Facebook Blocks Brooklyn Parish From Livestreaming Masses

By Jessica Easthope

José San Juan has worked in technology for 30 years, and he says he’s never seen anything like this: Sacred Heart-St. Stephens Mass, live streamed daily to hundreds, was ripped off from the web on January 22. The parish still remains blocked from broadcasting by Facebook.

Why? Their pastor, Monsignor Guy Massie, isn’t so sure.

“It was needless to say a little bit annoying and my question was, what did we do wrong to get ourselves into this situation,” he asked.

The livestream began as a simple and seamless solution to the pandemic. DeSales Media, the communication and technology arm of the diocese of Brooklyn that operates NET-TV, came in to install several new cameras that allowed people to hear the Word of God in just a click.

“They allowed us through DeSales’ program to stream simultaneously through Facebook Live, YouTube and our website,” José said.

But all that effort was gone in an instant when big tech blocked every single one of the parish’s accounts from live streaming.

“It’s taken away from our parishioners who have found this connection with religion, with God and they’ve already had so much taken away from them in the past year,” José explained.

Currents News reached out to Facebook to ask why this connection has been banned, and were told their investigations team would be looking into it.

Monsignor Massie is so proud when he talks about the church’s presence online, and the team that made it all possible.

“I am indebted to them. They have made this parish look very good and helped the leadership of this parish to still present the Gospel, still present Mass,” he said.

But why would a tech giant target a local church practicing their simple right to religious freedom? For José, until he knows the real reason, he is sticking with censorship.

“There’s nothing that we feel has stepped over any bounds except for maybe the amount of time we’ve broadcast, but even then there are no guidelines, no stipulations so if there are now please tell us,” he said.

A Heavenly Sound at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Brooklyn as Nearly Million Dollar Organ Is Restored

By Emily Drooby

Angie Hemulgada has spent over 40 years sitting in the pews of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church listening to the church’s organ.

“The organ is a big difference for the community, the sound is totally different,” she told Currents News.

The organ was repaired for the first time since 1968.

“It feels great compared to playing the old one, because it was very worn out and very out of tune,” said organ player Connor Whelan, the church’s music director.

“Music is essential to a good liturgy and the organ plays a huge part in having good music, music that people feel,” explained Deacon John Cantirino, “music that people experience, music that resonates with people’s souls.”

Their Pastor, Father Ilyas Gill, made the restoration a priority.

The restoration was done by Peragallo Pipe Organ Company, a company that operates out of New Jersey. It was quite an undertaking, but important for the parish.

Two of the three organ bellows, which generate the wind, were not working.

1,400 pipes had to be reshaped, replaced or cleaned up. Pieces were removed one by one, and taken up and down a steep ladder through a tiny opening in the ceiling.

They also repaired the room the organ was in, and added new electronics. It took a year and $350,000 dollars. The money came from several places, including collections and parishioners.

“People are very generous, since I am here I have never seen them put the church down,” said Father Gill. “They always support the church.”

The community is coming together and being there for their church, just like the church and clergy are always there for them.

Parishioners went almost a full year without the organ while it was being repaired, but now heavenly music will be heard again.

President Biden Pledges to Speed Up COVID Vaccine Delivery in the U.S.

Currents News Staff

January has become the worst month for U.S. COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

According to Johns Hopkins University, as of Jan. 26, nearly 80,000 people have died from coronavirus.

The grim milestone highlights the growing demand from state officials for more vaccines to inoculate americans.

On Tuesday, President Biden announced plans to expedite vaccine distribution and have nearly the entire U.S. population vaccinated by the end of summer.

Shortages and long lines have been fueling frustration across the country.

“The end goal is to beat COVID-19, and the way we do that is get more people vaccinated,” said Biden, adding that the U.S. will buy an additional 200 million vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna, increasing the nation’s supply to 600 million.

Since both vaccines require two doses, that’s enough to protect 300 million Americans against COVID-19, that’s more than the U.S.’ entire adult population.

