20 (Catholic news)

Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.

Some of the top stories on this special edition:

It will be a Christmas like no other, but a tree lighting tradition still lives on in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Plus, keeping another special tradition alive through the generations – a heartwarming story of faith and family from one of our own.

If you’re having a stay-at-home Christmas this year, recipes from inside the Vatican will help adorn your holiday table.

The gifts of the Magi, endangered? One of the oldest and most prized gifts given to the baby Jesus could be gone in our lifetime.

Currents News full broadcast for Tues, 12/22/20 (Catholic news)

Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

Finally a COVID relief bill could soon be signed into law, but families are worried it won’t be enough to put a dent into their sinking finances.

Businesses in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn are coming together to give back at a time when they are struggling to survive.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio stops by to talk about the true meaning of Christmas, and one group of parishioners is taking his words to heart – they’ve created a crèche like no other for their Queens parish.

St. Margaret Mary Parishioners Build Creche One Last Time as Staten Island Church Preps for Closure

By Jessica Easthope

A few weeks before Christmas every year, hundreds see a crèche appear at St. Christopher/St. Margaret Mary Church on Staten Island. What they don’t see is what it takes to create it.

The nativity was first built in the church in 1964 by Frank Illuzzi, my grandfather.

“His ability to build things and construct things like this and even things at home was with no training and really no education but he had such intelligence that it was incredible,” said my uncle, Mike Illuzzi, Frank’s son.

Frank started building the creche, which my family affectionately calls “the crib,” when he was 28 years old. He built it for 28 years until he passed away at 56. That’s when my uncle, Mike Illuzzi, took over. He was 28 and has now been building the crib for exactly 28 years.

“It’s just a strange coincidence and it makes you think there’s some connection to our lives and this Christmas crib,” Mike said.

This year the men in my family, including my uncle Mike, cousin Michael and Godson Mikey built the crib for the last time, because soon there will be no more Masses at St. Margaret Mary.

“Unfortunately we’re a parish that’s getting a little bit smaller each year and it’s time to make a very difficult decision to only use one site for the parish,” said Father Joseph McLafferty, pastor of the merged parishes.

Though it’s been in my family for nearly six decades, the tradition started long before that.

“It started with Frank’s mother, Lucia Illuzzi who lived in Bari, Italy. She would create this crèche in her living room, and the whole town at Christmas time would come and see it. She was a fanatic about how it looked,” said my grandmother, Marie Illuzzi.

Part of the family tradition is that every aspect of the crèche — from the structure underneath to the way the paper mountains are painted — were passed down by my grandfather. But that’s not all that was passed down. My Uncle Mike is pretty fanatic about it, too.

“The paper is used to create the effect of the mountain, and I get made fun of because sometimes I’m particular about how people crumple it,” he said.

But that’s because it’s more than just a nativity: for all of us, it is my grandfather.

“There’s nothing on this planet that could ever stop me from building this. I just can’t, it’s like breathing to me,” said Mike.

On the wall next to the crib there’s a plaque, and on it is everything you need to know about my grandfather’s view on faith.

“Faith was in him, after he did the crèche in church that’s all he ever said was, ‘I did it for the man upstairs,’” my grandmother recalled.

The statues that make up the desert scene are old, some are chipped and worn. Individually they’re imperfect, just like the members of our family. But when you look at the big picture, it’s so much more than that.

Through ‘Count on Us,’ Businesses Give Back to Bay Ridge With Food and 1,000 Christmas Toys

By Jessica Easthope

The gate at P.C.’s is down — the Bay Ridge bar and grill that has been a staple for 25 years is closed. Right now it can’t be the place where people get together and have fun, and that’s the hardest part for owner Pam Pazarecki.

“We are closed, it breaks my heart,” she told Currents News. “We employ a lot of people and our customers, socialization is one of the main things we need. Especially this time of year when depression runs high, they close us down again.”

Pam’s not alone: hundreds of businesses across the country are closing for good every day. But at a time when stress is high and profits are low, Pam and 28 other Bay Ridge business owners are thinking about others.

“People are getting very down about our industry and what we are and what we stand for, and I said, ‘We’re good people, we work hard, we care for our community.’ So I said, ‘Let’s do a two-phase drive,” she explained.

This Christmas, Pam started Count on Us. She organized a group of her fellow business owners, and together they began to collect food and toys. The group collected more than 1,000 toys they’ll distribute to Toys for Tots, Catholic Charities, domestic violence shelters and military families.

