A Behind-The-Scenes Look Inside Notre Dame Cathedral’s Reconstruction Two Years After Fire

Currents News Staff

Two years after a devastating fire blazed through the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, specialists are still working hard on its restoration.

It’s not unusual for cathedrals of this size to take decades or even centuries to build.

Its vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, and elaborate columns – so much of what makes Notre Dame one of the world’s most exquisite gothic wonders stands tall, almost miraculously.

When construction on the French church started in 1163, it wasn’t completed until 1345.

The construction of the cathedral may have taken 182 years from when it began in 1163, but it took the fire in 2019 just a matter of hours to compromise its stability. The work of the last two years has been all about ensuring that the cathedral stayed upright.

“We had to be sure that the structure is solid by taking a lot of measures consolidate,” said Notre Dame reconstruction chief Jean-Louis Georgelin. “We don’t want to make reconstruction without being reassured.”

The iconic North Tower, at one point, had been threatened by the flames on the night of the fire. In the end, they were put out before it could collapse. But it was there where the most devastating part of the fire took place. It was there that the famous Notre Dame spire once stood.

As the world watched, the spire – which had been under renovation – collapsed and broke through the vaulted ceiling which then crashed into the nave.

The scaffolding that had surrounded it – 40,000 tubes of metal – twisted into the structure. It had to be carefully picked through and removed.

“This is the place where the spire collapsed, you know, this is center of the drama,” Jean-Louis said.

Now that the scaffolding for the renovations is ready, Jean-Louis says the work of rebuilding Notre dame’s vaulted ceiling and its spire will begin before the end of the year.

Outside too, the cathedral’s iconic gothic facade stands as a testament to a construction that has proven as sturdy as it is delicate.

Catholic Ministry Helps Women Who Have Had Abortion Cope With Loss, Find Healing Through Retreats

Currents News Staff

A local ministry is helping women who have had abortions, offering retreats to help them with the pain and isolation they feel as they search for forgiveness and healing through Christ.

Theresa Bonopartis is the co-founder of “Entering Canaan,” and joins Currents News to discuss how women and families are impacted by abortion, and how it moved her to the service she offers.

If you’d like to learn more about the “Entering Canaan” ministry, just log on to enteringcanaan.com.

The next retreat is on June 5. Call 877-586-4621 to register.

Xavier HS Students Spend Spring Break Building Home for Christian Frontline Worker

By Emily Drooby

Xavier H.S. students are rolling up their sleeves to spend their Spring Break doing manual labor under the hot, Long Island sun.

They’re giving back and helping healthcare hero Nickesha Medley.

“I was praying and praying because where I live right now, it’s not livable,” Nickesha told Currents News. “I live in the attic. There’s no hot water in the shower.”

The Christian woman’s prayers were answered when Habitat for Humanity picked her for a home. She’s a nurse’s aide who worked on the frontlines during the pandemic.

Xavier H.S. junior James Joyce and his fellow classmates are using their time off from school to build what Nickesha calls her “forever home.”

“It feels good to know that I’m helping someone to have a house,” James said.

The student-volunteers are offering much needed assistance since they’re the first school group back to help since the pandemic.

“We actually closed down for 6 weeks last year and we haven’t really had any other volunteer groups come out,” said Walter Mackey, who works for Habitat for Humanity.

Walter explained that they were stuck just using their staff to keep projects going. While they made it work, he said it’s nice to have the extra help.

He knows firsthand how important what they do is.

“I am a Habitat home owner,” Walter said.

He received his home in 1999 and shortly after, he got a job offer.

“I usually say, it’s like winning the lottery,” Walter said. “It’s just the relief of knowing where you’re going to put down roots for the rest of your life. Where your kids are going to be graduating school and where your life starts.”

Roots – just like the ones these students are helping to create for Nickesha and her daughter.

“I’m so grateful to those students because I mean, it’s their break,” said Nickesha. “Where a lot of kids would be home doing other things, they come and they help me – a total stranger. And they come and give me and my daughter a gift, a big gift.”

Xavier H.S. also helped out at this site back in February. For the Jesuit school students, it’s the perfect way to do God’s work.

“When we learn of Ignatius of Loyola and his teachings, he believes in work through service as well as St. Francis Xavier,” said Alexander Eriquez. “We see God. We find God in all things and service is one of those ways in which we can see God.”

Right now, they’re in the demolition phase of building, but this home should be ready for Nickesha and her daughter to move in by the end of the summer.

This isn’t just a free home. Nickesha has been putting in what they call “sweat equity” or volunteering her time for other projects.

She’s paying it forward – just like the Xavier H.S. students are doing for her.

Gun Control: What’s Biden’s Plan?

By Currents News Staff

Today President Joe Biden will lay out the first part of his plan for gun control, with six executive actions in the works.

