Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
New York’s City Hall Park is cleared of protesters after they’ve been camping out there for weeks.
Christopher Columbus was knocked down but he’s not out. Baltimore’s Knights of Columbus is creating a new – and better – monument.
There’s word about a COVID-19 vaccine that could be out by year’s end.
By Jessica Easthope
The coronavirus pandemic has left an estimated one and a half million New Yorkers out of a job. But some feel they’re still not out of that big city luck, and that maybe a headshot could give them the head start they need to get back to business.
“We don’t only uplift their chances and their hopes for employment, but also the spirit that they lost during the pandemic,” said Rom Matibag, the CEO of Romp Studios.
Rom was working hard July 22, taking professional headshots with the “10,000 Headshots” initiative. 200 photographers in locations across the country are taking headshots free-of-charge to help people gain a job and some self-esteem.
“This is a great idea of how to give back, especially us photographers who have been there and been unemployed as well,” he said.
Rom knows the feeling well of being lost and sometimes having to reinvent yourself. He was once in the seminary, preparing to be a Catholic priest. Now he’s fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic as a nurse and photography is his passion.
This month, New York City’s unemployment rate rose to more than 20 percent. Nationwide, around 11 percent of people are out of work.
The quick click of a headshot can be costly: a set can average from $400 to $500, making this opportunity a godsend for people like Persefoni Anastasopoulos, an architect who was laid off.
“What we put out there is very important, and definitely having a professional photo makes a world of difference in the presentation you put forth,” he told Currents News.
According to LinkedIn, people who have a professional headshot on their profiles get 21 times more views, and nine times as many connection requests as those who don’t. But some who came down Wednesday worry their jobs won’t exist after the crisis ends.
Carmen Corzo is an event planner, and she thinks the industry may never fully recover.
“It’s going to be a really slow comeback and a lot of us are going to venture out to different fields and have completely different jobs and that’s why I was grateful to get this photo and be able to update my resume,” she explained.
The goal is 10,000 headshots in one day, but what Rom and the other photographers are really hoping to accomplish is a boost in confidence.
Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
Lifting spirits in troubled times – a Catholic leader is on a mission.
The Big Apple’s top cop is warning there’s no easy fix to gun violence but he’s upbeat about the future.
New details tonight about a young Catholic man gunned down inside his home. His mom is a federal judge.
Rising up from the ashes – a cathedral is open again after being attacked by missiles.
By Currents News Staff and Rhina Guidos
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Schools and a Catholic parish in New Jersey expressed pain but also offered prayers following the killing of 20-year-old Daniel Anderl, son of a federal judge, who was a student at The Catholic University of America in Washington.
He was fatally shot in the heart when a gunman entered the family home in North Brunswick Township, New Jersey, July 19.
Mark Anderl, the husband of District Judge Esther Salas of U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and Daniel’s father, also was shot during the attack but is in stable condition.
The New York Times reported July 20 that federal authorities are looking at lawyer Roy Den Hollander as the suspected shooter. Den Hollander, who has described himself as “anti-feminist,” was found dead near Liberty, New York, a day after the shooting and authorities believed he killed himself, news outlets reported. He had argued a case before the judge.
The family is said to be part of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish in Kendall Park, New Jersey, in the Metuchen Diocese, and Daniel Anderl attended the parish school there.
“It is with a heavy heart, and with much sadness that we regret to inform you that Danny Anderl, class of 2014, went home to be with the Lord yesterday,” St. Augustine of Canterbury School said in a July 20 post on Facebook with a graduation photo of Daniel as a child.
“Danny attended St. A’s from the First Grade, and he and his family were parishioners, as well,” the post said. “Please keep Danny, his dad, and his mom, Judge Salas, in all of your thoughts and prayers at this sorrowful time. May Danny rest in peace in the loving arms of our Lord, for all of eternity. We will miss you Danny; Heaven’s newest Angel.”
The Diocese of Metuchen also expressed sorrow over the killing and said Bishop James F. Checchio asked the various Catholic communities to which the family belonged to join in prayer for them.
“Our hearts are heavy with the tragic loss of Dan Anderl, son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas and the injury of his father, Mark Anderl,” the diocese said. “Bishop Checchio asks us all to join together in prayer with the parish and school families of St. Augustine of Canterbury, where the family worships and where Dan went to elementary school, and also St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, New Jersey, and The Catholic University of America.
“We pray and mourn for the family and friends of the victims affected by this senseless tragedy. May they feel Christ’s healing presence and find comfort and peace in the Lord.”
