Paulie’s Push: Former Flight Attendant Pushes Cart 200 Miles to Honor Crew Members Lost on 9/11

By Emily Drooby

Paul Veneto’s life is a miracle, a gift, and he’s using it to honor his lost friends.

Back on September 10, 2001, Paul was a crew member on United flight 175. After landing in Boston, he left the airport.

The next day, a new crew boarded that same plane, but they never made it to their destination. Instead, they were hijacked and the plane was flown into the Twin Towers.

Now, Paul is pushing a beverage cart over 200 miles, from Logan Airport in Boston, to Ground Zero in New York. He’s ending the trip on the 20th anniversary of the attack. It’s the path flight 175 took on that fateful day.

An emotional and physical fete, he’s relying on his Catholic faith and friendships to get through.

In the cart, there is a reminder of who he’s doing this for: photos of the crew members who lost their lives.

“I mean I loved working with these people,” Paulie said. “They were great people, they were just nice to be around.”

They were his colleagues, but also his friends.

“They were the first, first responders of 9/11,” he added. “They should have been recognized as American heroes, that’s the way I feel.”

He says after that day, he vowed to honor them but unfortunately the emotional toll of that day led him into a 15-year-battle with opiate addiction that almost killed him.

Now he’s six years sober and surrounded by family and friends. With that support, Paulie’s making good on that vow.

“As Americans we are supposed to recognize someone who stands up against terrorism,” he said, “and it bothered me that they never got that recognition. Because they left families behind.”

White House Sues Texas Over Pro-Life Heartbeat Law

By Jessica Easthope

The Justice Department sued the state of Texas Thursday, Sept. 9 – asserting the law illegally interferes with federal interests.

“This law is a violation of your rights and we are going to do everything we can to provide assistance as quickly as we can,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

The pro-life law bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, or after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. The ‘Texas Heartbeat Act’ went into effect on Sept. 1 after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked an injunction.

Biden, the country’s second Catholic president called the law an assault on women’s constitutional rights. The heartbeat law doesn’t make any exemptions for rape or incest but will allow abortions if a mother’s life is in danger.

“Rape is a crime,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Those outspoken against the law say it will not eliminate abortions but rather force women seeking them to travel elsewhere.

“One of the clinics I work at out-of-state is already booked with Texas patients throughout the whole month of September,” said Dallas OBGYN Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi.

This is the first time the supreme court has allowed a pro-life law to remain in place while litigation plays out in lower courts.

9/11 Survivors Struggle With Illness 20 Years After Terrorist Attack

By Jessica Easthope

“The federal government telling people the air was safe to breathe,” said Richard Alles as he remembers back to September 11, 2001. “We were never prepared for that, there was no breathing protection.”

Breathing in that dust has proved more deadly over the last 20 years than the terrorist attack itself. A truth Alles knows all too well.

He was a battalion chief coming off a 24-hour shift at his firehouse in Canarsie when he jumped onto a rescue truck for a job that would define his life and career. A ride that took him to Ground Zero for three straight days. He says his Catholic faith carried him through, it kept him strong inside – as he was weakened by the horrific sights and sounds.

The air surrounding the wreckage had the same toxic pH level as Draino. Alles learned just how harmful it was when he was diagnosed with skin cancer.

“The paper masks we were using would clog up and you’d discard them, so I pretty much went mask-less for the first couple of days,” Alles said.

Alles now works at Barasch and McGarry Law Firm as the 9/11 Director of Community Affairs, helping other survivors get the justice they deserve through the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program.

“Not a day goes by without one of my clients dying, it’s truly heartbreaking,” said Michael Barasch the managing partner of the law firm.

Barasch defines a 9/11 survivor as anyone who lived or worked in downtown manhattan following the attack. The firm still has 25,000 clients, sadly 1,500 have died from 9/11-related illnesses including 68 different cancers. 80 percent of all 9/11 first responders have enrolled in the Victim Compensation Fund.

But you didn’t have to be running into the towers to get sick, those running from them were just as susceptible.

