Meet Currents News’s Official Anchor, Christine Persichette

By Erin DeGregorio and Currents News Staff

WINDSOR TERRACE — Broadcast journalist Christine Persichette has been named the anchor of Currents News, a comprehensive nightly news program from the Catholic perspective.

“After a long search, it became clear Christine was the right person for this unique and important job,” said Vito Formica, executive director of news content and development at DeSales Media Group, the communications arm for the Diocese of Brooklyn that produces the program.

Her Catholic Connections

Persichette’s professional experience in New York and personal connection to the Diocese of Brooklyn brings additional credibility to the award-winning newscast. Persichette was born and raised in Long Island City, Queens, where she was a parishioner and student at St. Rita’s Church.

A lifelong Catholic, Persichette said the education she received at St. Rita’s School not only taught her academic fundamentals but also helped her to grow socially. She gives credit to all the teachers who helped her along the way, including her first-grade teacher Sister Margaret, fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Sheridan, and sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Absalom. While at St. Rita’s, she sang in the children’s choir, played on the school’s softball team, and participated in multiple math and spelling bees.

“I loved Sister Margaret. I was so shy and scared, but she was so nice and helped me come out of my shell,” Persichette said. “By the third grade, I was performing solo dances in the class play and, in the seventh grade, I was the class president.”

Persichette later attended and graduated from St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Though it was the furthest high school she could have possibly gone to with her commute being an hour-and-a-half-long, she was excited to be accepted as a student and absolutely loved her four years there. At St. Francis Prep, Persichette was a retreat leader, which allowed her to get to know her classmates better by discussing things they were going through in their lives and how their Catholic faith helped them get through tough times.

While at St. Francis Prep, Persichette also learned how to square dance (and actually had fun while doing it) in the school’s gymnasium, attended the proms, and went to the Bahamas for her senior class trip. But one of Persichette’s favorite high school memories she’ll never forget was getting a perfect 100 in Chemistry — “science was never my thing, but my teacher was excellent,” she noted. Her favorite subjects growing up were English, reading, and writing.

Years later, Persichette returned to her roots at St. Rita’s when she got married to her husband Damian. Vicar for Catholic Schools in Brooklyn and Queens Monsignor David Cassato — who she had originally known as Father Dave — was a priest at St. Rita’s and presided over Persichette’s wedding ceremony, in addition to all of her siblings’ weddings and her father’s funeral Mass.

“Everyone at my wedding said it was the best church service they had ever been to,” Persichette recalled. “He’s an amazing priest.”

Becoming the Face of Currents News

Persichette began filling-in as an anchor at Currents News during the fall of 2019 when Formica was auditioning several candidates for the role. Then, news of the coronavirus began to dominate the headlines in February.

“Christine connected with the audience and guided viewers during the peak of the crisis with calmness and empathy,” said Chairman of the Board and President of DeSales Media Monsignor Kieran Harrington.

Persichette said the opportunity to join Currents News came at the right time, and the new position feels like home.

“I’m so proud to work at Currents News. I was really happy to continue my career here, especially being in the Brooklyn Diocese, where I’m from,” she said.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but it’s still the same journalism I’ve always been doing — just faith-based, which is nice. Reporting the news that’s coming from a Catholic perspective adds a level of comfort. And when we’re talking about crises, whether it’s the COVID-19 pandemic or war-torn countries, we’re always looking at who’s helping and how to help,” she said.

Persichette believes that Currents News is the kind of news people are yearning for. During this turbulent time where media is often politicized and agenda-driven, Christine says Currents News is a “program people can trust.”

“We give it to our audience straight,” she explained, “The public deserves that.” Persichette believes too many news organizations are underestimating their viewers and readers, while the Currents News team strives every night to get back to the cornerstones of journalism. “We are balanced and objective. That’s not something you can easily get these days.”

Persichette currently lives in Rockland County and is a marriage prep coordinator, along with her husband, at St. Francis of Assisi parish in West Nyack. Together, they have three sons.

Before joining Currents News, Persichette worked as a morning anchor for FiOS1 News. During that time, she also hosted a half-hour show called “Heroes on Our Island,” which highlighted individuals making a difference and giving back to their communities. Currents News airs weeknight at 7 p.m. on NET-TV (Spectrum ch. 97, Optimum ch. 30, FiOS ch. 48) in the New York City viewing area and streams on netny.tv and YouTube.

Currents News full broadcast for Tues, 9/22/20 (Catholic news)

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

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

The Vatican Secretary of State addresses the United Nations ahead of Pope Francis – what’s he asked for in his message.

The pandemic couldn’t stop 12 students and one professor at Saint John’s University – after months of intense study they received the Sacraments of Christian Initiation.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be the first woman and the first Jewish person to lie in state at the Capitol – plus details on a new tribute here in Brooklyn.

