Democrats For Life’s Kristen Day Addresses the Growing Concerns of Pro-Life Democrats

Currents News Staff

Election Day is just about seven weeks away, but one group is concerned that their Democratic Party is alienating some Democratic voters because of one issue: abortion.

About 100 current and former Democratic lawmakers sent a letter in August to the Democratic Party’s platform committee urging them to moderate the party’s official position on abortion.

Executive Director of Democrats For Life, Kristen Day, joins Currents News to talk about how the Democratic Party can address the concerns of pro-life Democrats.

Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop James Massa Is Installed as Rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary

By Emily Drooby

With a congratulatory hug and a round of applause, Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop James Massa was officially installed as the twenty-second rector at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College.

Speaking at the installation to Currents News, Bishop Massa said, “It’s just a great feeling to be back here.”

He previously ministered at the school from 2012 to 2015. He taught and coordinated the merger, which was when the three downstate New York dioceses merged St. Joseph’s programs with those of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Long Island.

“He was very instrumental in the architect, really, of the merger of the seminaries,” explained Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. ‘So, it’s so wonderful that he’s going to be able to come back.”

Now that Bishop Massa is back, he’s already working on new goals.

“I was to continue to strengthen the bonds of connection between the seminarians and the local clergy. They need guidance and encouragement. So I would like to see those relationships grow,” he explained.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan called Bishop Massa the perfect person for this job.

“If you had a group of people sit down and describe the man you would want as the rector of the seminary…spiritual depth, an intimacy with the sacred art of priestly formation. A man with experience, a man who loves his priesthood and has immense pastoral experience. If you put that in a computer, guess whose name would come up: James Massa,” said Cardinal Dolan.

Seminarians agree with Cardinal Dolan.

“He’s down to earth, very humble, very caring and very spiritual, and those qualities are so good for our seminarians,” said Tobechukwu Offiah of Brooklyn.

Nine Brooklyn Diocese Priests Officially Monsignors After Pandemic Delayed Conferral

By Jessica Easthope

Nine Diocese of Brooklyn priests are making it official. They assumed the title of Monsignor in February, but their conferral ceremony is finally taking place at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn after being postponed for months due to the pandemic.

“There’s a certain excitement for me, it’s a recognition as your involvement in ministry is diminishing so it’s something nice,” said Monsignor John Gildea.

In 2014 Pope Francis changed the rules — now only priests who are 65 and older can become monsignors, the title symbolizing a life of service well-lived.

The new monsignors include Monsignor Richard Ahlemeyer, Monsignor Joseph Cunningham, Monsignor Edward Doran, Monsignor Casper Furnari, Monsignor John Gildea, Monsignor John Harrington, Monsignor William Hoppe, Monsignor Raymond Roden and Monsignor John Vesey.

“Only 10 percent of the number of priests in the diocese can be monsignors, so we have some restrictions that we didn’t have in the past, so it’s an even greater honor I think,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.

For each of the men their new titles means something different.

“I was relatively uncertain that I would ever be a monsignor but I guess at age 80 I’m entitled to it but it’s a nice thing recognizing years of service and contribution,” said Monsignor Edward Doran.

Monsignor Raymond Roden’s new future is making him think about the past.

“It reminds me most of all how much I loved the title Father. I also love being called Padre and Abba in the Jewish communities, I can’t think of anything more wonderful than being called Abba,” said Monsignor Roden.

Earlier this year, Monsignor Roden overcame a serious battle with coronavirus. He recently left his long-time home at Our Lady of Sorrows in Corona, Queens.

“I did the best I could at Our Lady of Sorrows, I gave it everything I had. It was time to move on, very clearly, and now I’m happy Father Manuel is the pastor there. I can go in peace as it were,” Monsignor Roden said.

Bishop DiMarzio says the new monsignors are an outstanding reflection of obedience and dedication.

“Each one of them was uniquely obedient to the requests they were given to do ministry, sometimes outside the country, outside the diocese, they really did do God’s will well,” said Bishop DiMarzio.

The monsignors are each continuing their service in different ways, but all have had a life well-lived.

Currents News full broadcast for Fri, 9/11/20 (Catholic news)

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

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

Today’s ceremony at Ground Zero – marking the 19th anniversary of the terror attacks on 9/11 – may have changed because of the pandemic, but the message is the same.

