Prayer for Help: Diocese of Brooklyn Haitian Community Turns to Our Lady

According to the United Nations, gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than 300,000 children since March. For months now, the country has struggled to control kidnappings and killings.

Here in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Haitians are praying for their homeland, asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Mass, sponsored by the Diocese’s Haitian Apostolate, marked the feast day of the Marian apparition.

Every year, people from the Caribbean island remember and thank the Patroness of Haiti for answering their prayers and saving the country from a smallpox and cholera outbreak in 1882.

During this year’s Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Sunset Park, Bishop Robert Brennan and the faithful prayed for Mary’s intercession again.

Brooklyn Catholic Family Caught in Ukrainian Conflict Pleads for Aid

By Christine Persichette

A Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian children’s hospital has left dozens dead, intensifying the chaos in Kyiv. Amidst the turmoil, a Catholic family from Brooklyn, visiting their ailing grandmother in Zhytomyr, is desperately seeking safety while urging for more international aid to help Ukraine.

Dozens were killed after a Russian missile attack hit a Ukrainian children’s hospital. Kyiv is scrambling to pick up the pieces, and a Catholic family from Brooklyn is in the middle of the chaos.

They’re in the city of Zhytomyr, which is just over 80 miles from Kyiv. Natalia Pastushenko brought her three children there to see their grandma, who is fighting cancer. Soon after arriving, they heard the air raid sirens.

“Once we came, I heard the sirens,” said Igor Ozminskyy. “We went to the house to find cover.”

Ten-year-old Igor Ozminskyy, an altar boy at Guardian Angel Church in Brighton Beach, is currently in Ukraine with his younger siblings and his mom, visiting their grandma.

“Every time I hear sirens, I feel like a missile is either gonna hit this house or somewhere near us,” said Alexander Ozminskyy.

They arrived just as dozens of Russian missiles bombarded cities across the war-torn country Monday. The deadly strike at that children’s hospital in Kyiv was just 83 miles away.

“They don’t care where they’re bombing – kids or adults, or they don’t care absolutely – it’s pure evil,” said Natalia Pastushenko.

Natalia Pastushenko moved to Brooklyn 15 years ago. Her three young children are enrolled at St. Peter Catholic Academy. But she says her mother won’t leave her home, even though previous missile strikes have come close. A school just a half mile away was destroyed by one last year. But the kids know what to do when danger comes close.

“Go hide—I would go look for cover,” said Alexander. The room behind us has two walls all around, so I go there and just stay there until the sirens stop.”

Natalia is hoping the U.S. will do more to help her homeland.

“Only Ukraine is fighting for the whole world, and at least the United States give us more air defense system and maybe more tanks, more ammunition to help us to fight this devil,” said Pastushenko.

In the meantime, they hold out hope.

“I hope the war ends,” said Solomia Ozminska.

And they pray every single day.

“We are praying for Ukraine, for Ukrainian soldiers, for Ukrainian volunteers,” Pastushenko added. “We hope this awful war to be over soon, but it doesn’t look like it’s gonna be over soon.”

Special Edition: Pulse of the Parish 2024

Christian Kauffmann is not a carpenter by trade but the parishioner who fixes everything at Sacred Hearts and St. Stephen Church in Carroll Gardens.

Nancy Cardinale, a member of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, does more than ‘ring the bells to heaven.’ Her diverse contributions are a testament to her deep involvement and commitment.

Dave Beaudry is known for always putting his faith into action. He heads up the BrownBaggers at St. Saviour Parish in Park Slope, a group that meets monthly to make sandwiches and deliver them to people experiencing homelessness.

Paulita Dacosta-Campbell is taking the “steps” to grow a new ministry. Praise dancing is another way to pray at St. Bonaventure and St. Benedict the Moor in Jamaica.

Special Edition: Roaming the Eternal City

Steps, statues, saints, fountains and faith – summer in Rome.
We are taking you there on this special edition of Currents News.

Melissa Corsi is leading the way.

Many Americans haven’t been to Europe since the pandemic, but she has our exclusive itinerary, complete with tour guides.