The debate and divide over nominating someone to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

St. John’s University RCIA Candidates Receive Sacraments of Initiation, Overcome COVID Challenges

By Emily Drooby

On Sunday, September 20 Briana Cedeño received her Sacraments of Initiation. It was a moment she will always cherish. The St. John’s University student was in the school’s Rite Of Christian Initiation for Adults Program.

The ceremony marked the beginning of a new life in Christ, one she chose as a college student.

“Sometimes you have to take a minute and say, ‘Okay I have all this stuff I need to do, let me just depend on God that he’s going to guide me through all my assignments that I need to do and everything will be okay,'” Briana explained.

This important milestone for her and her fellow RCIA candidates, like Stephanie DiGiorgio, was threatened by the pandemic.

“We were starting to pick out our confirmation names like we got really close to the final Sacrament towards Easter and then we all had to leave. And we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Stephanie said.

The program was moved online, while the ceremony was rescheduled from April to September.

However, there was still a fear: would the pandemic and all of the disruptions it caused lead the candidates astray?

“RCIA is a long process to begin with,” Andrea Pinnavaia, the university’s campus minister and RCIA coordinator, told Currents News. “And then to have to wait even longer, almost six months past when they should have been initiated” made it even longer.

Questions surrounding the timeline were heightened by a grim trend: a decrease in Catholic Americans and an increase in Americans with no religion. It’s a trend that’s most pronounced among the younger generations, according to a Pew research study.

However, the RCIA candidates remained faithful to their mission.

“So easily people could have lost contact or dropped out of the process, but they were all so determined to keep going so I was excited and relieved,” Andrea said.

On Sunday 13 candidates, including Stephanie and Briana, finally received their Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros of the Diocese of Brooklyn presided at the liturgy.

Some were unable to take part because of travel restrictions. Andrea tells Currents News that they will receive their Sacraments next semester.

Staten Island’s Project Brunch Says New COVID-19 Surcharge Off the Table for Customers

By Jessica Easthope

Project Brunch knows how to set itself apart: the restaurant’s staff puts care and consideration into everything, especially how they treat their customers. But when the pandemic crushed New York City’s economy, they were the same as every other small business.

“Everyone’s been thrown into this same boat of uncertainty and financial stress and even emotional stress but our customers have been amazing; they all supported us,” said Jenna Mazza, the manager of Project Brunch, her family’s business.

After being forced to close one of their Staten Island locations during the pandemic, Project Brunch had another tough decision cooking.

Last week the New York City Council approved the COVID-19 Recovery Charge, allowing restaurants to add 10 percent to your food bill until indoor dining has been open for 90 days. The charge is designed to help restaurants earn back some of the money they lost, but Project Brunch said “no thanks.”

“Just like we’re feeling it personally as a restaurant, as a company, the stress of COVID-19, so is everyone else,” Jenna said. “And it would be against what we stand for to put even more on our customers, who we very much care about.”

Customers say the delicious food drew them in, but what keeps them coming back isn’t on the menu.

“We’re all in this together. The pandemic’s been very difficult on a lot of businesses and we have to support the places we love,” said Ellen Settani, a customer who has come to the restaurant every Tuesday since it opened in 2016.

“They’re caring about the customers first, so I have no problem supporting them all the way with this,” said George Finelli, another regular customer.

Even with the support of their customers, Project Brunch’s future is still uncertain. Indoor dining is just days away. and as the colder months make outdoor dining impossible, 25 percent capacity inside won’t cut it.

“We will not be able to survive with 25 percent capacity and 100 percent bills, the math doesn’t work out that way. Steps need to be taken to save the small businesses and save the culture of New York and our communities,” said Jenna.

Project Brunch is hoping to survive long enough to see business go back to normal. Until then, they can promise the menu will change, but their values will stay the same.

Could a Supreme Court Vacancy Affect 2020 Election Voter Turnout?

Currents News Staff

The vacancy on the high court just might be giving some people the push they needed to head to the polls on Election Day, which is six weeks away.

Sept. 22 is National Voter Registration Day, used to encourage anyone who is eligible to sign up so they can vote in November.

Joining Currents News to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy and the upcoming elections is St. John’s University Political Science Professor Brian Browne.

Vatican-China Agreement: Secretary Pompeo Enters the Debate

By Cindy Wooden and Currents News Staff

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — About 10 days before he was expected in Rome, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the Vatican “endangers its moral authority” by considering an extension of its 2018 agreement with China on the nomination of bishops.

Pompeo’s tweet Sept. 19 linked to an article he wrote for the magazine First Things asking the Vatican to use its “moral witness and authority in support of China’s religious believers.”

