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Miami Catholic Parish Says 10 of its Families Still Missing After Collapse

By Tom Tracy, Catholic News Service

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — It is an understatement to say the people and staff of St. Joseph Parish will be living the crisis of the Surfside condominium collapse in a most intimate way for some time to come.

No other Christian house of worship is so close to the ground zero of Champlain Towers South as St. Joseph. The remains of the tower that went down and the still-standing tower can be easily seen in the distance from the church grounds.

Then there is the human connection: The parish pastor, Father Juan Sosa, has reported that 10 of its registered families remain missing following the collapse and two families who were not in the building at the time are safe.

It is possible, Father Sosa said, that other families who lived in Champlain Towers South and who worshipped at St. Joseph informally may be among the missing, since the area is known as a vacation spot full of short-term rentals and international visitors from South America and beyond.

“Plus there are the many who used to come on weekends from other parts of Miami who have worshipped with us, and so we are very touched by the idea of the whole community being bound together and praying together,” Father Sosa told the media June 25, just before celebrating a morning Mass for the missing, their family and friends.

“For us it is very important to have something to do at this time to bring hope to those people,” said the priest, who has been pastor of St. Joseph for 11 years and was familiar with Champlain Towers.

“I have visited the place many times and I have been to dinner with some of those members that are missing,” Father Sosa said, recalling when he first realized the buildings had collapsed.

“It was horrendous because I didn’t know exactly what part of the building many of those families lived in, but apparently the 10 families were in that part of the building that collapsed, and some of those who are OK lived in the standing building.”

He added that he hopes some of the 10 families unaccounted for were away on vacation at the time of the collapse.

Over the years, he said he has encountered residents of Champlain Towers while out walking and exercising. The walking paths along the ocean behind Champlain Towers and other buildings in the area are highly utilized for morning and evening hikes.

“It is like a community formed out of the need to exercise, and some of the people would stop me and ask for a blessing,” he said.

Father Sosa visited the family reunification center at the nearby Surfside Community Center twice on the day following the catastrophe, and he had an opportunity to counsel some of the Catholic families there.

He also has opened his parish parking lot for the visiting search and rescue and volunteer teams who continue working on the site. From Kendall, Florida, St. Agatha’s ministry to the homeless arrived at the parish early June 26 with water and other supplies for the search and rescue teams and their dogs.

Wind, rain and fires at the demolition site have hampered search and rescue efforts. As of June 28, the missing persons list stood at 152, with nine confirmed deaths.

Some of the surviving families have told the media that this crisis won’t be over for them until they receive word of their loved one’s status.

“I am an optimist but sad about this horrible situation. It reminds me of Sept. 11, 2001, but I want to keep hope alive that they will rescue more like they rescued that boy we saw on television,” Father Sosa said.

His message to those affected by the crisis is to keep up hope and “keep your heart on the one who can grant us the opportunity to see our loved ones, and that is God. Keep your hearts open so you will be able to feel and experience, in the midst of grief, the healing presence of the Lord,” Father Sosa said.

“May we continue to work together to help the needy and support our rescue teams and searchers as well as the many at the Surfside center and other places who are relating to each other in ways they didn’t relate before,” he added. “Now, somehow, we are all together trying to alleviate the situation and pain caused by this.”

Catholic News Headlines for Friday, 6/25/21

On a special edition of Currents News: Religious Freedom Week sets its sights on church vandalism. Something that’s been a problem in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Vice President Kamala Harris visits the U.S.- Mexico border, after numerous calls from lawmakers.

The death toll from a Miami building collapse rises as crews work tirelessly to find survivors.

An arrest is made in a terrifying shooting that had two children caught in the crossfire.

Catholics Respond to Vandalism with Compassion After Fearing Attacks on Religious Freedom

By Jessica Easthope

Father Miroslaw Podymniak can give a tour of all the places around St. Adalbert’s that have been vandalized. Graffiti on two walls and the latest incident – a statue of Our Lady of Angels destroyed.

“People are looking for consolation and are looking to support the Church and the Church itself is being hit by envy, by people who are looking to make the situation worse,” said Fr. Miroslaw.

The statue was repaired for free, but not every church that’s had a sacred object damaged has been so lucky. A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace Church in Coney Island, Brooklyn had to be replaced. Last September a man was caught on surveillance video, hurling this $7,000 original to the ground. And at St. Athanasius in Bensonhurst someone tore down a crucifix.