Discover forgotten Catholic histories in piazzas and even in prisons. Plus, statues with a voice as we roam around the Eternal City.

Volunteer Work Guided Co-Valedictorian at St. Francis to Career Path Caring for the Sick

By Katie Vasquez

After four years at St. Francis College, Zenovia Gonzalez has a lot to be proud of.

She graduated co-valedictorian of the class of 2024 and is a member of several honor societies including the Duns Scotus.

“That is the highest honor at St. Francis College. About 15 students per year get into it,” Gonzalez said. “And so that is just, that was a true honor to get in.”

The 21-year-old is heading to medical school on her way to becoming a doctor after interning in multiple emergency rooms.

“You never know what’s going to come through the doors,” Gonzalez said. “And I think that’s the most thrilling part of, you know, like you feel like you’re on fire when you step in because you have to find a diagnosis right away.”

But she says her dream to help others didn’t start in a hospital.

It began here at the Chateau at Brooklyn Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, where she learned to see beyond a chart.

“I had no idea what these patients were going through. I don’t see their chart,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t know what their diagnosis is, but I think that’s the beauty because you don’t treat patients as if they were a diagnosis.”

She first started volunteering here at 14 years old. Her main job is to help patients feel less lonely.

“They need someone to talk to and they need that support system that they may not have their family there all the time,” Gonzalez said.

It’s a medicine resident Maria Paige says is like no other.

“She was a wonderful volunteer,” Paige said. “And wherever she’s going now, she’s a credit to them. You know, and they’re all thoroughly wonderful. I have no… they’re family. This is my family.”

Diane Ryabo, the director of recreation and volunteer services, could see Gonzalez was different from past volunteers.

“She was just a go-getter, very creative, very compassionate, really cared about the elderly, and that’s rare,” Ryabo said. “She wasn’t afraid. A lot of people who start volunteering, they’re a little afraid sometimes and they don’t know what to expect. They get nervous and that wasn’t the case. You know, she just really loved all the patients and adapted so easy where departments were fighting over who was going to have her in their department.”

Gonzalez feels her time here will make her a better doctor.

“In those stages where patients are vulnerable, like it’s their last stages of life, they want someone to talk to,” she said. “I think that really kind of molded my experience to want to keep going and doing medicine and hoping that I could be there for someone’s last stages of life.”

As Gonzalez prepares for her next stage of life, medical school at SUNY Downstate, she knows she got an even higher education in Brooklyn.

If you would like to volunteer at the center as well, you can call the Chateau at Brooklyn Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at 718-535-5100.

Adults With Autism Find Sports Community at Local Church’s Basketball Program

by Jessica Easthope

It doesn’t take much to see Ben Hack’s talent; just pass him the basketball, and watch him shine.

But not many people are willing to give you a shot when you’re 25, with autism.

“The adults with autism community is underserved, underfunded, and always understaffed,” said Mary Beth Walsh, Ben’s mother.

When Hack aged out of his day programs, Walsh was told he wasn’t fit for group sports. His diagnosis left her without options.

That was until Mary Beth teamed up with her parish, St. Joseph’s Church in Maplewood, New Jersey, and CYO coach Gerry O’Connor.

“Everywhere there’s many, many young adults with autism who are bored, who don’t have enough to do, who don’t have recreation programs that work for them,” Walsh said. “So it’s easy to find them. And I just started with calling my friends.”

“I didn’t know what to expect,” O’Connor said. “I didn’t know what levels of autism we were going to encounter. And we have all different levels; it’s been an eye-opening experience for me.”

With a few phone calls, Walsh was no longer on the sidelines, and the St. Joseph’s Adults with Special Disabilities (ASD) Clinic was born.

“It’s not a heavy lift, and it can make a real impact on the lives of young adults who are really, often overlooked,” Walsh said.

“We just took the drills that I teach the little kids and just kind of narrowed them down and simplified them for these guys,” O’Connor said. “They just want to do what their brothers and sisters do. That’s all they want.”

