Joe Estevez covers the second annual Friends of the Poor 5K Walk and Run Marathon race in Carpinteria, California which raises money to provide aid to people in need in this small California town. Last year, the profits from the Poor 5K and Marathon went towards aiding those affected by the California wildfires.
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Restoration of Cathedral Attacked During Syrian Civil War Completed
A badly damaged Catholic cathedral has resurrected after at least three missile attacks amid the Syrian civil war. The Maronite Cathedral of St. Elijah in Aleppo reopened July 20 following years of restoration when the church was bombed by jihadists in 2013.
The restoration was financed largely by the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). A report from ACN stated that Christianity was disappearing from towns and cities in parts of the Middle East.
In a video message, Thomas Heine-Geldern, executive president of ACN International, described the reopening as a miracle. Explaining that he was unable to attend the reopening due to the coronavirus pandemic, Heine-Geldern said: “it’s fantastic that it shines in the old splendor and I wish that it became again the center of the whole Christian community as it was ages before until this dreadful war.”
ACN estimates that only 30,000 Christians remain in the city, compared to a pre-war population of 180,000. Aleppo was Syria’s most populous city before the war, but now is the second largest after the capital, Damascus.
Maronite Archparch Joseph Tobij of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo said the restoration and reopening of the cathedral have both symbolic and practical meaning.
“It’s a sign of hope and rebirth,” Archparch Tobij said, “not only in a material sense but for the entire community, despite the fact that the numbers of Christians continue to dwindle, due to extreme poverty linked to the sanctions imposed on the defenseless population.”
He explained that the main difficulties in the restoration process besides raising funds was the reconstruction of the original wooden roof. The archbishop said that local artisans lacked in their expertise with that particular craft, which paved the way for a group of Italian architects to complete the roof project.
“Without the help of ACN and the generosity of our benefactors, we would not have been able to pray again and spread hope in the hearts of the faithful through the reconstruction of the cathedral,” Archparch Tobij said.
For at least eight years, no liturgies or celebrations took place in the cathedral due to the aftermath of the attacks. The cathedral was originally built in 1873 on the site of a small 15th-century church. It was renovated in 1914.
“It is a way to tell the people in Aleppo, in Syria and the world, that we still exist,” Archparch Tobij said. “We still exist despite the great decline in the number of our Christians.”
Currents News full broadcast for Wed, 7/29/20 (Catholic news)
Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
The Vatican hacked by spies from communist China. The plot uncovered by tech experts in the U.S.
At the same time, the biggest names in high-tech are in the hot seat. Congress is looking into allegations the companies are strangling their competitors.
A look inside at the magnificent restoration of the Maronite Cathedral in Aleppo.
Catholic Teen Cancer Survivor Inspires on TikTok
By Jessica Easthope
The social media platform TikTok has skyrocketed into popularity, especially among many of the world’s teenagers.
So it was only natural for 16-year-old Isabella Ursini to use the platform’s viral dances and funny voice-overs to document her life, even when she began to live through the unimaginable.
“They said that I might have Lymphoma and at first I didn’t even know what Lymphoma was, and I was so confused about why my parents were so upset,” said Isabella.
Belle, as she’s known to her friends and family, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in February, a month after her sweet sixteen. Her mom, Tracey, was living every parent’s nightmare.
“It was horrible, just an experience no one should go through,” Tracey said.
But Belle was taking her diagnosis in stride and putting everyone around her at ease.
“She made it easier on everybody because she made light of it,” said Tracey.
Belle began chemotherapy at the height of the pandemic and was pulled out of St. Joseph Hill Academy High School on Staten Island in the middle of her sophomore year. Before the world was under quarantine, Belle became an expert at it.
“I couldn’t hang out with my friends. I became neutropenic, even before coronavirus I was quarantined,” she told Currents News.