These are just a few examples of the vandalism that’s happened not only in the Diocese of Brooklyn, but across the country. The harmful acts – attacks on the objects themselves, but now many fear it’s part of a larger attack on religious freedom.

“We have statues outside, beautiful buildings to show our faith and have a space for people to come and worship together and that is being taken from us,” said Fr. Miroslaw.

During Religious Freedom Week, Catholics are called to respond to aggression with compassion – something parishioners at St. Adalbert’s are finding in their hearts.

“I said please enlighten the mind of the person who did this because whatever he did he didn’t know that it is wrong,” said Lita Santiago.

St. Adalbert’s is having cameras installed around the statue in the garden this weekend, hoping it prevents another attack.

Miami’s Archbishop on Building Collapse: “Our Hearts Go Out to All Those Affected”

WINDSOR TERRACE — At least 159 people are still unaccounted for in Surfside, Florida, after a partial collapse of a residential condominium.

As the search for signs of life entered a second day, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami issued a statement saying in part, “Search and rescue teams continue to sift through the rubble to find survivors and to recover the bodies of those who did not. Our hearts go out to all those affected by the tragedy.”

Wenski’s statement continued, “Our Catholic Charities and local clergy have joined with other voluntary agencies and faith leaders to assist in whatever way they can. We also pledge our prayers for the victims, their families, and first responders.”

The community, located just north of Miami Beach, is waiting and praying for any positive news from rescue workers as they comb through debris.

“We are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. That is our priority,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.

The 12-story building, which was built in 1981 and contained 136 units, partially collapsed early Thursday morning.

“The search and rescue team worked throughout the night and it was a very active scene,” Cava said. “From above and below. And we also brought heavy machinery onto the site to assist with the operation.”

Meanwhile, those with loved ones still unaccounted for are hoping for a miracle.

“Right now, we’re just hoping for the best,” said Jeffrey Rose, whose parents own a unit in the building. “They are obviously searching through the rubble to see if they can, hopefully, find some survivors.”

The Race To Find Survivors Continues After Deadly Florida Building Collapse

Authorities are trying to find survivors after a massive 12-story condo partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, just north of Miami.

At least one person is dead and dozens were rescued while nearly 100 are still missing.

“This is beyond crazy,” says Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett. “This doesn’t happen in first world countries. Buildings just don’t fall down like this.”

Rescue crews dig through the rubble and debris of a collapsed condo building desperately searching for survivors.

“They are doing everything they can to save lives and that is ongoing,” says Gov. Ron DeSantis, “and they are not going to rest.”

About 55 units crumbled to the ground without warning around 1:30 Thursday morning.

Barry Cohen was rescued from the condo.

“I opened the door and it was a pile of rubble and dust and smoke billowing around,” he said. “And I couldn’t walk out past my doorway.”

Aaron Miles was a witness to the chaos.

“Everybody was screaming and panicking,” says Aaron.

Trapped in the debris was a 10-year-old boy. Nicholas Balboa helped rescue the young boy from the rubble.

“I saw an arm sticking out of the wreckage and he was screaming, ‘Can you see me?’” Nicholas says. “He was screaming, ‘don’t leave me, don’t leave me, don’t leave me.'”

Crews, with the help of Good Samaritans, pulled the boy out from under the wreckage.

“He has a guardian angel, that’s all I can say,” Nicholas continues. “Given all that happened, he came out unscathed.”

But dozens are still missing and the time to find survivors may be running out.

David Paulison is the former Chief of the Miami – Dade fire rescue and says the rescue is going to be tough.

“This is going to be a very difficult rescue for those who are still trapped,” David says.

As the search continues, so do the questions about how a building standing for 40 years can suddenly fall.

“Yesterday the building seemed normal, nothing seemed off,” adds Aaron.

“We just don’t have any answers right now, but we’ll get them,” the Florida mayor says. “We’re going to find out what happened.”

Chinese Catholics Reflect on Religious Freedom in the Wake of Country’s New Three-Child Policy

By Jessica Easthope

Kathleen can’t tell you her last name, but she wants you to know her story.

“I was pregnant at the time,” she says. “It was my second and they told me if I gave birth in China, I would get in a lot of trouble, like losing my job and losing my property.”

It’s the story of so many Chinese families, torn between a government policy and faith. After having her first daughter, Kathleen dodged the government mandated birth control. Then in 1998, she became pregnant with her second daughter. She knew she would be forced to go against God’s will.