“Vatican diplomats are meeting this month with their CCP (Chinese Communist Party) counterparts to negotiate the renewal of a two-year-old provisional agreement between the Holy See and China. The terms of that pact have never been publicly disclosed; but the church’s hope was that it would improve the condition of Catholics in China by reaching agreement with the Chinese regime on the appointment of bishops, the traditional stewards of the faith in local communities,” Pompeo wrote in the article.

He summarized his point in the tweet, saying “the CCP’s abuse of the faithful has only gotten worse. The Vatican endangers its moral authority, should it renew the deal.”

The Vatican did not publicly respond to Pompeo’s tweet or article.

“If the Holy See made such a comment about U.S. relations with a state, I can’t imagine Secretary Pompeo would be happy,” a former Vatican official, not authorized to speak on the record, told Catholic News Service Sept. 21.

He also pointed out that the Holy See’s negotiations and agreement are with the Chinese government, not the Chinese Communist Party, as Pompeo suggested. Arguing they are one and the same would be like claiming treaties negotiated with the Trump administration “were with the Republican Party. It makes no sense.”

As for the heart of Pompeo’s argument — that the agreement has not ended persecution of Catholics in China — the former official agreed, but pointed out that the situation for Catholics varies “depending on the province they live in. For some, it is better. For others, it’s the same. And, unfortunately, for some, it’s worse.”

But the Vatican always has insisted that dialogue is a process and walking away from the table because the other side does not give you everything you want at the beginning is more akin to attempting a business transaction than dialogue.

“This agreement is the fruit of 30 years’ work; we’re not going to just rip it up,” another Vatican official said, asking that his name not be used.

He said the Vatican was surprised that Pompeo’s article in First Things was “so substantial,” detailing situations of alleged violations of human rights.

But even more, he said, “we were surprised given that he’s coming here at the end of the month and we expected to have substantial discussions on this. It’s not the approach most diplomats would take” when setting an agenda for a high-level meeting.

Calling Pompeo’s article and tweet “megaphone diplomacy,” he said that it was not completely unusual for the Trump Administration.

At the same time, he said, the Vatican does not believe it is “just rhetoric,” citing Pompeo’s allegations of the forced sterilization of Muslims in Xinjiang, a region where there are few Catholics, so the Vatican has no direct information.

Many observers in the Italian press saw Pompeo’s tweet and article as more partisan politics than diplomacy.

The Italian journalist Gianni Riotta tweeted in Italian, “How does Secretary of State Pompeo prepare for a summit at the Vatican with @Pontifex? Attacking him on China. Will this muscular approach work with the church of Francis? No.”

Australian Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane replied to Riotta’s tweet by saying, “Nor will an attempt to pressgang the Holy See into a questionable domestic political/electoral agenda playing itself out on the international stage.”

Maria Antonietta Calabro, writing in the Italian HuffPost, said that in his run for reelection, Trump “has targeted the Catholic electoral base, which could make the difference,” especially because part of U.S. Catholicism, she wrote, “is often strongly critical of Pope Francis.”

But the heart of Pompeo’s article in First Things was China’s ongoing violations of human rights and, especially, of religious freedom.

The Vatican, which tried repeatedly over decades to begin an official dialogue with China, has never pretended the country had a sterling human rights record.

“With China, our current interest is to normalize the life of the church as much as possible, to ensure that the church can live a normal life, which for the Catholic Church means also having relations with the Holy See and the pope,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, told reporters Sept. 14.

Although the Vatican also is concerned with issues such as “peaceful coexistence and overcoming tensions,” the current agreement is focused on the “ecclesiastical issue” of bishop appointments, the cardinal said.

The Vatican official who spoke to CNS said the Vatican believes, “quite seriously, that ours is a technical agreement on the appointment of bishops. We hope it would help the Catholics there.”

“Dialogue — that’s the only tool at our disposal,” he said, contrasting the Vatican’s position with that of nations who can use weapons or financial deals to sway another country.

The Vatican negotiators do “raise the various human rights issues that impact the Catholic Church,” including the mistreatment or detainment of priests and bishops but have not had great success in that area, he said. However, the agreement about bishops was built over decades and the Vatican plans to persist, even if the going is slow.

In the preface to a 2019 book on the agreement, Cardinal Parolin quoted retired Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics: “The solution to existing problems cannot be pursued via an ongoing conflict with the legitimate civil authorities; at the same time, though, compliance with those authorities is not acceptable when they interfere unduly in matters regarding the faith and discipline of the church.”

“This is the path followed today as well in relations with the People’s Republic of China,” Cardinal Parolin wrote. The Vatican has initiated “historic processes that may not immediately bring the desired results,” but it knows “the definitive solution to complex problems requires time and trust.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio Visits St. Bartholomew’s UPK Center During First Day of Public School Classes

by Erin DeGregorio

ELMHURST — On Sept. 21, Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray, and New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza welcomed parents and children outside the Mosaic Pre-K Center, which the city runs out of St. Bartholomew School, for their first day of in-person learning. Greetings included elbow bumps, enthusiastic waves, and asking how students were feeling about the first day back at school.