Daniel Anderl was set to start his junior year in college in the upcoming weeks, and John Garvey, Catholic University’s president, said in a statement he was “shocked” to hear the “tragic” news of the killing.
“We all mourn and grieve this loss to our university community,” Garvey said, adding that the university’s chaplain, Father Jude DeAngelo, would celebrate Mass July 20 for the family.
Those who knew them told stories of the family’s generosity. A former schoolmate said the family had taken him into their home when his house was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and were active members of their church, known for their kindness. A neighbor told The New York Times how the older Anderl brought over supplies to help clean after a snowstorm.
News reports said that a man dressed in a Fed Ex uniform approached the house before opening fire.
Salas, the first Latina to serve as a federal judge in New Jersey, was confirmed as a district judge in 2011, and is overseeing a case involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself last year while awaiting a trial over the sexual abuse of minors.
Salas, whose court is based in Newark, New Jersey, had been assigned the case brought by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which accused Deutsche Bank of not detecting various suspicious transactions made by Epstein. The judge’s husband is a criminal defense attorney.
Daniel was their only child.
By Jessica Easthope
Father Christopher Heanue is in the saddle and pushing himself to the limit, gearing up for a physical and spiritual challenge he couldn’t shy away from. He’s on a mission to uplift his parishioners at Holy Child Jesus Church in Richmond Hill, Queens.
“These have been difficult months the coronavirus has taken a lot of hope away from our parishioners and our world and I think by participating in this 100 miles I want to inspire others and myself that we can do all things through Christ,” said Father Heanue.
Next week he’ll be embarking on a century ride, for those not up to speed, that means he’ll be biking 100 miles.
“From here Richmond Hill Queens out to East Hampton Long Island, it was our intention to go to Montauk but that’s about 150 miles,” said Father Heanue.
Throughout the pandemic donations have kept Holy Child Jesus’ food pantry up and running, the church has even been able to help some families out financially, Father Heanue is riding to keep that wheel in motion.
“What a great feat that would be for our parish to continue doing the great work that we do,” Father Heanue said.
Father Heanue took up cycling more seriously during the pandemic, but says he doesn’t consider himself much of an athlete, that’s partly why he’s calling the ride ‘100 Miles of Hope.’
“We’re going to need prayerful support, I’m going to need them certainly but I just want to use this as a way to inspire hope,” said Father Heanue.
But he won’t be setting out on the ride alone, he’s going with two friends, one is Paul Cerni the head of parish operations at Holy Child Jesus.
“We’ve been gearing up for this and this time I think we’re ready,” said Cerni.
The men say they’re not stopping short of their goal of helping families in need.
“When you’re thinking about a goal like this raising money for the parish, for outreach, for the community it motivates you and we put our trust in God that we’ll find the strength,” Cerni said.
The riders are planning to make the whole trip with only short stops for food to give them energy, it’s expected to take close to 10 hours.
To donate visit:
https://www.facebook.com/101381568093938/posts/167331028165658/
or
https://www.gofundme.com/f/100-miles-of-hope
or
Text ‘miles’ to 718-550-6525.
Currents News Staff
Kanye West claims to be running for President and he gave an emotional speech about abortion at a rally in South Carolina on Sunday.
The rapper wore a bulletproof vest when he told the crowd his dad wanted him aborted.
West went on to accuse the well-known abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, of trading slaves. The crowd jeered him over that comment.
Currents News Staff
The destruction of Catholic images and statues across the country isn’t getting enough media coverage says Neil Cosgrove, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, one of the oldest Catholic organizations in the country.
MIAMI (CNS) — The beheading of a statue of Christ at a Catholic church in the Miami Archdiocese has saddened the parish community of Good Shepherd Church and prompted Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski to call on law enforcement to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
On July 15, the statue at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Southwest Miami-Dade was found with its head chopped off and knocked from its pedestal.
“It is too soon to arrive to any conclusion, but we have seen other churches vandalized around the country. We totally ‘condemn’ this action. We invite our community to pray for peace,” parish officials said in a statement.
“The statue, located outside the church, was on private and sacred property,” said Mary Ross Agosta, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Miami. She told the local Fox News affiliate Archbishop Wenski requested investigators consider the vandalism “a hate crime.”
The Department of Homeland Security is among the agencies investigating the case.
In recent weeks around the country, angry mobs have toppled statues of figures such as St. Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest from Spain who founded several missions in California. Statues of historical figures, like Christopher Columbus, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass, also have been knocked down and heavily damaged.
A wave of recent attacks on Catholic statues includes an unidentified person using red paint to deface a statue of Mary in front of St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 15.
“It does look like a graffiti tag more than anything else,” Father David Price, the cathedral’s rector, told local reporters. “I’m not sure there was any sense or meaning behind it.”
In the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, Father Manuel Perez, pastor of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Chattanooga, found a statue of Mary on the parish grounds knocked over and beheaded. News reports said the 5-foot-tall statue was worth $2,000. The missing head has not been found.
As in Florida, the Department of Homeland Security is looking into the incident as a possible hate crime.
“Anytime something like this happens it is disappointing and concerning,” said Diocese of Knoxville diocesan spokesman Jim Wogan in a statement. “We don’t know if this was the targeted desecration of a sacred statue, or some kind of misguided prank, but it hurts.
“For whatever reason we are living in a very chaotic time and anger seems to be the default setting for people,” he added. “Our bishop has asked that we live by the example set in the Gospel of Matthew, to treat others as we ourselves would want to be treated.”
Knoxville Bishop Richard F. Stika tweeted about the incident July 13, saying “what a strange time” we live in. “Over the weekend, an outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother was beheaded at St. Stephen Parish in Chattanooga. This is occurring at various spots throughout the United States.”
A statue of Mary was found defaced July 10 on the grounds of Cathedral Prep School and Seminary in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York.
Father James Kuroly, Cathedral Prep’s rector and president, called the incident “an act of hatred.”
“Obviously, this tragedy saddens us deeply,” he said in a statement, “but it also renews our hope and faith in the Lord as he has shown his goodness in the many people who have already reached out to us.” He urged prayers “for those who committed this act of vandalism and hatred toward Our Lady and the church.”
Police in Boston were likewise investigating a fire that damaged a statue of Mary outside St. Peter Church the evening of July 11. News reports said flowers in Mary’s hands were set on fire, causing damage from her arms up to her face.
Fire also claimed much of two Catholic churches, one in Florida and one in California.
In the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, a man crashed his van through the doors of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Ocala early in the morning July 11. Once inside, he set the interior of the church ablaze. There were no injuries reported.
Police later apprehended the suspect who had fled the scene, identified as Anthony Steven Shields, 24, who was charged with several felonies, including attempted second-degree murder, arson to a structure and felony fleeing or attempting to elude.
In Los Angeles a fire ravaged Mission San Gabriel Arcangel church in the predawn hours of July 11. Investigators have not yet determined what started the blaze that gutted the 230-year-old church.
Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.
Some of the top stories on this newscast:
A shooting surge in the so called “safest big city in the U.S.” What’s a parish’s role in stopping the violence? Pastors in the Brooklyn Diocese say the recent crime surge is a pro-life issue.
A woman defaced three Black Lives Matter murals and says she’s proud she did it.
The latest Catholic Church to go up in flames is in France. It could have been done on purpose.
In a bullet proof vest, Kanye West talks abortion at his first campaign event.
Currents News Staff
Bevelyn Beatty’s latest video on her YouTube page has been viewed more than 83,000 times – it’s a video where the woman shares why she live-streamed the defacing of the Black Lives Mural in Manhattan.
It all started July 18 when Beatty and others spilled black paint and then smeared it all over the Black Lives Matter mural outside of Trump Tower. She was eventually arrested but hours later, she re-emerged in Harlem and then Brooklyn.
“For anything else to matter, Jesus has to matter,” Beatty said.
According to her biography on social media, Bevelyn is co-founder and evangelist of “At The Well Ministries.” Instead of “Black Lives Matter, she uses the hashtag “Jesus Matters.”
Witnesses yelled at her while sitting in the trunk of a car.
“Black Lives Matter does not speak about the Black cop that dies,” Bevelyn said. ”Black Lives Matter doesn’t speak about the Black man who dies due to Black-on-Black crime … Black Lives Matter doesn’t address the baby in the womb who’s murdered…”
Beatty also supports police and the work they do and opposes defunding police departments.
“We were the voice that they couldn’t have,” she said. “We were the stand that they couldn’t take.”
While there were people opposing her as she painted over the murals, she also has her supporters.
“A lot of people thought I was being a hero for doing what I did, but I wasn’t being a hero. I was being an American,” Bevelyn said. “I was being an American, but more than that, I was being a Christian … This is what Christians do – we turn tables.”
And she says she’s not done turning tables or painting streets.
“God is good. It was victorious you guys, and we’re gonna keep going,” she said.