On a special edition of Currents News: Religious Freedom Week sets its sights on church vandalism. Something that’s been a problem in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Vice President Kamala Harris visits the U.S.- Mexico border, after numerous calls from lawmakers.
The death toll from a Miami building collapse rises as crews work tirelessly to find survivors.
An arrest is made in a terrifying shooting that had two children caught in the crossfire.
By Jessica Easthope
Father Miroslaw Podymniak can give a tour of all the places around St. Adalbert’s that have been vandalized. Graffiti on two walls and the latest incident – a statue of Our Lady of Angels destroyed.
“People are looking for consolation and are looking to support the Church and the Church itself is being hit by envy, by people who are looking to make the situation worse,” said Fr. Miroslaw.
The statue was repaired for free, but not every church that’s had a sacred object damaged has been so lucky. A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace Church in Coney Island, Brooklyn had to be replaced. Last September a man was caught on surveillance video, hurling this $7,000 original to the ground. And at St. Athanasius in Bensonhurst someone tore down a crucifix.
These are just a few examples of the vandalism that’s happened not only in the Diocese of Brooklyn, but across the country. The harmful acts – attacks on the objects themselves, but now many fear it’s part of a larger attack on religious freedom.
“We have statues outside, beautiful buildings to show our faith and have a space for people to come and worship together and that is being taken from us,” said Fr. Miroslaw.
During Religious Freedom Week, Catholics are called to respond to aggression with compassion – something parishioners at St. Adalbert’s are finding in their hearts.
“I said please enlighten the mind of the person who did this because whatever he did he didn’t know that it is wrong,” said Lita Santiago.
St. Adalbert’s is having cameras installed around the statue in the garden this weekend, hoping it prevents another attack.
WINDSOR TERRACE — At least 159 people are still unaccounted for in Surfside, Florida, after a partial collapse of a residential condominium.
As the search for signs of life entered a second day, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami issued a statement saying in part, “Search and rescue teams continue to sift through the rubble to find survivors and to recover the bodies of those who did not. Our hearts go out to all those affected by the tragedy.”
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami is collecting financial donations to assist those affected by the partial collapse of the Champlain condominiums, in Surfside, FL.
Donations are being collected through the Catholic Charities website: https://t.co/WLJ62gnn1f… pic.twitter.com/yL0ngayHNi— Archdiocese of Miami (@CatholicMiami) June 25, 2021
Wenski’s statement continued, “Our Catholic Charities and local clergy have joined with other voluntary agencies and faith leaders to assist in whatever way they can. We also pledge our prayers for the victims, their families, and first responders.”
The community, located just north of Miami Beach, is waiting and praying for any positive news from rescue workers as they comb through debris.
“We are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. That is our priority,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
The 12-story building, which was built in 1981 and contained 136 units, partially collapsed early Thursday morning.
“The search and rescue team worked throughout the night and it was a very active scene,” Cava said. “From above and below. And we also brought heavy machinery onto the site to assist with the operation.”
Meanwhile, those with loved ones still unaccounted for are hoping for a miracle.
“Right now, we’re just hoping for the best,” said Jeffrey Rose, whose parents own a unit in the building. “They are obviously searching through the rubble to see if they can, hopefully, find some survivors.”
Authorities are trying to find survivors after a massive 12-story condo partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, just north of Miami.
At least one person is dead and dozens were rescued while nearly 100 are still missing.
“This is beyond crazy,” says Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett. “This doesn’t happen in first world countries. Buildings just don’t fall down like this.”
Rescue crews dig through the rubble and debris of a collapsed condo building desperately searching for survivors.
“They are doing everything they can to save lives and that is ongoing,” says Gov. Ron DeSantis, “and they are not going to rest.”
About 55 units crumbled to the ground without warning around 1:30 Thursday morning.
Barry Cohen was rescued from the condo.
“I opened the door and it was a pile of rubble and dust and smoke billowing around,” he said. “And I couldn’t walk out past my doorway.”
Aaron Miles was a witness to the chaos.
“Everybody was screaming and panicking,” says Aaron.
Trapped in the debris was a 10-year-old boy. Nicholas Balboa helped rescue the young boy from the rubble.
“I saw an arm sticking out of the wreckage and he was screaming, ‘Can you see me?’” Nicholas says. “He was screaming, ‘don’t leave me, don’t leave me, don’t leave me.'”
Crews, with the help of Good Samaritans, pulled the boy out from under the wreckage.
“He has a guardian angel, that’s all I can say,” Nicholas continues. “Given all that happened, he came out unscathed.”
But dozens are still missing and the time to find survivors may be running out.
David Paulison is the former Chief of the Miami – Dade fire rescue and says the rescue is going to be tough.
“This is going to be a very difficult rescue for those who are still trapped,” David says.
As the search continues, so do the questions about how a building standing for 40 years can suddenly fall.
“Yesterday the building seemed normal, nothing seemed off,” adds Aaron.
“We just don’t have any answers right now, but we’ll get them,” the Florida mayor says. “We’re going to find out what happened.”
By Jessica Easthope
Kathleen can’t tell you her last name, but she wants you to know her story.
“I was pregnant at the time,” she says. “It was my second and they told me if I gave birth in China, I would get in a lot of trouble, like losing my job and losing my property.”
It’s the story of so many Chinese families, torn between a government policy and faith. After having her first daughter, Kathleen dodged the government mandated birth control. Then in 1998, she became pregnant with her second daughter. She knew she would be forced to go against God’s will.
“I just sneaked away. I didn’t do that, so when I got pregnant, I must get an abortion,” Kathleen says. “There is no choice.”