Brooklyn pastor and NYPD chaplain Msgr. Robert Romano was at Ground Zero on that fateful day and it lives with him every day – he’ll be here with his thoughts.

One woman’s mission to raise awareness after her husband’s death from COVID-19 as she remembers his heroic actions on 9/11.

We’ll tell you about the effort underway to make the annual Tribute in Lights an everlasting memorial.

Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001: NYPD Chaplain Msgr. Robert Romano Says Faith Helps New York Heal

Currents News Staff

One man who spent months at Ground Zero ministering to the first responders who and the families of September 11 victims was Monsignor Robert Romano.

The pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Brooklyn, Msgr. Romano, an NYPD chaplain, calls 9/11 the most significant event in his priestly life.

Two-thousand-nine hundred-and-seventy-seven people died that day, and countless others afterwards due to 9/11-related illnesses.

It’s been 19 years since that day, and people are still mourning. Remembrances in 2020 were very different from years’ past because of the coronavirus pandemic — no live readings of the names, or families holding pictures and telling their own stories.

Msgr. Romano joins Currents News to share his story and how faith helped us get through 9/11 back in 2001, and still is today.

Nineteen Years After 9/11, First Responder Couple Is Torn Apart by COVID-19

By Jessica Easthope

Victoria Burton’s husband Mike Hankins was one-of-a-kind.

“Mike was a gentleman, he had a very corny sense of humor, he liked to make people smile and laugh, he dedicated himself to serving others, he’s always been a mentor and a coach,” Victoria said.

As 9/11 first responders, Mike and Victoria were given the horrific task of identifying human remains from Ground Zero — Mike for the FDNY, Victoria for the NYPD’s Crime Scene Unit. That’s where the two met.

“With all the chaos, all the destruction, all the death, I found my soulmate,” Victoria said.

After serving the city of New York as a fire marshal for 25 years, Mike retired. It wasn’t until years later he would develop Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and severe sleep apnea related to his work at Ground Zero.

“He was certified with the GERD as being attributed to 9/11 but he was in the process of having the sleep apnea attributed to that also but he passed away before it was completed,” said Victoria.

In March, Mike was diagnosed with COVID-19 and after a nearly month-long battle with the virus he died on April 2. Mike was gone in an instant and Victoria wasn’t able to say goodbye.

“My head was spinning. I had just spoken to him hours before, I could not believe the turn this had taken,” Victoria said.

Like many 9/11 survivors and first responders, Mike was registered with the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund and like those who also suffered from 9/11-related health issues, Mike was more susceptible to the deadly effects of the coronavirus.

“Nobody could have ever foreseen this to deal with this pandemic that puts these same 9/11 survivors in a different category. It’s dangerous for all of us, but for these people even more so. It’s heart wrenching,” said Richard Alles, a retired FDNY Chief who now serves as the Director of 9/11 Community Services for Barasch & McGarry Law Firm.

Barasch and McGarry represents 9/11 survivors. The firm has lost nearly 100 clients to COVID-19 and its lawyers are now making claims that the loved ones they left behind are owed.

“The widow or the family member would be entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars for his pain and suffering or if he was still working, hundreds of thousands of dollars for his lost income,” said Michael Barasch, Managing Partner of the firm.

But for Victoria, you can’t put a price on Mike’s life.

“I would take absolutely nothing just to have him back here, that’s how important he was to us,” she said. “You could give me millions, it doesn’t replace him. Nothing could replace him.’

The way Victoria’s paying tribute to her heroic husband this year on 9/11? She’s raising awareness about COVID-19.

“People need to protect themselves and by wearing their masks, they’re protecting other people as well,” she explained. “I just want other people to know this is not a joke and people are dying, I don’t want him to be forgotten about.’

Nineteen years later her heartbreak has doubled, but Victoria’s mission is to make sure we never forget.

NY’s SOMOS Community Care Is Traveling the U.S. to Help Underserved Communities Get COVID Testing

By Emily Drooby

When the coronavirus pandemic hit New York in March 2020, one dedicated team of experts from SOMOS Community Care quickly took charge to help the highly affected Latino and African American communities.

Now, SOMOS, a network of physicians committed to helping immigrant communities, has been sharing its healthcare model, expertise and altruism with other areas of the United States.

“As an expression of gratitude for states having collaborated with New York at the beginning of the pandemic, Gov. Cuomo asked us to send qualified personnel to Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia,” said Mario Paredes, the CEO of SOMOS Community Care.