“The brutal truth is, it’s going to take months before we get the majority of Americans vaccinated, months,” the president said.

The announcement comes one day after he raised his daily vaccination target to 1.5 million people a day, all part of his plan to give 100 million shots in his first 100 days.

“The president said, ‘I hope we can do even more than that,’” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “Of course that’s a hope. He is continuing to push our team to get as many Americans vaccinated as quickly as possible.”

The president began his term focused on speeding a messy vaccine rollout in the U.S, signing an executive order pledging to boost vaccine supplies on his first full day in office.

On Tuesday, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator told governors vaccine allocations will increase by about 16% starting next week.

“Until now we’ve had to guess how much vaccine to expect for the next week, and that’s what the governors had to do: ‘How much am I getting next week?’ This is unacceptable,” said Biden, “lives are at stake here.”

The weekly vaccine supply to states, tribes and territories will grow to a minimum of 10 million doses, up from 8.6 million.

“At least now we can do a schedule for three weeks, and we can schedule appointments and start to run on an efficient basis rather than what’s been going on,” said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“The fact that there is a plan to ramp up gives me great peace,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Of course, it is not as fast as we all want, but we are feeling better about where we are headed as a nation.”

The White House coronavirus response team also says it’s committed to making sure vaccines are given fairly.

“That means we’ll send vaccines to churches and mobile clinics and may take a couple days longer to get into people’s arms but it will also mean people of color and people in rural communities will have access too,” Andy Slavitt, Senior White House Adviser for Coronavirus response, told Currents News.

Vice President Kamala Harris received her second dose of the Moderna vaccine Wednesday, encouraging everyone to do the same when they can.

Currents News full broadcast for Tues, 1/26/21 (Catholic news)

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

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

A beloved and successful pre-k program in Brooklyn hangs in the balance as the school waits to hear back about their city contract.

President Biden is pushing through piles of executive orders – but not without some pushback from both sides of the aisle.

One family’s emotional journey that delayed, but did not deter, their adoption plans.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy Awaits Answers on Renewal of NYC Pre-K Contract

By Emily Drooby

Nourishing kids’ minds and their imagination is one reason why parents love the pre-k3 and pre-k4 programs at St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

But now, the program is in limbo.

Donna DeLuca, the director of the school’s pre-k for all program said, “I still don’t know what to tell parents, and it’s just an awful situation.”

Their pre-k3 is private, but since 2016 their pre-k4 has been funded through the city. 105 of those pre-k for all programs have been cancelled for the 2021 school year.

St. Stanislaus Kostka was originally one of them, but they’ve appealed. Now, they’re still waiting to hear back about their appeal to see if their contract will be cut and they’re running out of time.

They haven’t announced the window yet, but it [registration] usually opens around the first week of February,” Donna explained.

School officials are confused, because they’ve been at maximum capacity for the past six years with a 30 person wait list. They have high scores, and great reviews from parents. Last year, they were even asked to expand.

The free program is also crucial as it serves Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Long Island City, all areas where rents have skyrocketed.

“Parents rely on it. It saves them a ton of money, and I think it’s kind of unfair to pull out the rug from all of these parents during a pandemic where they really can’t get into schools, schools are closed right now,” Donna added.

Now, they’re just looking for a response either way.

“Whether it’s positive or negative, just give us an answer so that we know,” said Frank Carbone, president of the school. “We can plan and help ease the tension and help ease some of the pressures that our families are experiencing right now, which is important to us.”

They’ve been asking for help, setting up a petition and urging their community to email the Department of Education, but still have heard nothing.

Currents News reached out to the Department of Education — they say the appeals process is ongoing and that the school should hear back in the next few weeks.

The school is planning on exploring the option of taking the program private if they lose their appeal.

Faith Is Helping Woman Who Woke From Coma and Survived COVID Through Recovery

Currents News Staff

After Lisa Martin spent 59 days on a ventilator, 40 days in an induced coma and suffered a frontal lobe stroke, the Georgia-based mother of four is now home. The family was about to let her go, but says God had other plans.