“I just sneaked away. I didn’t do that, so when I got pregnant, I must get an abortion,” Kathleen says. “There is no choice.”

Years later, China is undergoing a major policy shift – one the government hopes will help grow its now declining population. For the first time in decades, married couples are allowed to have three children. In 1980, China’s one-child policy went into effect, shortly before the country became home to more than one-billion people.

“The third-child policy right now, I think in terms of policy, of course it’s a major switch, a major change,” said Sister Monica Gan, C.S.T., the pastoral associate at St. John Vianney Church in Flushing, Queens. “But in reality, it does not make a change.”

Sister Monica says while much of the world views the third-child policy as progress, Chinese people, especially Chinese Catholics, do not.

“One child policy, three-child policy, even ten-child policy, it’s the same thing,” Sister Monica says. “The government makes the decision for you and we know the right of reproduction comes from God. Human beings cannot interfere.”

Though the third-child policy is still impossible to live under for many Chinese Catholics, if it had been in place in 1998, Kathleen would be raising her family in China today.

“Yes, I would have stayed in China,” she said. “My family is there, my parents were there. Of course we wanted to stay together. I think I have no choice.”

They believe it’s another form of religious persecution that is rampant in the country.

“The limited family and Christian persecution expose the same problem – no human rights,” Sister Monica says.

Experts at the Centre for China and Globalization say the country could abolish family planning policies all together within the next few years.

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday, 6/24/21

Religious Freedom Week puts its focus on The Equality Act. The measure meant to fight discrimination could itself discriminate against the Church.

An intense rescue effort after a building collapse in Miami. The archdiocese is praying for the victims and first responders.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are pushing to make the Hyde Amendment permanent.

President Biden and lawmakers come to an agreement on infrastructure —but their work is far from over.

U.S. Bishops and Critics of The Equality Act Claim It Will Lead to Discrimination Against Catholics

By Emily Drooby

The ability to live out one’s faith is at risk if The Equality Act passes in the U.S. Senate.

That’s according to Ed Mechmann, the Archdiocese of New York’s Director of Safe Environment. The Equality Act is supposed to stop discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, critics including U.S. bishops, argue it actually discriminates against Catholics.

“They’re not bad people, they have good motives,” said Ed. “They want to ban discrimination. That’s fine, but I don’t think they realize the implications of a bill like this on religious organizations and religious people.”

Ed says the impact would be great, especially since it eliminates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as its potential defense.

What that means, for example, is if a Catholic hospital did not approve of doing a gender reassignment surgery, faith wouldn’t be an excuse to say ‘no.’

“We would be forced to say things and do things that our faith really forbids us from doing,” Ed said.

He called the potential elimination “unprecedented in American history.”

The implications of this broad act could be far reaching. For example, it would likely force hospitals to perform abortions and have employees cover the operation.

When it comes to schools, it could force women to share spaces like dorms or locker rooms with men and could force schools to become co-ed.

It could possibly allow men into women’s prisons, which could be seen as a potential safety issue.

“They have full-bodied males who claim to civil rights [in order] to be housed with the women, putting them at risk,” explains Mary Hasson. She is the Kate O’ Beirne Fellow at The Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

As a fellow on public policy, she’s an expert on issues affecting faith and women. She’s very concerned about this act.

“It tips the scales and says it’s sort of a “winner take all” that these sexual orientation and gender identify categories are always going to trump anyone’s religious beliefs,” Mary said.

The Equality Act has already passed in the House.

“It is just a hugely important bill to defeat in the Senate if it comes up to a vote,” Mary added.

Critics and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are trying to do just that, reaching out to lawmakers, educating them on the negative effect it could have on the faithful.

While there has been some talk of the Senate getting to this legislation during Pride Month – it has recently stalled. Catholics are already gearing up for legal battles in case the act does get a majority vote and pass.

Religious Freedom Week: Church Vandalism (Full)

Members of the Diocese speak out on the recent acts of vandalism that have taken place. From the toppling of the cross outside of St. Athanasius Church to the destruction of the Rosary garden at the Shrine Church of St. Gerard Majella, each video details the unthinkable crimes and shows the unwavering faith in each parish

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 6/23/21

Catholic school students took the field after hitting home runs in the classroom.

The ballots have been cast in the city’s mayoral primary but we still don’t know which democrat will be on the ticket in November.

President Biden has a plan to tackle crime, while gun violence spikes nationwide.