Count on Us brought out the best in the community. When St. Ephrem’s students Victoria DiSpirito and Sofia Cascio saw one of their favorite restaurants giving back, they decided to make a video asking for toy donations. Their inspiration? Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas.

“He is the best person and He would do a lot of this stuff too,” Victoria said.

The struggle to make Christmas special this year doesn’t extend far beyond P.C.’s. Judette Kraics can usually be found behind the bar, but she’s out of a job, so she’s been spending her days collecting toys.

“It’s heartwarming to see people give even though they don’t have, and it’s a wonderful thing,” Judette said.

Pam doesn’t know when she’ll be open again, but she hasn’t lost hope or her desire to help those in need.

“We have made kids happy and we have made families happy, and that’s the most important thing is spreading it out,” she said.

This Christmas, her message to other families is, “You can count on us.”

London Archaeologist Believes He May Have Discovered Jesus’ Childhood Home

Currents News Staff

The Star of Bethlehem is what led the wise men to see the newborn baby Jesus.

Archaeologists have discovered what may be the home in Nazareth where Jesus grew up.

Ken Dark, Professor of Archaeology and History at the University of Reading joined Currents News from London to discuss his latest discovery.

Pope Francis Inspires Unique Nativity Scene at Corpus Christi Church in Woodside, Queens

By Emily Drooby

From running water to tiny woven baskets, the details are what makes Corpus Christi Church’s unique nativity scene so engaging.

“The main event is the same, but the other features are so different and so detailed, where you have pots and pans hanging and fishing gear and flower pots, it’s just amazing,” explained parishioner Irene Tiranno.

The crèche sits among the Christmas decor at the Woodside, Queens church.

The work of art sprung from a conversation between crèche artist Alexander Lateo and parish administrator Monsignor Jonas Achacoso, back in October.

At the time the piece was sitting in a basement, unseen by the world. Two short months later, it had been installed.

The piece uses the statues from the church’s old crèche. Everything, including the time it took to set up and refinish the old statues, was donated for free. It’s a ray of sunshine during a difficult year.

“I am so impressed with it, it is really a new shining light on our church that I think we desperately need in the time of the coronavirus pandemic,” José Ramos, a parishioner, told Currents News.

The inspiration to forgo a standard crèche for this more unique piece came from Pope Francis.

In December of 2019, the Holy Father signed an Apostolic letter on the importance of the Nativity scene, encouraging everyone to set up a crèche, “because this is a way for us to really evangelize, to make the message of the birth of our Lord to be known, and engage people into contemplating the real message of Christmas,” explained Msgr. Jonas.

He adds that because this is different from a standard scene, he sees people taking an extra moment to view and talk about it. To him, that says it’s working — people are contemplating.

“The work of art is speaking to them and they’re more engaged in contemplation,” he explained.

The unique nativity scene will be on display at Corpus Christi Church until January 11. It’s located at 31-30 61st Street in Woodside, Queens.

Families Are Worried $600 Stimulus Check Won’t Be Enough Amidst Ongoing Pandemic Troubles

Currents News Staff

Car after car lined up for a box of food to have on holiday tables in Wayne County in Raleigh, North Carolina. The line was filled with people like Theresa Carter, who lost her job six weeks ago.

“It’s the holidays, you know what I’m saying,” Theresa said. “Look at the people out here. This is ridiculous.”

She’s one of many who said a $600 dollar stimulus payment will help with one bill or two. But not more.

“It would be just to pay the rent,” said another person waiting for a box of food. “It would not help with food, gas or car payment.

“It’s gotten worse,” said Cassandra Lee, who was also on line. “People need all the help they can get. That’s why we’re in this long line now, trying to get the food that we can get.”

The Three In One Family Center organized the drive. Their founder, Gregory Quick, says this is the worst he’s ever seen it.

“Is $600 enough to help the families out here today? No, because that money has already been spent,” he said. “Basically for those that have been affected by the pandemic, lots of times their bills are behind.”

His wife Cassandra says people are running out of options.

“Kind of brings about a shame because they did everything right,” she explained. “And they thought, ‘Never would I be in line for this.’”

Will the Second COVID Stimulus Bill Include Catholic Schools?

Currents News Staff

Republicans and Democrats are coming close to agreeing on a spending bill and COVID-19 relief package.

The deal includes a laundry list of measures:

$300 a week in enhanced unemployment insurance benefits.