“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save the lives in the future,” said President Biden.

It’s a commitment the President made after the recent mass shootings in Atlanta and in Boulder.

The White House says Biden will lay out six initial actions today:

A rule that tightens restrictions on so-called ‘ghost guns’ which are handmade or self-assembled firearms that don’t have serial numbers.
A rule restricting pistol stabilizing braces which make weapons more stable and accurate.
Suggesting “red flag” legislation for states.
Money for community violence interventions
An annual report on firearms trafficking.
Nominating a gun control advocate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

From here, it’s up to the Justice Department which has between 30 and 60 days to write the rules for ghost guns and stabilizing braces, and the suggested red flag laws.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 4/7/21

Honoring the sacrifice – one hospital is remembering the healthcare workers they lost to the pandemic.

New York lawmakers allocate funds for undocumented migrants and rent relief.

President Biden has differences in opinions from other Catholics on the Equality Act.

A horrific home explosion – the man inside is alive thanks to the quick thinking of one Good Samaritan.

Deportation of Haitians On the Rise as Activists Fight for Their Temporary Protected Status

By Emily Drooby

A new report shows deportations are up. At the same time, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is on the chopping block.

“I was very afraid, scared because I don’t know exactly when they’re going to deport me,” Jaques said. He spoke in Creole to Currents News, while an on-site translator was present.

Jaques has been here in the U.S. on TPS since 2012. For safety concerns, Currents News used a different name.

TPS is a designation given to those whose home country has been seriously impacted by violence or disasters. This way, they can live and work in the U.S., temporarily.

Haiti’s current TPS designation came right after the devastating 2010 earthquake. Over 55,000 people are enrolled.

Jean Similien helps guide people on their path to citizenship through the non-profit Life of Hope. The organization is located in Brooklyn and its mission is to provide equity for immigrants.

“Now, we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Jean explained.

After being threatened in December, TPS was extended to October 2021. If it will be extended further is unknown and that leaves TPS holders in limbo and activists fighting.

“The scary part of TPS is we are living at the mercy of the government,” explained Jean.

There has also been a recent hike in deportations. More than 1,100 people have been sent back to Haiti since February 2021. Even more have been sent back in the weeks following President Joe Biden’s inauguration than the entire 2020 fiscal year.

It’s the opposite of what many believed would happen based on Biden’s immigration policies.

The numbers come from a report filed by a coalition of several immigrant rights groups. They’re tying the hikes to a Trump-era policy that allows deportation without any of the normal rights promised.

All of this confusion and fear comes as reports of violence and political instability in Haiti has increased. There’s also reportedly no access to the COVID vaccine.

“It’s getting worse and worse every year,” said Porez Luxama. He runs the Life of Hope Center.

He explains that fighting to keep Haitians in the U.S. is a Catholic issue because it’s about respecting life.

“People want to live in respect and dignity,” Porez said, “and that’s what this society offers them.”

Recently, there’s been bipartisan support to re-designate Haiti’s TPS status.

However, change has been slow-moving and recipients are getting desperate.

“My message to the government is to try to take the TPS cases under consideration and try to legalize the people here with TPS,” Jaques said through the translator.

Jaques’s status and the status of many others continues to hang in the balance.

SOMOS Community Care Leads with Faith After Losing 16 Healthcare Workers to COVID-19

By Jessica Easthope

SOMOS has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning, treating the patients most in need.

“Our community doctors are invested in the community. They look like the community they serve, they have the same language, the same culture,” said Liz Webb, the Vice President of Human Resoures at SOMOS.

Now, it’s at the forefront of testing and vaccinating. So far, SOMOS has administered more than 500,000 COVID-19 tests across 60 testing sites and is now running 60 pop up vaccination sites and six mass sites including Yankee Stadium, all in an effort to oust the deadly virus that took 16 of its own.

“The group of physicians that I’m talking about they don’t shy away from what’s hard or what’s difficult or what’s scary. To the other extreme they ran into that battle, there was no stopping them then,” said Liz.

From March until June of last year, SOMOS lost 16 doctors and healthcare workers, more than any other provider in New York City, their ages ranged from 38 to 70.

Dr. Ramon Tallaj, the chairman of the board, remembers his friend Dr. Ydelfonso Decoo. He said many of the doctors who passed were pediatricians, seeing families with new babies who caught the virus in the hospital where they delivered.

“Some of them are pediatricians and they died because they continued working. One of my board members and friends, Dr. Decoo, he was a family doctor and pediatrician by trade,” Dr. Tallaj said.

Dr. Tallaj says the doctors in SOMOS’ network were most at risk because they were most present, relentlessly battling the virus.

“Some people said to us, ‘Are you afraid?’ Of course we were afraid. It was killing people and there was no one on the streets, it was only us. But we were more afraid not to save lives,” he said.