“We were all exposed to the same toxic dust, not surprisingly we’re all coming down with the same illnesses and dying from the same illnesses, this is not just about first responders,” said Barasch.

This anniversary Alles and Barasch & McGarry are encouraging survivors to look at their health within the scope of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The day might live in their minds forever, but it doesn’t have to live in their bodies.

If you or someone you know is suffering 9/11-related symptoms, you can register for the Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program at vcf.gov

Currents News Update for Thursday, 9/9/21

It appears the Biden Administration is going to sue Texas over its new law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Mexican bishops are speaking out after that country’s Supreme Court ruled a pro-life law in one border state is unconstitutional.

Kabul airport is back up and running for the first time since our military withdrawal.

It’s back to school season — even those who are way past retirement age! We’ll introduce you to a Queens native who is heading back to Fordham University to complete his degree online. He’s 87-years-old and hasn’t taken a class in over 60 years!

Currents News Update for Wednesday, 9/8/21

Wednesday was the first day of Catholic school here in the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the pandemic has led to lots of changes.

For parents who want to keep their kids learning from home, the Diocese of Brooklyn is offering the city’s only online option.

One Port Authority officer has turned his 9/11 story into a book that is inspiring the next generation.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Online Academy Provides Remote Option for Students and Families

By Jessica Easthope

No longer a last resort during the pandemic age, online learning has become a first choice for some families in the Diocese of Brooklyn and beyond.

“Online learning is here now,” said St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Online Academy’s principal Stephen Haessler. “The educational visionaries in the Diocese of Brooklyn have committed resources and are determined to make this option available.”

The St. Thomas Aquinas program (STA) is now a Catholic online academy. It’s the same Catholic education students throughout the diocese are getting but in a completely online space.

“It is an option that takes its rightful place among other options for families who want this for health reasons or faith formation reasons or whatever reason,” Stephen said.

Most of the school’s 125 families are from right here in New York City, but STA’s private, universal curriculum through great minds allows a handful of others to log on from all over the country.

“It’s good for them to still have that community and broaden it beyond their home academies and make friendships they wouldn’t have had before,” said STA teacher Ashley Vonksky.

And STA isn’t just a better option for its students, but for their teachers too.

“I have family members who are immunocompromised,” Ashley said. “So we really can’t risk bringing COVID or any of the variants around our families and a lot of families have shared that sentiment.”

This year, St. Thomas Aquinas is an officially sanctioned diocesan academy that’s here to stay and keeping faith at the core of education.

Enrollment at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Online Academy will remain open for the next few days. Families can register at Stacoa.org and find more information about tuition and financial aid.

Retired Port Authority Police Officer Will Jimeno Pens Children’s Book on 9/11 Collapse and Rescue

By Jessica Easthope

Will Jimeno is an author. His stories are about overcoming fear and living your faith. But there’s nothing fictional about them – he did both on September 11, 2001.

“I always say if God left me on this earth for a reason as a survivor, it’s my responsibility and obligation to help other people,” Will said.

But get this: one of his 9/11 books is for kids. “Immigrant, American, Survivor,” is about that day, his journey to the U.S. from Colombia and his Catholic upbringing.

In the years following 9/11, Will was asked to talk to young students who were afraid to fly and his speaking engagements evolved into a message – never give up.

“How do I talk to kids about the darkest day in U.S. history and I think it just came from my heart,” he said. “I went through the same trials and tribulations as every other child, I am no different than them.”

In the children’s book, you see Will as a Port Authority police officer, trapped, crushed beneath the World Trade Center’s 220 stories of concrete and steel.

“Something I always did to my wife and my daughter is the sign language ‘I love you,’” he said, “so I took my hands and crossed them against my chest because I figured I was gonna die and they’d find me like this and be able to tell my wife I was thinking about her.”

After 13 hours, he was only one of two people pulled alive from underneath the collapse.

His experience even went on to become the plot of the 2006 Oliver Stone movie, “World Trade Center.”

To the world who watched in horror on that day, 9/11 was a tragedy, but for Will he’s been able to take the good with the bad.

