Church Vandalism: Brooklyn Diocese Press Office

Members of the Diocese speak out on the recent acts of vandalism that have taken place. From the toppling of the cross outside of St. Athanasius Church to the destruction of the Rosary garden at the Shrine Church of St. Gerard Majella, each video details the unthinkable crimes and shows the unwavering faith in each parish.

New York City Voters Cast Ballots for Mayor, Comptroller and Public Advocate with New Ranking System

By Jessica Easthope

Voters steadily streamed into the Brooklyn Museum in Park Slope, Tuesday, June 22, citing healthcare, COVID recovery and jobs as the top concerns that brought them to the polls for the primary election. But it was one single issue people agreed the city’s next leader needs to tackle: housing.

“Personally, for me it’s housing,” one voter said.

“Affordable housing is probably the most important issue,” said another.

They call New York City home – so voters want someone who will help them stay.

“You see a lot of them hanging out on the street in front of the buildings where they used to live,” said Nirva Decopain.

Tuesday was the first brush with ranked-choice voting. People were asked to list their five favorite candidates but could opt out and still only choose one. Some voters were taken by surprise.

“I’m a little bit intimidated by ranked choice,” Roshelle Sumner said. “I’ve never really dealt with anything like that before.”

But others came prepared and called the strategy a political game-changer.

“I actually found it to be a pretty easy process and I was happy we had a couple of choices,” said Pat Stortz.

With no presidential race or congressional seats up for grabs, turnout in this primary, to decide who would continue in the races for comptroller, public advocate and mayor, was expected to stay low. In the 2017 mayoral race, only Democrats voted in the primary and just 15 percent of them cast ballots.

But now with heavy-hitting issues like crime, economic recovery and social justice reform facing New York City, voters said they needed their voices heard.

Paul Basista said what he wants out of this election.

“Less crime, better education, more social justice,” Paul said.

And despite Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams leading the polls, voters said he wasn’t necessarily their frontrunner.

“I ranked Maya Wiley first,” said Dan Casey.

“I think Maya has a grasp on it,” Sylvia Dela Pena said.

“As far as criminal justice policy, I voted for Maya Wiley,” said Antoine Morris.

“Maya Wiley has a good idea,” Paul said. “Take some money and put it toward mental health because a lot crime has been done by homeless people who are not well.”

“I’ve always been impressed with Maya Wiley because of her legal position within the de Blasio administration, it’s helpful to have someone who understands from the inside out what needs to change,” said Pat.

Voters can cast their ballots Tuesday until 9 p.m.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 6/22/21

Party primaries – New York City is off to the races, but the results could take some time.

Religious Freedom Week kicks off – Catholics around the world taking a stand for the freedom on which this country was founded.

We are at the ballpark, but Catholic school students are on the mound.

Supreme Court Decision in Catholic Adoption Agency Case Being Called A Victory for Religious Freedom

By Currents News Staff

A unanimous Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling is being called a victory for religious freedom.

SCOTUS ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency in Philadelphia. They say that the city refusing to work with Catholic Social Services (CSS) because of a faith-based practice they follow violates religious liberty.

“This is a victory for our beautiful city and for all of the children in our community who are counting on us to give them a fighting chance,” explained Toni Simms-Busch. She was one of the plaintiffs in the case, along with fellow foster care mom, Sharonell Fulton. Both women are Catholic.

“Their faith motivates all aspects of their work,” Toni said. “Their approach to ministry results in stronger foster families. Families that can continue to serve those in need, when others are burnt out.”

The case started when Catholic Social Services’ contract with the city of Philadelphia was frozen. The agency’s religious objections prevented them from placing children with same-sex couples.

The loss sparked a battle that’s spanned years and made it all the way to the high court, based off the idea that the city violated the First Amendment.

Now the agency and two foster moms can finally rest easy.

All nine justices ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services, saying Philadelphia was forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.

The opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Catholic Social Services just wants to continue serving children while staying true to their religious beliefs – not to impose those beliefs on others.

The Becket Fund, which defends religious liberty, represented the moms and Catholic Social Services in the case.

Montse Alvarado, the Executive Director of the Becket Fund said, “Every single justice said that religious freedom is not a second-class right, it’s front and center the bedrock of our constitution and our freedom in America.”

Still, some of the more conservative justices, including Samuel Alito, think the decision could have done more to solidify religious liberty.

As part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Catholic Social Services has been serving the city for over 200 years. Through this ruling, they can now continue to do so.

Who Is Going To Be the Next New York City Mayor? The Race Isn’t Over on Primary Day

Currents News Staff

Voting for the New York City Democratic primary for mayor started early. Even so, the end’s not near.

“This is not only a race for the mayor of New York, this is a race to save our city,” mayoral candidate Eric Adams said.

But the race could be a slow one. The results may not be known until July. If you’re wondering why, well, for one thing, election officials have to wait for thousands of absentee ballots and then count them. The absentee ballots are not due until a week after Primary Day.

Secondly, the city is using ranked-choice voting for the first time which complicates things.

“I believe in the promise of New York,” said mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.

One promise from election officials is that you will get information throughout the process. This is how it will go: only New Yorker’s first choice votes will be counted right away. If one candidate wins 50-percent of the first-choice votes, you have a winner. But with a pool of 13 Democrats, that’s unlikely.

So we go to the rankings. The last place candidate will be eliminated. If your first-choice candidate does not win and they’re eliminated, then your second-choice vote will be counted and added to that candidate’s total. That cycle continues until there is a winner.

The city’s Board of Elections plans to reveal the first round of ranked choice results a week after the primary, on June 29, on its website – and will continue to update the results once a week.

Therefore, it is possible that we may not know who New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate will be…until the week of July 12!

“New York, we’ve got a big choice to make,” said mayoral candidate Maya Wiley.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday, 6/21/21

Shocking video shows children caught in the middle of a shooting in New York City – as gun violence grows nationwide

Violence is a top agenda for mayoral candidates as we inch closer to the New York City primary.

Concerns are growing the U.S. will not reach President Biden’s vaccine goal.

Venders are overwhelmed with demand as couples rush to say “I do.”

Gun Violence and Shootings Continue to Grow Across the Country

By Currents News Staff

Warning: The video is hard to watch. A man running from a gunman in the Bronx suddenly falls and knocks down two children. But that doesn’t seem to faze the shooter who unleashes a barrage of bullets. Fortunately, the five and 10-year-old kids weren’t hit.

Unfortunately, it seems this is becoming the sound of the summer across America. Incidents took place in Oakland, California to Chicago to Minneapolis.

Just this weekend, more than 30 were killed in gun violence, according to the gun violence archive. Disturbingly, children continue to be caught in the crossfire.

In Dallas, Texas a gunfight between partygoers left eight people injured, including a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old. In Detroit June 17, police are still investigating a shooting that killed a two year-old.

“You know, I don’t wish this on my worst enemy,” said Brian Christian, father of the two-year-old child who was shot.

Here in New York City, there have been more than 630 shootings so far this year. That’s compared to nearly 390 at this time last year, making it a 64-percent increase according to the NYPD.

Some gun reform advocates are discouraged by what they feel is a lack of action at the federal level in the wake of this uptick in violence.

“The fact that we have not seen very much substantial gun reform from the Biden administration – which is especially disappointing considering the fact that Joe and Kamala both campaigned on this,” said Cameron Kasky, a Parkland shooting survivor and gun reform advocate. “People are very frustrated.”

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