Lisa joined Currents News to share her incredible story and how her faith has been helping her during recovery.

Iraqi Faithful Still Confident in Pope Francis’ Visit Despite Security Concerns

By Currents News Staff and Elise Ann Allen

ROME (Crux) – Despite renewed security concerns after a series of recent terrorist attacks, one of Iraq’s top prelates has said preparations for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit are still underway, calling it a sign of hope that peace is possible in the war-torn nation.

On Jan. 21 two suicide bombs rocked a crowded second-hand clothing market in the Iraqi capital, leaving at least 32 people dead and 110 wounded. The attacks were the first of their kind in nearly two years.

Two days later, Jan. 23, the Iraqi Defense Ministry reported that three rockets had struck near Baghdad International Airport, two landing just outside the airport, and one on a home in the city’s Al-Jihad neighborhood.

Though no casualties were reported during the rocket strike, the incident sparked increased fear that such acts of violence and terrorism would increase, casting further doubt on the upcoming papal visit to Iraq, which was already dubious given the continued spread of the coronavirus pandemic and a delay in the rollout of vaccines.

In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, said plans for March 5-8 visit are still going forward, and that the Church is “preparing everything together with the government.”

“For everyone it is an extraordinary event,” Cardinal Sako said. “The pope will come to say: enough, enough war, enough violence, seek peace and fraternity and the protection of human dignity.”

“In my opinion, he will bring two things: Comfort and hope, which until now have been denied to us,” Cardinal Sako said, noting that the visit will have strong “spiritual connotations” and will be “a very important event for us Christians, but everyone in Iraq is waiting for this encounter, even Muslims, other religious realities and government leaders.”

Cardinal Sako said he believes there was a “political motive” behind the attacks, which he said were meant to send “a message to the government and also to the new American president.”

Among Iraqi citizens, “There is great concern and also sadness,” he said, noting that the people who died in last week’s suicide bombings “were poor people, truly poor.”

Despite the recent flare up of violent attacks, Cardinal Sako said people in Iraq still hold out hope for peace, even after decades of war and terrorism.

To achieve peace “takes time,” he said, “but before time it takes goodwill on the part of the politicians. If this is not there, there will be no peace. The militias must also obey the Iraqi government and the government must force the withdrawal of weapons. Everything must stay in the hands of the government and not political parties.”

Even if Christians weren’t the specific targets of this most recent spat of violence in Iraq, Cardinal Sako said they are still suffering and fearful along with the rest of the population.

“We are part of Iraq, we don’t live alone, we are with everyone else. Their pain is ours, therefore we are brothers and sisters of a great family that is called Iraq,” he said.

Cardinal Sako recently invited Christians in Iraq to join in a 3-day “Resurrection of Nineveh” event consisting of prayer and fasting for peace in Iraq.

With the initiative, Christians “want to say that we are all children of God, the God of all humanity,” Cardinal Sako said, noting that the decision to center the event in Nineveh has a “double meaning” – namely, to affirm that God does not discriminate in his love, and to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Today we are living with a lot of fear of the coronavirus. Therefore, we must pray and ask for God’s help to be saved and so that this pandemic ends for the whole world,” he said, adding, “We think not just of ourselves in Iraq, but all men throughout the world.”

Biden Pledge to Codify Roe v. Wade ‘Disturbing’ and ‘Tragic,’ Bishops Say

Currents News Staff and John Lavenburg, National Correspondent

NEW YORK — The U.S. bishops’ conference pro-life chairman has called President Joe Biden’s intent to codify Roe v. Wade in federal law “deeply disturbing and tragic,” in response to a statement made by the second-ever Catholic president on Jan. 22.

The statement from the White House — signed by both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — was made Friday for the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case, which made abortion legal.

“It is deeply disturbing and tragic that any President would praise and commit to codifying a Supreme Court ruling that denies unborn children their most basic human and civil right, the right to life under the euphemistic disguise of a health service,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas said in a statement.