But TikTok kept Belle connected not only to her friends, but to the rest of the world. She went viral with a video of her first chemo treatment. It has 1.3 million views. Belle finished chemo and August 5 is her last radiation session. She made it through the biggest battle of her life, and inspired so many along the way.
“I’ve had people DM me and ask me, ‘What should I say to my friend who just got diagnosed?’ And ‘Oh, it’s so good to see you acting this way while you have it,’” Belle said.
As for Belle’s future it’s looking brighter than ever and now she’s headed for the next chapter.
“The first thing I thought of when I was diagnosed was woah this is going to be a good college essay, I’m going to go places with this one,” she said.
Belle is already on her way.
U.S. Cybersecurity Firm Claims Vatican Was Hacked By China Ahead of Key Talks
By Emily Drooby and Catholic News Service
China has been accused of hacking Vatican computers as well as those in the Diocese of Hong Kong and other Catholic organizations in May.
The hacking appears to be an attempt to gain an advantage in talks between the Vatican and China, due to resume as early as this week, about a fresh deal on the appointment of bishops.
U.S. data monitoring group Recorded Future and its Insikt Group used sophisticated data analysis tools to uncover the cyber espionage, reported ucanews.com.
“From early May 2020, the Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong were among several Catholic Church-related organizations that were targeted by RedDelta, a Chinese-state sponsored threat activity group tracked by Insikt Group,” the Recorded Future report stated.
“This series of suspected network intrusions also targeted the Hong Kong study mission to China and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), Italy. These organizations have not been publicly reported as targets of Chinese threat activity groups prior to this campaign.”
A landmark provisional Vatican-China agreement was signed in September 2018, the culmination of efforts by Pope Francis and his predecessors, St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, aimed at normalizing the appointment of bishops and bringing the entire Catholic Church in China into communion with Rome.
While the details of the agreement remain secret, it is widely thought that the pope has the final say over bishop candidates presented by Beijing. Ahead of the candidate’s nomination, informal talks are understood to be held between the two sides, as has happened on and off in recent decades.
Talks on a new deal have been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The last talks were in November 2019 before they were halted by Beijing, reports have said.
The same reports said face-to-face discussions were set to resume before the end of July in Rome, ucanews.com reported.
In a recent interview with an Italian television program, the Vatican’s lead negotiator, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, confirmed that the Holy See “wants to continue with this step, it wants to go forward.”
China’s alleged actions would appear to fit in with Beijing’s program of hacking the communications devices of governments, businesses, charities and individuals around the world in recent years. China has consistently – and usually vehemently – denied all accusations of computer hacking, but investigations by data experts and journalists continue to turn up evidence of Beijing’s programs.
It is the first time the Vatican has been identified as a target of Chinese hackers.
“The suspected intrusion into the Vatican would offer RedDelta insight into the negotiating position of the Holy See ahead of the deal’s September 2020 renewal,” the report said.
It added that targeting of the Hong Kong study mission and its Catholic diocese could also “provide a valuable intelligence source for both monitoring the diocese’s relations with the Vatican and its position on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement amidst widespread protests and the recent sweeping Hong Kong national security law.”
Currents News full broadcast for Tues, 7/28/20 (Catholic news)
Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
Doctors on the steps of the Supreme Court touting Hydroxychloroquine. Saying it is the answer to ending the coronavirus.
Graffiti scrawled on the grounds of a queen’s school.
Anti-cop slogans are finally off the walls near City Hall.
A black lawmaker lies in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for the first time, giving Americans a chance to say goodbye to John Lewis.
Dangerous Driving Caught on Camera as Unsafe Driving Behavior Increases in NYC
By Emily Drooby
A car sped away while another revved its engine. At the same time, a massive crowd looked on and cheered. This was the scene in the Lower East Side on Friday night, a scene that has become the norm.
“It didn’t really seem too contained,” said eyewitness Jordan Schaffer. He added, “Basically, the street here had maybe like a thousand people on it and there were cars basically doing laps around, starting on St. Marks and coming up 9th and kinda going around and around. It was pretty wild there was just tons of people on the street. And not so much social distancing going on.”