Public schools across the city were supposed to begin the school year on Sept. 10, but pressure from school labor unions delayed the start twice. Up to 90,000 3-K, pre-K, and special needs students in the Department of Education’s 734 schools that serve District 75 are expected to return in person during the week of Sept. 21. Students in the older grades, who had opted for blended learning, began the school year with remote learning, instead, on Sept. 21. They will be physically returning to the classrooms during the week of Sept. 28.

While in Elmhurst, Mayor de Blasio noted the devotion that was on display by Mosaic teachers, staff, and administration prior to the children’s arrivals.

“I have a lot of faith in our educators [and] I have a lot of faith in our school communities,” Mayor de Blasio said. “People choose to teach because they love children and they’re going to take good care of your children.”

All of the students who arrived at the building already had their backpacks and face coverings on before going inside. The mayor emphasized how these 4-year-olds are naturally and effortlessly wearing the coverings.

“It isn’t a hassle for them. They just go with the flow,” Mayor de Blasio said after touring the Mosaic Pre-K Center’s interior. “They’re really adaptable — and we’re seeing it throughout the entry in the morning and also in the school … That’s why I’m very convinced this is going to be a good and safe experience for everyone.”

In the same vein, Chancellor Carranza said the Elmhurst center’s programming is “very smart” as small-sized groups and ample social distancing protocols are in place.

“‘They’re bringing students in smaller groups — even smaller than what they will have going forward because they want to orient students, make sure they have that transition,” Carranza said. “This is a great first day of school and we can hardly wait to see more of this as we go around the City.”

The Mosaic Pre-K Center opened in Sept. 2015 with 144 available seats.

Currents News full broadcast for Mon, 9/21/20 (Catholic news)

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

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is setting the scene for a new politically charged battle in what has already been a divisive campaign.

The Brooklyn Diocese is making an appeal to the parents of public school students.

And a Catholic protest led by the Archbishop in a city that still hasn’t allowed the faithful back inside churches to worship.

Msgr. David Cassato, Vicar of Schools for Brooklyn Diocese, on Benefits of Catholic Education Amid COVID-19

Currents News Staff

The continuing delays in opening the city’s public schools are prompting the vicar for Catholic schools in the Brooklyn Diocese to speak out. The 66 schools in the diocese opened for in-person learning nearly two weeks ago.

Joining Currents News is Monsignor David Cassato, pastor of St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst, who has a message for public school parents.

NYC Public Schools Open for In-Person Learning With New Staggered Program

By Emily Drooby

Backpacks and buses were seen around New York City Sept. 21, as public schools began their staggered rollout. Kids in 3-k, pre-k and district 75 special education started in-person learning. The rest of the city’s 1.1 million students started virtually.

It’s a far cry from the city’s original plan, which had all students starting in-person Monday. That was changed last-minute, less than a week ago.

Still, parents of the Big Apple’s youngest students told Currents News they were thrilled to get their kids back into a classroom.

With the new plan, 90,000 students start in-person learning this week at 734 schools and 1,050 community based early childhood programs.

Mousumi Islam said her daughter could not wait to go to school this morning.

Imitating her daughter, she said, “‘Mommy lets go, lets go.’ Wait, wait, 8:30 your class is opening. Hold on hold on. ‘No let’s go.’”

Mayor Bill de Blasio called the first phase of the rollout as inspiring. It’s the “first time our children are going back into school buildings in big numbers since the middle of March,” he explained.

Some parents are still worried.

“I’m a little bit scared with COVID-19,” Mousumi told Currents News. “I’m a little bit scared.”

The road to schools reopening has been long and bumpy. In-person learning has now been delayed twice, with health, safety, and a lack of teachers as to blame.

The new staggered reopening plan has elementary schools, both K-5 and K-8, going back next Tuesday, Sept. 29. Middle schools, high schools, secondary schools and transfer/adult education won’t start until October 1.

Despite continued delays, Mayor de Blasio remains optimistic.

“This morning, strong lift-off and you heard, it’s a huge number of schools and early childhood programs, and they’re starting strong,” he said. “So, I feel very good about the trajectory we are on.”

He was encouraged by the school’s safety procedures and by the sight of the city’s youngest students successfully wearing their masks.

“They were wearing those masks, it was natural to them,” Mayor de Blasio said. “That’s going to be crucial to everyone’s health and safety. Even four-year-old’s, three-year-olds can do it.”

About 42 percent of the city’s students have opted to start the year learning virtually, while most students who do go to in-person classes will still have a hybrid schedule.