Students Around the Diocese of Brooklyn Mark School Year Milestone in Fun and Creative Ways

Currents News Staff

Children in the Diocese of Brooklyn marked their 100th day in class by dressing up as grandparents.

In Dyker Heights, the students at Saint Ephrem Catholic Academy were encouraged to dress up as if they were 100 years old, complete with wigs and all!

Some even went out of their way to dye their hair grey.

The fun didn’t stop there.

For their 101st day of school, the students at Midwood Catholic Academy celebrated Dalmatian style.

Just check out some of these adorable pups and their creative costumes.

And while it looks like all fun and games, the 101st day also marks a major milestone and teachers used the opportunity to celebrate their students’ academic achievements.

Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Academy Raises Funds for Leukemia Awareness

Currents News Staff

The students of Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Academy in Far Rockaway are raising awareness for leukemia.

Dressing in all orange, the color of leukemia awareness, the students raised over two-thousand dollars for the Leukemia Society.

It’s an organization they decided to support because they were inspired by a former student, Rocco Pisani, who bravely fought and survived leukemia throughout the pandemic.

Jewish Delegation from United Kingdom Thanks Pope Francis for Denouncing Antisemitism

Currents News Staff

Marie van der Zyl is president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, representing the entire British Jewish community.

She is the second woman to hold the position and was elected by more than 300 representatives of 180 synagogues and 40 other Jewish organizations throughout the country

Van der Zyl traveled to Rome with the institution’s chief executive, Michael Wegier, to greet the Pope.

“We were very, very privileged for His Holiness to offer to see us and we gave him a beautiful antique book of one of our oldest synagogues. And we wanted to thank him of the warmth of the relationship between the Jewish and Christian communities,” said Van der Zyl.

“And it´s so wonderful that after so many centuries of difficult times, we now are in a situation where we have a pope who is so warm towards the Jewish people and Israel and our community. And we wanted to express how supported and our gratitude for that,” said Wegier.

Together they were able to exchange some warm words with Pope Francis.

They say they are concerned about the recent rise in antisemitism in the United Kingdom. After the latest instances of tension between Israel and Palestine in 2021, incidents of anti-Jewish hate in the country skyrocketed by 500%, according to the non-profit Community Security Trust.

That’s why they thanked the Pope for the messages like this one, which he shared on one of his most recent trips:

“I repeat: let us unite in condemning all violence and every form of antisemitism, and in working to ensure that God’s image, present in the humanity He created, will never be profaned.”

Wegier said, “We discussed the importance of Jewish-Christian relations, he said that he will pray for us and that we should pray for him”.

Rome is a city especially sensitive to antisemitism. In October 1943, the Nazis brutally took Jews from their homes to send them to concentration camps. Many were able to save themselves by hiding in the houses of friends or in churches, but others weren’t as fortunate, and were taken away.

To remember them, gold pavement stones are placed in front of the houses where they lived, to honor the lives of those Jews who never came home.

Pope’s Sunday Angelus Included Ukrainian Pilgrims, Round of Applause for Healthcare Workers

Currents News Staff

The flags at Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus are becoming increasingly diverse as pilgrims return to Rome. This week they included several from Ukraine.

On Italy’s National Day for Healthcare Professionals, the Pope shared an instance of the small yet heroic gestures healthcare workers perform to show their closeness to their patients.

“A doctor told me this morning that in the time of COVID, a person was dying and said to him, ‘Hold my hand. I am dying, and I need your hand.’ The heroic healthcare professionals showed this heroism in the time of COVID, but the heroism remains there every day. A round of applause and a big “thank you” to our doctors, nurses, and volunteers,” said the Holy Father.

The Pope also prayed for those affected by the deadly mudslides and flooding near Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and for Madagascar where a cyclone is expected to touch down in the coming days.

“May the Lord receive the victims in his peace, console their relatives and support those who come to their aid,” said Pope Francis.

The Pope then greeted pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square from around the world, including a large group from cities across Spain.

This Newly Inaugurated Wood and Concrete Church is Among Italy’s Most Unique

Currents News Staff

This inauguration of the church of St. James the Apostle in Ferrara, Italy, was ten years in the making.

That’s how long it took architects to design and construct the extraordinary church, which is being celebrated for its out-of-the-box design which began with its striking roof.

“In the sky of Ferrara there were many hot air balloons and we thought it was beautiful to imagine a church almost like a balloon that touches the floor and creates a space for concentration,” said lead architect, Benedetta Tagliabue.

The church’s interior is marked by its simplicity. Wood and concrete are blended elegantly to create an imposing yet comforting environment of open spaces and filled with natural light.

“At the same time with very primitive materials, because this idea of giving oneself to the earth and having something very essential is very important,” said Tagliabue.

The team of architects decided to highlight that principle in the altar, which is a rough stone symbolizing the rock upon which Jesus founded the Church.

“A raw stone, let’s call it, an unworked stone, a stone almost as if straight from a quarry, and it was almost just like that,” said Tagliabue.

While Italy is known worldwide for its breathtaking churches, this small town of 130,000 now boasts one of the most unique ones in the country.

Archbishops’ Friendly Super Bowl Wager Raises $22,000 for Catholic Schools

By Catholic News Service

CINCINNATI (CNS) — The Los Angeles Rams may have won Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals, but students in Catholic schools in both archdioceses are winners as well.

Donors contributed more than $22,000 — and counting as of Feb. 17 — for tuition assistance scholarships as part of a friendly wager between Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles and Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati over the game’s outcome.