The statement from Biden and Harris not only reiterates the administration’s pledge to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land, but made a commitment to appointing judges that “respect foundational precedents like Roe.”

“In the past four years, reproductive health, including the right to choose, has been under relentless and extreme attack,” the statement reads. “We are deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care — including reproductive health care — regardless of income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status.

“We are also committed to ensuring that we work to eliminate maternal and infant health disparities, increase access to contraception, and support families economically so that all parents can raise their families with dignity,” the statement continued.

Archbishop Naumann emphasized the church teaching on the issue remains unchangeable, and urged the president to reject abortion and promote life-affirming aid to women and communities in need.

“Public officials are responsible for not only their personal beliefs, but also the effects of their public actions,” Archbishop Naumann said. “Roe’s elevation of abortion to the status of a protected right and its elimination of state restrictions paved the way for the violent deaths of more than 62 million innocent unborn children and for countless women who experience the heartache of loss, abandonment, and violence.”

Bishops throughout the day took to social media to reaffirm their commitment to life. It was also day two of a novena for life sponsored by the USCCB.

“Let us ask that his mercy be upon us, that he gives us the strength to follow him in building a culture where every human life is sacred, where we can see the light of God in the eyes of every child,” Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the USCCB tweeted Friday.

Others spoke directly against Roe v. Wade. Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland in Oregon called Friday “a day of great sadness” in a Facebook post.

“It was a terrible and flawed decision that opened the floodgates for legal abortion in the USA,” Archbishop Sample wrote. “Let us pray that our public officials who favor and promote abortion rights are converted in heart, mind and soul so that they will instead seek to protect the most vulnerable among us — the pre-born baby in the womb.”

Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth called Friday “a shameful anniversary,” responding to an earlier tweet from the president, where he reiterated his dedication to codifying the 1973 decision and access to health care for all.

“To equate access to abortion, the direct killing of an unborn child, with universal access to needed healthcare is morally incoherent and incompatible with authentic Catholic doctrine,” Bishop Olson said in a tweet.

Currents News full broadcast for Mon, 1/25/21 (Catholic news)

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

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

There’s been an arrest in the Diocese of Brooklyn. A deacon accused of sexual misconduct with a minor – everything you need to know.

Defending the rights of the unborn – a top U.S. bishop is here to talk about the future of the pro-life movement.

A single article of impeachment is heading to the Senate as the looming trial of the former president could soon be underway.

Volunteers from a Queens parish aren’t forgetting about a population that’s been greatly affected by the pandemic. The outreach hits close to home for one of their own, who is now living his life’s mission.

Starting on a High Note: Andrea Bocelli Foundation to Open in Florence

By Melissa Corsi

Tenor Andrea Bocelli will be heard a lot more around Florence, because the new headquarters of his foundation are in the heart of the city at Palazzo San Firenze.

A ribbon celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and its new home in the Tuscan capital. The organization’s aim is to continue education and build community among youth.

The vocational center, called ABF GlobaLAB, virtually opened on the International Day of Education to foster growth in the arts.

“If human intelligence is not valued, if it’s not put in a useful position for the whole of humanity, it is a terrible shame,” Andrea told Currents News. It’s the reason why he’s using his voice to encourage youth to create and dialogue.

The space took one year to renovate, changing multiple times, after its original use as St. Philip Neri’s Oratories in the 16th century.

Five hundred years later, Andrea’s wife Veronica Berti, vice chairman of the organization, said this location was “meant to be.”

“And we are waiting for a lot of young people to live inside and to bring their experience to us, so that we can coordinate and empower the talent that every student can bring,” she added.

If we want to hope for a better world, we must work to build it, with the knowledge that good is absolutely stronger than evil, and in the end it will win,” said Andrea.

They say their position in life gives them the privilege to help and support others and bring a bit of joy to the world.

A small portion of the work the foundation has been able to do in the past 10 years is raise 36 million euros, provide drinking water to 400,000 people who did not have access previously and build nine schools, both in Italy and Haiti. They say this is only the beginning.