Other eyewitnesses say around 10:30pm over 25 cars parked were in the bus lane and crosswalk on First Avenue between St Marks Place and 9th Street. The cars performed various dangerous acts just feet away from hundreds of pedestrians who had gathered to watch. Cops eventually cleared the area.
This area, which is full of bars and restaurants, has become known as one of the busiest in NYC for foot traffic during the pandemic.
“And all it takes is one mistake, one small mistake, and it could cost the lives of many,” said Rita Barravecchio after watching the footage from that night.
She has fought to make NYC streets safer after losing her niece, Madeline Sershen. A car struck and killed the 17 years old while she was using a crosswalk. That’s why Barravecchio joined Families for Safe Streets.
Barravecchio said, “Very disturbing videos, during such a crazy time, scary time, that people are making these decisions to be so reckless is alarming.”
This isn’t an isolated incident, drag racing complaints to 311 have skyrocketed during the pandemic. The city has recorded over 400 since March, four times the amount from last year.
Speeding in general has also increased. Manhattan saw the largest jump in daily speed-camera violations, up 149 percent.
Recently, police have posted on their social media about catching dangerous drivers.
Barravecchio is saying drivers need to think about the potentially devastating consequences of their actions.
She added, “Pedestrians struck by vehicles traveling 25 miles per hour are half as likely to die than if someone gets hit by a car traveling 30 miles per hour, and these drag racers aren’t traveling 30 miles per hour.”
Vandals Strike With Graffiti at Howard Beach Catholic Academy
By Jessica Easthope
The Catholic community in Howard Beach is outraged.
According to the NYPD, Sunday night around 9 p.m. the ground along Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy’s fence line was spray painted, the graffiti read, “most segregated schools in the country,” and “Desegregate NYC.” Similar graffiti was found on the other side the school saying “get cops out of schools” and “Abolish NYPD.”
“The message was one that tries to harp on different anti-cop and racial characterizations that I don’t think are very true at least of the school and the parish community,” said Father Marc Swartvagher, the pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church.
Father Marc says the school is immensely diverse, in fact, students of color make up half of the Catholic academy.
Parishioners of the church decided to clean the graffiti themselves with power washers and paint remover. Like the rest of the community, PJ Marcel was shocked to see the graffiti, he went to the school and until the announcement the school was closing earlier this month, sent his two daughters to Our Lady of Grace.
“There’s no better nurturing, loving and caring environment than to have a child attend a Catholic school,” Marcel said.
Marcel says the school is full of diverse families who have one thing in common, they want their children to have a Catholic education.
“There’s people from all walks of life attending these schools and these programs, getting an education, having a better quality of life, it’s an attack directly on any religious institution,” said Marcel.
Father Marc says if he were to sit down with the people responsible for the vandalism, faith would motivate him to offer help.
“What can we put into play, what are the policies we can ask our politicians to advocate for, I also think our faith has some of the answers to some of the hurt and difficulty you’re experiencing in our culture and society,” said Father Marc.
The police are investigating the incident and have been reviewing surveillance cameras from homes in the area. No arrests have been made.
Historic Day in Medicine As First U.S. Participant Tests COVID-19 Vaccine
Currents News Staff
Dawn Baker usually delivers the news as a television anchor. But on July 27, this television anchor in Savannah, Georgia, made news and made history as the first person in the United States to participate in a Phase three clinical trial for a vaccine against COVID-19.
“It’s really exciting to me that I could be a part of saving lives eventually, instead of just being scared and praying,” said Baker.
The National Institutes of Health is collaborating on the trial. After Baker’s injection, vaccine study leader Dr. Paul Bradley called Moderna, the company that makes the vaccine and told them,“I have amazing news. We dosed the first patient.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci marked the day on a call with the media.
“I can tell you absolutely that the first one was at 6:45 this morning in Savannah, Georgia. Indeed we are participating today in the launching of a truly historic event in the history of vaccinology,” he said.
There are 89 study sites across the country for this vaccine and Phase three trials are underway for four other vaccines, three of those in China and one in the U.K.
Scientists hope that results of Moderna’s trial will be clear in a few months and that a vaccine will be on the market by the end of this year, or the beginning of 2021.
But that’s if the vaccine is proven safe and effective, which is not a given. Two different types of trials are taking place. About 15,000 people nationwide are going to get injected with the prototype during the clinical trial. But another 15,000 people will be injected with something that looks similar to the vaccine, but is actually a placebo that’s just saline. Afterwards, doctors will compare who gets sick with COVID-19 and who doesn’t
Doctors are recruiting study subjects who live in communities where they are most likely to get the coronavirus, so they can see if the vaccine truly works. Study leader Dr. Bradley seeks people who might have high exposure.
“We want people who are going to be exposed out there in the community living their lives,” he said. “Whether they’re a health care worker, where unfortunately they get exposed frequently. Maybe they work in a grocery store, but we want people that are unfortunately at risk.”
That’s why doctors are recruiting heavily among the African-American and Latino communities, where COVID-19 rates are especially high. But it’s a challenge because, historically, these communities have been abused in medical research.
“They’re very suspicious, so maybe you know, since I was at least bold enough to come forward right now, that might change that,” said Baker.
When asked about being the first person in the U.S. to get a shot in a Phase three COVID-19 trial, Baker said she had an array of emotions.
“It’s exciting. I’m anxious about it. I hope there are good results. A lot of people are doing different vaccine trials. I feel good. I feel so proud.”
The Phase three trial is the last stop before the FDA decides whether it can go on the market.
With the Coronavirus Threat Still Looming, NYC Restaurant Employees Say They’re Struggling to Find Jobs
By Emily Drooby
“Everyone who is looking for a job is using this is applying for the same twenty-six things,” explained line cook, Gwynne Spencer.
He’s referring to a website that is popular with members of the restaurant industry when it comes to finding jobs. Usually there are hundreds posted, but the pandemic has changed that.
Spencer explained, “There’s 30 people hiring front of house staff, servers.”
There’s only 26 line cook positions and he said he has applied to all of them. Spencer hasn’t worked since March 15th. He worked in the industry for over a decade, most recently in fine dining. He has only heard back about three jobs and none of them have materialized.
Spencer said, “so many people are looking for these jobs.”
Spencer says not long ago there was a beacon of hope as restaurants began to post jobs to prepare for indoor dinning in the city. But when that was delayed, so were the jobs.
“All of a sudden these places were no getting back to you or pulling out their applications and you couldn’t find anything anymore,” Spencer told Currents News.
“I think it’s pretty dark clouds on the horizon and everybody is really nervous about what the future looks like,” said Melissa Fleischut, the President and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.
She said restaurant employment in NYC is a fraction of what it used to be.
Fleischut added, “For right now we have really been focusing on trying to make sure that everyone can stay open at the level that they’re open right now and that we don’t slide backwards.”
With COVID-19 cases spiking in other parts of the country, New York leaders are watching closely, ready to put in new restrictions if necessary
A scrambled situation for big apple restaurants and bars and the people that work in them.
Spencer said, “Being subject to a lot of prediction and having that prediction be wrong every couple of weeks is unsettling.”
He adds that many of his friends in the industry who have jobs aren’t comfortable going back to them, as the industry seems unstable.
He explained, “A lot of people I know are hesitant to go back to work even if they have a guaranteed job because they don’t want to get off of the unemployment, start working again and then find out in 2 weeks that they no longer have a job because the restaurants need to shut down.”
Recently, Dr. Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force even suggested closing bars and cutting back on indoor dinning in states that have it, to fight the spike. The comment further instilled fears of sliding backwards here in New York.