For an hour every Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters, this gym is theirs. It’s a frenzy of inclusion. St. Joseph’s pastor, Father Jim Worth, wonders why the program’s model hasn’t been picked up by parishes and schools all over the country.

“It made perfect sense to do something like this, and it was so organic and natural that, you know, it just happened and was hugely successful,” Father Worth said. “Young adults wouldn’t have this, and you would think, now this has been going on for a couple of years, no one is mimicking it.”

The players who can join for free are coached by Gerry and a team of high school athletes.

“They’re doing service hours that they need for school or CCD, but once they do it, they come back,” O’Connor said. “I think if they completed their service, they would still come back next year, and the year after.”

If these players were accepted everywhere like they are at St. Joseph’s, Mary Beth believes maybe more people would see what they can add to a team and to the number on the scoreboard.

“The promise that the church makes to everybody who’s baptized is that you belong, and you belong forever with us, and we are living out that baptismal promise, really,” Walsh said.

“You cannot help but fall in love with Ben,” Father Worth said. “So Ben has been such a great teacher for me and the parish. Mary Beth is such an incredibly valiant defender and fighter for as many services as possible.”

“What time is basketball? 6 o’clock. What day? Tuesday, every week. We’ll never miss it,” Walsh said.

This program has changed Ben’s life, and all it took was putting a ball in his hand. Maybe that is the point.

The program is free and welcomes young adults with autism from anywhere.

It starts back up again on September 3 and will run for 8 weeks on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Church in Maplewood.

For more information or to register, you can contact Coach Gerry O’Connor at 201-341-4289.

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 6/28/2024

They got game! Maplewood’s St. Joseph’s Church launches free basketball for adults with autism, fostering community and inclusion.

Graduates from St. Francis College’s class of 2024 are off to do great things, each carving their unique path, including co-valedictorian Zenovia Gonzalez, who started volunteering when she was only 14 years old. She’s just one example of how getting involved is changing lives.

A new controversial move in the classroom, Oklahoma mandates Bible study for grades 5-12 in public schools. The decision came after a law passed in Louisiana that required all public classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.

One rising 6th grader at St. Mel’s Catholic Academy is taking to the ice this summer. See how the goalie for the New York Islanders Girls Elite Hockey Team is spending her summer vacation.

Parish Community from Basilica of Regina Pacis Make $50K Donation

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens just got a big donation. CCBQ received $50,000 from the parish community at the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Dyker Heights.

Father Sebastian Tarcisio Andro, the pastor of the Basilica, described the donation as a powerful example of the church working together in love and charity.

Monsignor Alfred Lopinto, CCBQ’s CEO, expressed his gratitude saying the donation will help provide vital food assistance to our neighbors who need it most.

Queens Student Earns Rare Supernova Scout Award

by Katie Vasquez

He earned the achievement after a lot of research and activities which included indoor skydiving to learn about aerodynamics, a day camp for coding and making a mini volcano to learn about geology.

His mom who is also the assistant cubmaster for the scouts estimates he put in 100 hours over 6 months.

“I guess the equivalency would be, I think about like a science class for a year, but like just a whole nother on his own time type of thing,” said Olewnicki.

The list of requirements for the award is so daunting that few finish it.

“Less than 1% of scouts overall nationwide complete this award,” said Olewnicki.

The 8 year old plans to earn another supernova award once he crosses over to Boy Scouts.

Until then he will continue working on projects that challenge him.

“When I’m done with it, I test it out and sometimes it like, turns out good. and if i and if it doesn’t then i have to figure it out, it’s like a puzzle,” said Julian.

Julian’s goal is to be an aerospace engineer when he gets older.

Song Chosen As Official Hymn of Congress to Bring Catholics Together in Faith

Music is motivating many of the pilgrims on their journey to Indianapolis, including one song that was written specifically for the revival.

This is one of the songs that will be playing at Masses throughout the National Eucharistic Congress.

“Let the Earth Acclaim” was the winning hymn of the revival’s music contest.

The composer, Kathleen Pluth of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Phoenix, Arizona, joins Currents News to talk more about the song.