The donations to each archdiocese’s Catholic Education Foundation came as the archbishops invited supporters to become involved in their good-gesture wager through the Bishops Big Game challenge.

In the Feb. 13 game, the Rams were behind in the third quarter and most of the fourth quarter, before scoring the winning touchdown with 1:25 left, beating the Bengals 23-20.

With the Rams’ victory, the Los Angeles foundation will receive 60% of the funds raised, while the Cincinnati foundation will received 40% of the money donated.

The game’s result also means Archbishop Schnurr is sending a case of Cincinnati’s well-known Graeter’s ice cream cross country to Archbishop Gomez.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese said that “out of gratitude” Archbishop Gomez would send his wager of baked treats from the popular Porto’s Bakery to Archbishop Schnurr.

Both archbishops said they will share their winnings with a school in their respective archdioceses.

“As we said before, our bet was with our Catholic school kids all the way,” Archbishop Gomez said in a news release issued by both archdioceses. “They are always winners in our book! We want the kids to get in on the fun to celebrate great sportsmanship of both the Rams and the Bengals who gave us such an exciting game, and the generous support of all those who donated to the Bishops Big Game challenge.”

Archbishop Schnurr commended the teams for a closely played game and thanked the fans of both teams for “their generous donations in support of Catholic education.”

“Archbishop Gomez and I are grateful for the generosity of the people of our respective archdioceses and thank everyone who joined us in our friendly wager,” he said in the news release. “We are delighted to celebrate this moment with at least some of our wonderful Catholic school students, teachers and staff members. … A win for all around!”

Plans call for Archbishop Gomez to celebrate the Rams’ victory with an ice cream party March 1 at St. John Chrysostom School in Inglewood, California, located near SoFi Stadium, where the Super Bowl was played.

Archbishop Schnurr will bring the baked goods from Los Angeles to Our Lady of Rosary School in Dayton, Ohio, also March 1, the day before Ash Wednesday.

President Biden Could Announce Supreme Court Nominee in the Upcoming Days

Currents News Staff

President Biden’s search for a new Supreme Court justice is underway.

Interviews have started, with at least one person having a sit-down with the president last week. That’s according to a source familiar with the process.

No word yet on how many candidates will be questioned, but an announcement of the nominee could be made within the next few days.

A separate White House official says Biden would like to decide by the end of the month.

Catholic News Headlines for Friday, 2/18/22

Mayor Eric Adams announces a new plan to combat a wave of violence happening underground.

Firefighter Jesse Gerhard’s life and sacrifice lives on, even in death. Sources confirm Gerhard was an organ donor.

Saint Athanasius Catholic Academy spent Thursday honoring the NYPD.

Abortion and Communities of Color: How Misinformation Can Cloud The Progress

Currents News Staff

It’s a matter of life and death.

It’s no surprise that Catholics are passionate about protecting the rights of the unborn. But misinformation around the issue can sometimes cloud the progress being made in converting more hearts.

Gloria Purvis is a pro-life Catholic consultant for the USCCB’s committee on Religious Liberty and the host of her own podcast, “The Gloria Purvis Podcast.” She believes the way we think about abortion in minority communities needs to change.

“I think there’s a misconception that black people are some abortion-loving seeking people and we’re not,” Gloria said. “We have people saying that abortion for people of color is their way to access greater economic stability and is often pushed on communities of color as this is a solution to all that ails us. But I reject that because I don’t believe that a way of solving poverty is to kill the poor.”

Even though abortions are trending down across the country from 857,000 in 2000 to 630,000 in 2019, low-income women and women of color have higher rates than affluent and white women, according to the National Institutes of Health.

But Gloria says that even those numbers could be inaccurate because women with more financial means seek abortions privately, where the actual totals may never be reported.

The Church’s teaching on abortion is definitive: killing an unborn child under any circumstances is not an option. Yet, many Catholics struggle with the topic, leading to misrepresentations that go beyond communities of color.

Dr. Tricia Bruce is a sociologist associated with the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Religion and Society. She studies the impact of abortion when it relates to Catholics.

“Many Americans feel a lot more conflicted about abortion than the kinds of labels that are immediately available,” Tricia said. “Labels like pro-choice and pro-life. Instead we had a lot of Americans who said, ‘well, I feel this way in certain circumstances and this way in others.’

Like most Americans, Catholics are divided by party, with those who identify as Republican opposed 63 percent of the time, while Democratic-leaning Catholics are in favor by 77 percent. Studies also found that church attendance matters.

“Catholics who attend Mass more often are more likely to hold a position more opposed to abortion then Catholics who attend Mass less often,” Tricia said.

Most Catholics agree that abortion is morally wrong, just as Americans as a whole are concerned about many issues related to abortion.

“When we asked them in depth, their thoughts on abortion, they brought up not just abortion but so many other issues,” Tricia said. “Inequality and access for support for pregnant women or support for families or support in the workplace so people can afford to provide a good life for children they may have.”

Gloria, who’s based in Washington, went on to say that if Roe vs. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court later this year, it will be more important than ever for pro-life movements at the state level to offer more robust assistance and outreach to women in communities of color.

“Yes, we know abortion as Catholics is a grave evil according to our understanding but it does not mean that the people who perhaps forced or coerced or desperate into having an abortion are themselves evil people,” Gloria said. “They’re just people in crisis that need our help, love and understanding.”

Black History Month Mass – Promo

The Brooklyn Vicariate for Black Catholic Concerns hosts their annual Mass of Thanksgiving for Black History Month Mass live from the Immaculate Conception Monastery Church in Jamaica. This year’s principal celebrant and homilist is His Eminence Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington D.C.