In many of these areas, their help was much needed.

“There, we found a lack of access to healthcare services, in this case, testing. Information on education — on how to behave at home, what to do with the kids, grandparents — doesn’t exist, or is very limited,’ explained Dr. Ramon Tallaj, the Founder of SOMOS Community Care.

“That’s why we have this problem, that so many people are getting infected in these places: because people haven’t been educated about the situation, as they were in New York, for example, where we were at the forefront from the beginning,’ he added.

In Houston, Texas, where a significant part of the population is comprised of Latinos and African Americans, SOMOS set up walk-in clinics. There, they treated over 3,500 patients, many of whom had been struggling to even make appointments for testing.

“They were happy to come in and happy to see people that will speak their language, that won’t ask for an I.D., that were welcoming them into the centers,” said Dr. Yomaris Peña of SOMOS Community Care. “So, it was very amazing to bring this opportunity to these states, and they were extremely grateful.”

Medical personnel have also provided health services in Florida, in cities like St. Petersburg, Tampa and Miami Lakes, as well as in Savannah, Georgia, where many undocumented immigrants have trouble accessing the healthcare system.

“At each of the sites, we have anywhere between three and five staff members that help on a daily basis with setup of testing, with registration, handling of the samples, obtaining the samples, making sure they reach the lab, and then calling every single patient with their lab results, regardless of them being negative or positive,” said Dr. Jacqueline Delmont, the Chief Medical Officer of SOMOS Innovation.

The SOMOS healthcare model during the coronavirus pandemic is multifaceted. All services are provided free of charge, in keeping with the altruistic spirit of the organization.

SOMOS has also been working with the Catholic Church to distribute meals. It has even set up a call center in three languages for those in need of information during the pandemic.

Currents News full broadcast for Thurs, 9/10/20 (Catholic news)

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

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

President Trump is admitting he downplayed the dangers of the coronavirus.

A monsignor tests positive for COVID – now parishioners are urged to quarantine and get tested.

How the Catholic Church is helping evacuees from the wildfires out west.

President of the Pakistani Christian Association Recounts Witnessing Rise of Christian Persecution

Currents News Staff

Pakistan’s Christians, like other religious minorities in the country, have been the target of escalated attacks in recent years – from accusations of blasphemy, bomb blasts and church attacks.

William Shaazad, president of the Pakistani Christian Association of USA, lived in Pakistan. He joins Currents News to discuss details about the country’s history of Christian persecution.

Brooklyn Diocese Catholics Stand in Solidarity at St. Peter Claver Feast Day Mass for Racial Justice

Father Alonzo Cox gave an impassioned homily at the Mass for racial justice and solidarity Sept. 9 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

“We are dying and our cries are going unheard, until today,” he said.

Fr. Cox, who serves as the Director of Ministry to African American Catholics in the Brooklyn Diocese, spoke of the Church’s plan to overcome “America’s original sin’: racism.”There’s so much more that unites us than divides us, and we pray today for all of us to come together as one body, one spirit, one Church,” he said.

The Mass was held on the feast day of St. Peter Claver. He was known as “the slave of the slaves” for his ministry to Africans during the slave trade in Colombia. He baptized more than 300,000 people, and is remembered for his vision of unity.

“He was known for his humility, his simplicity, his spirit of sharing and his devotion and really his sorrow regarding the faith made true for slaves,” said Bishop Guy Sansaricq.

Auxiliary Bishop Neil Tiedemann celebrated the Mass, and says every Catholic can take the first step in bridging the racial divide by looking inward. ‘where have I been racist in my attitude and in my thoughts and in the way I judge others,” he said, “so at this time, I think that is important.’

Those who attended the Mass say they’re turning to God and the Church for guidance on how to navigate the racial unrest of our day.

“I think it’s important to hear what the Church has to say about racism, and what the Church plans to do about it, and it’s important to support the Church going forward,” said Andrea Espinoza, who attended the Mass with her fiancé.

“This year has brought so much turmoil and chaos and pain, and I continue to lean on my faith and on the Church and I’m hoping to see more of what the Church can do for myself and for my fellow brothers and sisters,” said Marsha Prosper, who also attended the Mass.

Fr. Cox urged the only way out of the darkness of racism is to turn to Jesus, the light of the world.