Years later, China is undergoing a major policy shift – one the government hopes will help grow its now declining population. For the first time in decades, married couples are allowed to have three children. In 1980, China’s one-child policy went into effect, shortly before the country became home to more than one-billion people.
“The third-child policy right now, I think in terms of policy, of course it’s a major switch, a major change,” said Sister Monica Gan, C.S.T., the pastoral associate at St. John Vianney Church in Flushing, Queens. “But in reality, it does not make a change.”
Sister Monica says while much of the world views the third-child policy as progress, Chinese people, especially Chinese Catholics, do not.
“One child policy, three-child policy, even ten-child policy, it’s the same thing,” Sister Monica says. “The government makes the decision for you and we know the right of reproduction comes from God. Human beings cannot interfere.”
Though the third-child policy is still impossible to live under for many Chinese Catholics, if it had been in place in 1998, Kathleen would be raising her family in China today.
“Yes, I would have stayed in China,” she said. “My family is there, my parents were there. Of course we wanted to stay together. I think I have no choice.”
They believe it’s another form of religious persecution that is rampant in the country.
“The limited family and Christian persecution expose the same problem – no human rights,” Sister Monica says.
Experts at the Centre for China and Globalization say the country could abolish family planning policies all together within the next few years.
Religious Freedom Week puts its focus on The Equality Act. The measure meant to fight discrimination could itself discriminate against the Church.
An intense rescue effort after a building collapse in Miami. The archdiocese is praying for the victims and first responders.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are pushing to make the Hyde Amendment permanent.
President Biden and lawmakers come to an agreement on infrastructure —but their work is far from over.
By Emily Drooby
The ability to live out one’s faith is at risk if The Equality Act passes in the U.S. Senate.
That’s according to Ed Mechmann, the Archdiocese of New York’s Director of Safe Environment. The Equality Act is supposed to stop discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, critics including U.S. bishops, argue it actually discriminates against Catholics.
“They’re not bad people, they have good motives,” said Ed. “They want to ban discrimination. That’s fine, but I don’t think they realize the implications of a bill like this on religious organizations and religious people.”
Ed says the impact would be great, especially since it eliminates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as its potential defense.
What that means, for example, is if a Catholic hospital did not approve of doing a gender reassignment surgery, faith wouldn’t be an excuse to say ‘no.’
“We would be forced to say things and do things that our faith really forbids us from doing,” Ed said.
He called the potential elimination “unprecedented in American history.”
The implications of this broad act could be far reaching. For example, it would likely force hospitals to perform abortions and have employees cover the operation.
When it comes to schools, it could force women to share spaces like dorms or locker rooms with men and could force schools to become co-ed.
It could possibly allow men into women’s prisons, which could be seen as a potential safety issue.
“They have full-bodied males who claim to civil rights [in order] to be housed with the women, putting them at risk,” explains Mary Hasson. She is the Kate O’ Beirne Fellow at The Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
As a fellow on public policy, she’s an expert on issues affecting faith and women. She’s very concerned about this act.
“It tips the scales and says it’s sort of a “winner take all” that these sexual orientation and gender identify categories are always going to trump anyone’s religious beliefs,” Mary said.
The Equality Act has already passed in the House.
“It is just a hugely important bill to defeat in the Senate if it comes up to a vote,” Mary added.
Critics and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are trying to do just that, reaching out to lawmakers, educating them on the negative effect it could have on the faithful.
While there has been some talk of the Senate getting to this legislation during Pride Month – it has recently stalled. Catholics are already gearing up for legal battles in case the act does get a majority vote and pass.
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
Catholic school students took the field after hitting home runs in the classroom.
The ballots have been cast in the city’s mayoral primary but we still don’t know which democrat will be on the ticket in November.
President Biden has a plan to tackle crime, while gun violence spikes nationwide.
By Jessica Easthope
Nearly a year and a half into the pandemic and the lines at St. John’s Bread & Life in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn still stretch the block. As people get back to normal and hope to leave the crisis behind them, Bread & Life is working overtime to make sure those in need are not forgotten.
“Food unites us and whether you’re 90 years old or 30 years old, we all have to eat,” said Sister Caroline Tweedy, the executive director. “And we see a need and really try to live out that Catholic social teaching of doing for the other.”
Over the last year, Bread & Life fed 77,000 people, handed out three-million meals and sustained food pantries in 24 other communities across Brooklyn.
“We never turn anyone away, which is what I’m proudest of,” Sister Caroline said. “We’ve never turned anyone away. Not everyone is called to work here, but everyone is called to do something.”
They’ve mastered the “bread” but what about the “life” part? As the organization moves from crisis to recovery, the people who need Bread & Life for social services are also lining up.
“When they come to us, we’re going to fight 100 percent to get their benefits put in place,” said Mildred Gutierrez. She’s a senior case worker at Bread & Life. “It’s been hard on them, but they come here. We give them as much food as we can and as much help as we can and at the end of the day, they come out winning.”
St. John’s Bread & Life is a one-stop shop. They not only provide food, but also help with benefits, rent assistance and medical needs, hoping to enrich every aspect of life.
“Through your work and your clients, it makes a whole lot of difference. It makes your life worth living actually, helping others,” Mildred said.
The pandemic tested Bread & Life’s mission and challenged its staff. Yet, they proved no one was above pitching-in.
“The first time I saw Sister Marie pushing a pallet jack, I knew we’ve done it,” Sister Caroline said. “The first time I saw our security staff in there packing bags, this is what it’s all about. It’s teamwork because it could be any one of us on that line.”
The operation has tripled – and now there’s no turning back. St. John’s Bread & Life is ready for anything.