“Jesus died for us if we just look that they nailed Him on the cross it’s just a tragedy,” said Will. “It’s not a tragedy he gave his life for us. On 9/11, I don’t look at what the terrorists did, I look at all the good that happened.”

That’s a lesson he hopes to pass to the next generation.

You can buy Jimeno’s 9/11 children’s book – “Immigrant American Survivor” on Amazon. Paperback and digital editions are available.

Diocesan School Enrollments Up Overall as the New School Year Kicks Off

By Emily Drooby

Students were back in Samentha Samuel’s classroom for the first day of school wearing uniforms and masks,

“I’m happy to be back in the building,” Samentha said. “I’m glad that the kids are able to come back. There’s such a comradery and a communal feel here.”

She’s a teacher at St. Clare Catholic Academy in Rosedale, Queens.

Student Jennifer Pinnock said she has fun at school.

“I like that there’s very fun teachers and we do a lot of fun stuff,” Jennifer said. “Sometimes there’s a lot of work, but it’s still fun.”

School principal Mary Rafferty-Basile said she had to figure out a way to replace last year’s fear and nerves with confidence. The result led to a successful pandemic school year under their belt.

That confidence is still showing – now through their enrollment numbers that are up almost 10 percent.

“Because we are so successful last year, I really feel that parents know we have the safety of their children, top priority,” Mary said. “And so, because of that, the children are safe, they learn. It’s a great environment and word gets around.

They’re not alone. For the first time in a decade, schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn are seeing overall growth – 60 percent of them have seen an increase in enrollment.

It’s also the first summer in a while that a Catholic academy didn’t permanently close.

As for the Vicar for Catholic Schools, Monsignor David Cassato, he thinks it has something to do with how they handled the pandemic.

“We were able to keep our schools open,” Msgr. Cassato said. “Parents saw us and saw how good we were doing it, and I think that’s what opened their eyes to Catholic education.”

The uptick is a trend that he, and schools across the diocese, hope continues into next year.

President Biden Visits Queens Neighborhoods Affected by Flooding as Residents Ask for Federal Help

By Emily Drooby

It’s been almost a week since Tropical Storm Ida brought extreme flooding to Queens. As President Biden prepared to visit the borough, a neighborhood in Flushing was still picking up the pieces of their shattered homes.

“In ten minutes, everything’s a disaster,” said Marco Velasco. “Everything I lost, everything, the water was coming very fast.”

The entire basement and first floor of his home were destroyed by the flood waters. His family narrowly escaped death on the second floor of their home, but some of his neighbors didn’t.

Marco and his family are now staying at a hotel thanks to the Red Cross, but unfortunately, that ends soon. He said the damp smell in his home is what’s left.

“But after that,” Marco said, “I have nowhere to live now, in this situation with the smell.”

The Catholic man tells Currents News that his homeowners insurance doesn’t cover this flooding damage. He has no idea what he’s going to do. Like many, he’s planning to rely on FEMA for aid.

For now, some hope is being brought to Marco and his neighbors during a presidential visit to New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, Sept. 7. President Biden toured storm damage in both states and called for federal aid in order to fortify infrastructure so it can withstand any future powerful storms.

The president told reporters, “We’re at one of those inflection points where we either act or we are going to be in real, real trouble.”

Over the weekend, Biden approved disaster declarations in New York, which means those affected in Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester counties can receive federal funds.

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced additional relief and extended emergency shelter services.

Currents News Update for Tuesday, 9/7/21

President Biden visited Queens today and got a first-hand look at all of the damage done by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

Pope Francis met with young refugees from Afghanistan. He’s praying that many countries take in these refugees and that young Afghans will be able to receive an education.

Many women were among the crowds that gathered in Kabul to protest against the Taliban. We spoke with a teacher in Afghanistan who has been an outspoken advocate for girls.

With the 20th anniversary of 9/11 right around the corner, the annual “Walk of Remembrance” was held over the weekend at St. Francis of Assisi in Manhattan.