepage.