Currents News Staff
During this pandemic, it seems everyone has been touched by some sort of trauma in one way or another. Take into consideration the loss of jobs, dealing with sickness and death, to lockdowns, and the closure of schools and churches.
Joining Currents News is Elizabeth Guevara de Gonzalez, the Director of the Office of Adult Faith Formation in the New York Archdiocese. She says she’s trying to help others through trauma workshops that are available online.
Frank Seddio, chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, speaks with Msgr. Jamie about his life as a former police officer and his current role as an attorney – all while cooking a delicious eggplant parmigiana!
Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
Will all parishioners in the Brooklyn Diocese be allowed to go to church without the latest COVID restrictions? We’re awaiting a court ruling.
After finally getting a taste of normal with indoor dining, New York City restaurants in the red zone are empty again.
The final day of the Amy Coney Barrett hearings – senators hear stories about her qualifications and dedication.
By Emily Drooby
Since she was announced as Trump’s SCOTUS pick, Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholic faith has been thrust into the spotlight, especially her connection to the People of Praise, a tight-knit Christian community.
Critics say the community puts men before women, rejects gay marriage and abortion, and called women “handmaids,” a practice stopped after the dystopian show and book “The Handmaids Tale” became popular.
Barrett’s long-time friend rejected these claims, calling People of Praise lovely people.
Founded in 1971 in South Bend, Indiana, they’ve grown to 1,700 members in 22 cities. A covenant community that grew from the charismatic movement
“They’re about five percent of the charismatic renewal, but people in covenants are extremely dedicated and extremely dedicated and extremely active,” explained Monsignor Joseph Malagreca.
He got involved with the Charismatic movement back in 1971. He’s close with many members of the People of Praise, who don’t have a branch in New York City.
Monsignor Malagreca explained while there are a lot of preconceived notions about the group, he had found many of them to be untrue.
“Those in covenant communities, they are certainly very educated people and they’re very dedicated to their church and they’re not insular, they’re very open,” he said.
Monsignor Malagreca is also the coordinator of the Hispanic and Haitian charismatic renewal in the Diocese of Brooklyn, and is in the process of opening a retreat center for the renewal in Brooklyn.
There’s over 150 million Charismatic Catholics world-wide. About 10,000 are in Brooklyn and Queens.
Leybi Lima and Carmalito Canillas are two of them. They both say being a part of this movement has greatly deepened their Catholic faith.
“We know the Father and the son but we don’t know the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has a power of healing,” said Leybi.
“So, the Holy Spirit also lives within us but the idea is to release it, how do you release it? By renewing again your relationship with Jesus by simply saying, ‘Lord, I want you to be my Lord and savior,'” added Carmalito.
One of the parts of the charismatic renewal that gets the most attention are the charismatic gifts.
“At a charismatic prayer meeting, you’ll hear people praying in tongues, and speaking in tongues,” explained Monsignor Malagreca. “You’ll hear moments where people are speaking as if they were God and giving messages.”
“Sometimes we are misunderstood,” Leybi said.
Father John Gribowich of the Diocese of Brooklyn has had ties to the group himself. He explains that the gifts show a person is open to being a conduit of God’s healing, grace and presence.
“Often God wants us to pray in a very pure way without us getting in the way, and when we pray in tongues, the person who is praying in tongues might not know what is being said, but God knows what is being said,” he explained. “And since it’s coming from the person, it’s a perfect act of praise.”
The renewal calls for true Christianity, prayer, holiness of life, witness to God and community, which is why groups like the People of Praise were formed.
Community doesn’t mean people within the renewal are trying to isolate themselves — instead they’re really trying to make this experience normative for all Catholics.
By Jessica Easthope
Over the last seven months, Jimmy Buckley’s family business Buckley’s in Marine Park, Brooklyn has gone from booming to barely making it.
“I don’t know how much longer we can keep it going, we’re essentially kicking the can down the road,” Jimmy said.
He’s not alone. The restaurants in the more than a dozen “red-zone” zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens are now back to take-out only, after just recently getting a taste of normal indoor dining. At Buckley’s it only lasted a week.
“We have done everything the governor and mayor have asked of us, following the protocols they put in place and it seems like they keep moving the goal post,” Jimmy said.
Business at Buckley’s is down 75 percent, the established family-owned restaurant that’s been around since 1972 is now losing more than $600 a day.
“It’s completely out of our control, we control everything we can keeping our customers and staff safe,” he told Currents News. “And still, in my opinion, we’re punished for other people who are not following protocols.”
Like other business owners, Jimmy’s searching for answers. He says it’s a reflection of the conflicting information he’s being given. According to the city and state’s plan, the latest closures are only to last two weeks, but Jimmy says he knows better than to hang on the words of the mayor and governor. Just this week they have been reporting vastly different numbers about the city’s infection rate.
“The whole process has been confusing from the get-go,” Jimmy explained. “Between the governor and the mayor, you have to sift through the back and forth to find out what’s accurate.”
For Jimmy and his family, a big part of practicing their Catholic faith is giving back. Right now, not having the means to be as charitable as they want to be has been hard on them.
“We were brought up by my mom and dad to give back and right now it’s difficult to do that, which is hard because it goes against everything we were brought up to do because we’re in such dire need of every penny that comes in right now,” Jimmy said.
Though cases in Brooklyn and Queens continue to level off, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he will announce whether or not closures will remain in effect on Sunday, October 18.
Currents News Staff
Currents News is sharing some words of wisdom from the Church’s newest bishop. The Holy Father has named Father William Byrne, a priest from the Archdiocese of Washington, as the head of the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts.
That last name — Byrne — may sound familiar to you, since his older sister, Sister Deirdre Byrne, spoke at this year’s Republican National Convention.
But Father Bill is a bit of an internet sensation himself, getting thousands of views on YouTube with his “Five Things” series, which highlights small ways people can grow closer to God.
Bishop-elect Byrne shares five things you need to know about guardian angels.
Currents News Staff
President Donald Trump and his democratic challenger Joe Biden won’t be debating tonight, but they’ll still be competing for voters’ attention.
After the second presidential debate was canceled, both campaigns decided to hold town halls — competing town halls.
President Trump will be on NBC, Biden on ABC, Thursday Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. EST.
The debate was scrapped because the president refused to participate in a virtual format after his coronavirus diagnosis.
Currents News Staff
A big fundraiser to help families keep their children in Catholic schools is going virtual. Futures in Education relies on its annual gala to raise money for scholarships.
Because of the pandemic, there’s a bigger need for those funds: people are out of work and more public school parents are enrolling their kids in Catholic schools because of how smoothly in-person and online learning are going there.
But, the pandemic also means the gala is online.
Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, the director of the Office of Parish Giving and Vicar for Development in the Brooklyn Diocese, joins Currents News now to share the inside scoop on the event.
To view the live stream or donate to support this year’s Futures in Education Virtual Gala, individuals are invited to visit www.futuresineducation.org, or text, FIE20 to 76278. To participate in the live Angel Auction on October 20th, from 7 PM to 8 PM, supporters can contribute via text or by calling (718) 965-7394.
Currents News Staff
As COVID cases rise, more and more schools are switching to remote learning. It isn’t easy, especially for working parents. But for some single moms who are just out of jail, it would be impossible, if not for the help from the Queens non-profit organization Hour Children.
Because of what the organization does, Hour Children staff say the women who receive support from their programs are five times less likely to return to prison.
“Oh my goodness, in so many ways, I don’t know where to start,” says Natalie Thomas, a single mom. “They’re just like a blessing.”
Natalie hasn’t had an easy life. The single mother battled an addiction to cocaine and spent time in jail. Now she spends her time here at the Hour Working Women Re-entry Program doing job training while her children, including four-year-old Gabby, does the Hour Children’s School Fun Program remotely.
Lisa Belfast is a teacher who runs the program.
“It’s an excellent thing for the moms,” says Lisa, “because we are here from eight to six, and from eight to six they get everything. They get academics and after school, we go outside.”
The non-profit helps incarcerated, and formerly incarcerated women, and their children. It provides housing, job training and job placement, and now – due to the pandemic – it provides help with remote learning.
“The mothers were worried that their children were really going to be losing out,” says Sister Tesa Fitzgerald.
Sister Tesa is the Executive Director of Hour Children. As an educator, she knows all about the studies like the one published in the Journal of School Health, which shows children of incarcerated parents are more likely to fall behind academically, drop out of school, and even go to prison themselves.
“It’s important from the beginning,” says Sister Tesa. “It’s our commitment to educate. I know firsthand how important, how crucial it is, for the kids to get a jumpstart and really get a good solid base of education.”
The women they help can’t work from home to help their kids. Natalie says she doesn’t know what she would have done without this program.
“They have everything set up,” she says. “They have the wifi. The kids bring their devices and they have people who sit with the certain grades one-on-one so that they can really focus on their classwork online. It’s really amazing.”
Natalie and her three kids live here in one of the non-profit’s sections called My Mother’s House. When she starts working, she says she hopes to get her own apartment, maybe in one of Hour Children’s apartment buildings.
She could even get a job at one of their thrift shops or in the food pantry. But Natalie’s goal is to get her college degree and become a drug counselor. Thanks to Hour Children’s support, she knows that goal, and a better life for herself and her kids, is within reach.
“Hour Children is the best support system that you can get,” Natalie says. “They fight for you to the end and it’s just amazing what they do.”
Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in the hot seat, responding to questions about how religious freedom cases should be handled.
The Vatican opens its first-ever civil trial against a priest accused of sexual abuse while studying at a seminary.
A new mission for a Queens non-profit that reunites single moms released from jail, and their kids.
Why this year’s Futures in Education Scholarship Gala is more important than ever.