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.

Virginia Diocese Bucks Decline in Catholic School Enrollment, Aims to Hire 150 Teachers

Currents News Staff

According to the National Catholic Education Association, thanks to the pandemic, enrollment at Catholic schools across the country is down 6.4 percent this school year.

But that’s not the case in the Diocese of Arlington, Va. where they are ready to go on a hiring spree.

Their Superintendent of Schools, Joseph Vorbach, joined Currents News to share why their diocesan schools are in huge demand.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday, 3/22/21

A memorial for COVID victims who died in nursing homes and new calls to hold Governor Cuomo accountable.

Stop Asian hate – a rallying cry in New York City as violence spikes.

The border is closed – that’s the message from the Biden administration as a surge in migrants brings the situation to a breaking point.

The new head of Xavier High School tells us her vision for the school’s future.

‘We Care Memorial Wall’ Pays Tribute to Those Who Died of COVID-19 in New York Nursing Homes

By Jessica Easthope

Mickey and Dee Newman were always a package deal.

“They lived in Brooklyn in the same apartment for 60 years,” said Donna Johnson, Mickey and Dee’s daughter. “They were never separated. They never went on a trip without each other, not even to a party without each other.”

They were only apart one time in their 60 years of marriage: when the two were living in separate care facilities. The dream was always to get back to each other – a chance they didn’t get in this life. Mickey passed away in his facility of COVID-19 on March 30, 2020, Dee just two weeks later.

“We’re Roman Catholic and we weren’t able to have the proper burial they deserved,” Donna said. “We couldn’t see them, couldn’t hold their hands. The hospital called after my mom died and said ‘if you’d like to, you can come and see her now.’ She was dead and they wanted us to come see her through a glass window. No, that’s not how it should be.”

In the 46 days of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s directive, he ordered nursing homes to take in COVID-positive patients. More than 6,000 patients with the virus were placed into facilities. To date, the number of people who died of COVID-19 in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and rehabilitation centers is more than 15,000.

Now the loss is front and center with faces of lives cut short and families torn apart. The “We Care Memorial Wall” was put up in front of the Cobble Hill Health Center where Peter Arbeeny’s dad, Norman, caught COVID-19.

“The governor said 28 percent, 33 percent. That’s thousands of people,” Peter said. “So I wanted to put their faces on a wall because a number is a person, is a family, is a father, is a grandfather, is a great uncle.”

Peter and his brother, Daniel have now become advocates for their father and the thousands of others who they say Gov. Cuomo put in danger.

“On March 15, he locked us out of the nursing homes and on March 25, he sent COVID in,” Peter said. “It didn’t make any sense then and it doesn’t make any sense now. We still don’t have an apology.”

Assemblyman Ron Kim, who has been one of the most outspoken critics against the governor’s handling of nursing home deaths, says he was threatened if he did not help Gov. Cuomo cover up what Kim calls a ‘fatal error’.

“The moment he ordered me to issue a lie, he passed an unethical and possibly an illegal point that now I had to push back and fight for constituents,” Assemblyman Kim said. “I made promises to these families behind me.”

An apology won’t bring these people back, but those missing them say they’re still waiting for one.

“Who cares? We care,” said Peter. “We need people to care.”

And they’ll continue to wait until they get justice.