SOMOS means “we are” in Spanish. Dr. Tallaj says it’s the perfect way to describe the community care they give and the faith that connects them. Every single day, Dr. Tallaj logs onto a prayer call that’s kept him going.

“It was a big line. We had three different countries joining us, at one point there were 580 people praying and 60 of them were doctors, and then there were nurses. It was amazing,” said Dr. Tallaj, “gave us a lot of support and strength.”

Dr. Tallaj says continuing to lead and treat with faith is the best way he knows how to pay tribute to the colleagues and friends he lost.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 4/6/21

Sixteen and up – COVID vaccine appointments opening for an extra three million people around New York as President Biden looks to open eligibility across the country.

The Empire State is set to raise taxes yet again, but will you be paying up?

Bells of hope ringing out in the Brooklyn Diocese – we’ll introduce you to the Catholic man behind it and his message.

Shops boarded up around the country, but one is putting faith in God and opening their doors for the first time.

Catholic Family Relies on Faith to Open Pizzeria in the Middle of the Pandemic

By Emily Drooby

“Mimi’s how can I help you?”

Being able to answer the phone like that has been a life-long dream for Carmela Nassa-Lancellotti.

She grew up in the food industry, and spent many a day at her parent’s restaurant.

“I always wanted to have my own,” she told Currents News.

Now, she does; Mimi’s Pizzeria.

For this deeply faithful Catholic, the opportunity came at a seemingly inopportune time — during a raging pandemic.

Back in March when the virus first started spreading in New York, it actually seemed like the perfect time as more people relied on food delivery.

Her husband Frederic told Currents News, “And to me, I think those are the signs. Since you have this dream, it’s the sign that we should look into it.”

So, Frederic and Carmela did look into it. Around Thanksgiving, they found this space. For Carmela, it was love at first sight.

“I felt like a stone on top of me, I couldn’t move, I was heavy,” she explained. “When we walked out I said to my husband, ‘This is it.'”

Right as her dream was in grasp, fear set in. The pandemic which was once inspiration became a cause for concern as COVID cases started to skyrocket again.

In December alone, when they were preparing to buy the shop, 500,000 jobs vanished from restaurants, hotels, casinos, and other entertainment venues — the highest number seen since April.

Thousands were fleeing the food industry as they were about to jump in feet first.

“People are not going to eat outside. So we really want to invest in something like that? It’s scary as it is, we have two kids, we have our bills,” Carmela explained.

That’s when faith took over. Frederic told Carmela that the way she felt when she walked into the building must be a sign from God.

“He said, ‘Don’t worry about it,'” she said. “If that’s what, God just gave you the keys. No matter pandemic or whatever it is, maybe it’s yours. It’s our destiny.”

One week later, on December 18, they officially owned the pizzeria.

Carmela left her long-standing volunteer position at her children’s school, Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy.

They opened up right away and haven’t looked back, trusting in God, leaning on their faith and taking the plunge.

What Is Sciatica? Looking Into the Pain Pope Francis Struggles With

By Emily Drooby

Pope Francis spends his life serving God and faithful Catholics around the globe, but sometimes it can be difficult health-wise.

During Holy Week, the beloved pontiff was seen struggling to walk.

For years he’s publicly dealt with hip issues and bouts of sciatica, even back when he first became pope.

During a 2013 interview he told reporters in Italian, “Really! I experienced this in my first month as pope because when I would give interviews, I would sit in an armchair that caused this problem. It’s a very, very painful sciatica. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.”

Recently he cancelled appearances because of the sciatica pain, but what is it?

“So, most people who experience sciatica, which is a symptom, the pain will start in their lower back and will actually radiate down into either both of their legs or one of their legs,” explained Dr. Melinda Keller, who sees it all the time at the Brooklyn Spine Center.

The most basic explanation? It’s a nerve pain. It’s a symptom of an injury or irritation at the bottom of your spine, also known as your sciatic nerve.

Dr. Keller says often it’s caused by a misalignment of the spine, or issues with the discs, ones that interfere with the nerve.

“But what we are looking for are aligned vertebrae with healthy disc spaces that will create a nice opening for a nerve to come off,” she explained.

In the worst cases, it can be debilitating.

It can also be recurring depending on what’s causing it, like in Pope Francis’ situation.

It’s pretty common. Up to 40 percent of Americans will experience it at some point in their life.

It can happen to anyone. Dr. Keller has even seen teenagers with it, but normally patients are in their late 20’s and up.

Dr. Keller says if you’re having what you think is sciatic pain, go to a doctor right away. They’ll be able to treat the problem at the root of the pain, and not just the pain.

That could be through realignments, stretches and/or spinal injections, depending on your doctor.

She also suggests getting regular spinal check-ups throughout life to prevent it.