$25 billion for rental assistance and an eviction moratorium extension

$82 billion dollars for schools

$13 billion for food assistance

That $82 billion for education includes $4.5 billion for governors to spend at their discretion. It remains to be seen if the $2.7 billion set aside for private schools will include Catholic schools.

It seems neither party is thrilled about stimulus checks at $600 per adult.

“So direct payments — which were not in the Republican bill —to America’s working families,” said Pelosi. ”I would have liked them bigger but they are significant, and they will be going out soon.”

Some lawmakers say they fear they might not have enough time to actually read the text of the bills before they vote.

“I want to see what’s in it but it’s probably not going to be pretty but better than nothing,”said Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. “It’s’s how government works. We’re sitting here December what? 20, 21 today? We should have done this weeks and weeks ago.”

For weeks, many Americans have been struggling to stay afloat, and waiting in long lines for free food — people like south Florida’s Deborah Hightower who says she lost her job twice since the pandemic began.

“I’m very independent and do not like to ask for help. But sometimes, you just have to do,” she told Currents News. “God humbles you.”

Votes on the final relief package and the $1.4 trillion spending bill for the new fiscal year could pass by the end of Dec. 21.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski Shares Why He Opted to Get the COVID Vaccine

By Currents News Staff and John Lavenburg

WINDSOR TERRACE — Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami joined a couple hundred South Floridians Wednesday at St. John’s Nursing Center to become the first U.S. Bishop to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

Despite a lifelong fear of needles and injections, Archbishop Wenski said he got the vaccine to “lead by example.”

“I think it’s important for two reasons. To express confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine, but also in the ethical acceptability of the vaccine,” he said. “There are still a lot of people nervous about it for many reasons.”

St. John’s is located near Fort Lauderdale, part of Catholic Health Services in the Archdiocese of Miami. Wednesday was the start of its vaccination campaign. There were just north of 200 people — split between staff and residents — that received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, greenlit for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 11. Vaccinations started to be administered in the U.S. on Monday.

As of Thursday afternoon, Archbishop Wenski hadn’t experienced any side effects from the vaccination.

The archbishop arrived at St. John’s for the vaccination around 1 p.m. He had already sent in a consent form the day before, so all he had to do was go through a temperature check and coronavirus questionnaire before he got the shot.

In pictures on the archdiocese’s website, Archbishop Wenski has his eyes shut amidst a wince while the nurse stuck the needle into his right arm. He insists it was nothing more than an annual flu shot.

“The experience was fine. The shot didn’t hurt. It was no worse than the flu shot I got a few months ago, and it’s certainly a lot easier than some of those times they draw blood from me,” he said.

Afterward, he had to stay 15 minutes at St. John’s to make sure there weren’t any side effects. He’ll return to the nursing home on Jan. 6 for his second dose.

Earlier this week, the U.S. bishops’ conference issued a statement encouraging Catholics to get coronavirus vaccination because it’s a “moral responsibility for the common good,” even if some vaccines are connected to abortion-derived cell lines.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccine — likely to be approved by the FDA by the end of the week – used abortion-derived cell lines in confirmatory testing, but not in the design, development, or production. Therefore, the bishops consider the connection “very remote from the initial evil of the abortion.”

Archbishop Wenski also sent the priests in his diocese material from the National Catholic Bioethics Center to answer any objections parishioners might have. The NCBC had similar comments to the bishops, encouraging Catholics to get the vaccine.

Archbishop Wenski also noted it’s important for people of all ages to get vaccinated, not just emergency workers or those in the high-risk population.

“It was amassed for the common good. It’s a positive thing to do,” he said. “And if somebody says, ‘I’m young and healthy, I’m not afraid of the virus, if I get it, I’ll recover’ that may be true for some people. But the vaccination doesn’t just protect yourself, but by getting vaccinated, you also protect others from the spread of the virus.”

Currents News full broadcast for Mon, 12/21/20 (Catholic news)

Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

A COVID relief bill could be approved before Christmas, but where is the relief for struggling Catholic Schools?

Stimulus money is coming too late for one Brooklyn store owner who is being forced to close her doors after four decades.

A man who desperately needs a kidney already helped save one life with a billboard plea at the crossroads of the world — could it be his turn next?

One of the Magi’s three gifts to baby Jesus, frankincense, is disappearing. Why the medicinal tree could be near extinction.