Currents News Staff
The 90-year-old cardinal of Hong Kong is facing charges of colluding with foreign forces and was arrested Wednesday by national security police.
With an estimated 300 million “underground Christians” and as many as 100 million “underground Catholics” living in China, Ed Clancy from Aid to the Church in Need joined Currents News to discuss the rippling effects of this arrest.
Republicans are saying a nationwide ban on abortion is possible as democrats scramble to codify Roe v. Wade.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is pledging an additional thirty-five million dollars in abortion funding.
President Biden unveils new plans to battle skyrocketing prices and supply chain issues.
Currents News Staff
This 15th century castle on Ireland’s West Coast is about as far from Ukraine as you can get in Europe. But for a group of Ukrainian families fleeing the war, it’s now home.
Maria Nazarchuk fled from Ukraine with her family.
“It’s very amazing living in the castle,” Maria said. “I’m never dream about what I can live in a castle in the future. But I live, it is my two boys with my family.”
The owner Barry Haughian didn’t have to think long about traveling to Poland to offer up his castle to refugees.
“We decided that we had to do something and with no real plan and we were very nervous and thinking, okay, how do we do this?” Barry said. “And it’s pretty simple. You get your credit card out, you book a flight and you fly to Poland.”
Per capita, the country of five million people has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than many of its neighbors in western Europe. The government says more than 27,000 have arrived so far.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s closest neighbor, the United Kingdom has had roughly the same number of refugees arrive, despite having a population more than 13 times the size.
But not all refugees in Ireland have received the royal treatment. The government has warned that resources are stretched.
“Look, it’s not all ideal,” said Roderic O’Gorman the Irish Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. “It’s not all the kind of the gold standard accommodation that we’d like. But you know, this is a crisis situation. Most people are in hotels, some people are in more basic accommodation. And yes, it is getting more difficult, particularly as it’s clear now that this war isn’t going to end anytime soon.”
Authorities have set up emergency camp beds in an arena in Cork. They also plan to repurpose student halls, holiday homes and former convents. Former asylum seeker Lucky Khambule, originally from South Africa ,shared a room in a government run facility for years living in limbo until his papers were processed.
He now campaigns for better conditions for all asylum seekers.
“It shows that all along,” Lucky said, “we were right to say that the government is capable of treating us better.”
Unlike other asylum seekers, Ukrainian refugees were immediately granted the right to work and receive welfare payments in Ireland. A lack of red tape also enabled thousands of Ukrainian children to be enrolled quickly in Irish schools.
“They had everything sorted for these guys inside two hours,” Barry said. “It was really the way I’ve described…It was quite incredible. It makes you really proud to be Irish.”
Currents News Staff
Night after night, protesters outside the homes of Conservative Supreme Court Justices are voicing support for abortion.
“Keep abortion…..safe and legal,” protesters say.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell raised eyebrows in a recent interview saying a nationwide ban on abortions is theoretically possible. Although other members of his party poured cold water on that talk, it still provoked strong reactions.
“Hear that America?” asked Sen. Chuck Schumer. “Total ban on abortion stated by not any Republican, but by the Republican leader.”
Majority leader Chuck Schumer is set to bring a bill that codifies Roe as law to the senate floor wednesday, but it’s likely to fail for a second time, due to GOP opposition.
As Republican and Democratic lawmakers go back and forth on the issue, violence has erupted. Authorities are still investigating an alleged arson incident sunday at the offices of a Wisconsin pro-life group.
“There is no room for hate or violence in Madison,” said Police Chief Shon Barnes. “In fact there is no room for hate or violence anywhere in our country.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Albany are pushing a bill that would establish a state fund to pay for abortions. Taxpayer dollars would cover the procedure not only for New Yorkers, but also for out-of-state women and undocumented migrants. The price on that: $50 million per year to meet demand if Roe v Wade is struck down.
Currents News Staff
Baby formula is getting harder and harder to find. Analysts say supply chain challenges, inflation and product recalls are all preventing formula from hitting store shelves. The FDA is paying close attention as it works with manufacturers to safely ramp up production.
“We’re very concerned about it and understand,” said Dr. Robert Califf, FDA Commissioner, “understand that it should be a concern that, moms and dads and grandparents, like me, we want this to get fixed.”
New data from “Datasembly” shows 40-percent of baby formula brands are out-of-stock. That’s a dramatic rise from the first half of 2021 when the rate was between 2 and 8-percent. The new data also shows these six states – Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Texas and Tennessee – that more than half of baby formula was completely sold out during the last week of April.
The situation has parents feeling helpless.
“There’s no answer,” said Samantha Cory, a mom to twins. “What are we supposed to do if we can’t find the formula?”
The supply is so low that CVS, Walgreens and Target are limiting purchases. Parents say those limited are making things even harder.
“So what am I doing?” asked Samantha. “I’m starting to hoard. I’m starting to scour, we’re going further out. I’m going to areas where I know that there’s a low population. What am I doing? You know, it’s unreal.”
Experts urge parents to be flexible and speak to their pediatricians about options, especially if they have kids with severe allergies that require special formulas.
“We want to make sure that families do not get desperate,” said Dr. Steven Abrams, the former chair on the AAP Committee on Nutrition, “and do things like start making formulas at home or buying formulas that are not properly vetted by the FDA.”
Currents News Staff
In 1665, the first brick Catholic church in the country was built in St. Mary’s City, Maryland.
It was destroyed and forgotten about. But in the 20th century, archeologists discovered remnants of it.
To this day, they’re still uncovering artifacts important to the Catholic church at that site.
Henry Miller is one of those archeologists who’s been working on excavations at the historic site since 1988 and he joins Currents News to discuss what they’ve found.
Currents News Staff
New York Attorney General Letitia James unveiled a bill to expand and protect access to abortions in the state.
James is helping to spearhead a piece of legislation called The Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program.
Under the proposal, 50-million dollars in state funds will be funneled to abortion providers across New York.
“We are taking action to make sure that it remains true here in New York, both for people here in New York and in states poised to ban abortions,” said James.
Kristen E. Curran, Director of Government Relations for the New York State Catholic Conference released a statement on the proposal, saying in part: “Now some officials want to make abortion a tourism industry, like Broadway or Niagara Falls, for out-of-state residents.”
The statement continued, “This is appalling. We believe the state should focus on its own residents and making New York a more welcoming culture for women in crisis pregnancies who would choose to keep their babies if only they had the supports and resources they deserve.”
Currents News Staff
She’s a woman on a mission – not to move mountains, but to climb them.
And not just any mountain, we’re talking about Mount Kilimanjaro.
Pastor Sylvia Tisdale is a pastor from Pensacola.
The Christian woman is 70 years old and has been training two hours a day for the past five months to make the trek.
But why?
She hopes her climb will raise money for and bring awareness to hunger and food insecurity.
The pastor runs a soup kitchen and food distribution center, which is why the mission is so close to her heart.
And the countdown is on – she’ll step off next month.
From New York to Washington D.C., protests were held outside of churches, the Supreme Court and even the homes of some of the Justices. The battle over abortion may be heading to the Senate floor.
Police are looking a man that allegedly attacked a Brooklyn rabbi on Saturday.
A Christian pastor in Florida is getting ready to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for a soup kitchen she runs.
Reverend Christopher Heanue’s Homily from Sunday’s Mass on 5/8/22