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What If the COVID-19 Vaccine Is Derived From Aborted Fetal Tissue? We Ask the Doctor

Currents News Staff

With many states reopening the question on when a vaccine to combat the coronavirus will be available needs to be answered sooner than later.

There’s been talk about a second-week crash with this virus. A person could think they’re getting better, and then they get worse. 

Many are also concerned about their pets with news of dogs and cats testing positive for the virus. 

A study has shown that in humans, the drug remdesivir improves patients’ recovery times, and there are reports the FDA plans to announce an emergency-use authorization for it.

There have also been conflicting reports on the drug hydroxychloroquine. The most recent study says it can help coronavirus patients.

But, while everyone is hoping and praying for a vaccine, the question of how it will be developed may also be a troubling one for many Catholics.

What if a vaccine is produced using tissues from abortions?

On Currents News, we’re trying to answer your questions in our weekly segment, “Ask the Doctor.” As an infectious disease expert with the Catholic Medical Association, Dr. Robert Tiballi joins us to offer his insight on treatments and potential vaccines. 

Queens Catholic School Students Find Colorful Way to Thank Essential Workers

By Jessica Easthope

You’ve heard the cheers and applause at 7 p.m. every night thanking those on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, but now a younger generation is showing its gratitude to first responders and essential workers in its own way.

Sandra Paz is a fourth grade teacher at Our Lady’s Catholic Academy in South Ozone Park, Queens. Her latest class project was inspired by a social media trend started thousands of miles away.

“I had read an article about how these rainbows in windows kept popping up in Italy as a result of COVID-19,and then somehow it had come over to Brooklyn,” she explained. “The little slogan that went with them in Italy was ‘tutto andare bene,’ everything will be alright.”

“We were looking for lessons that were going to be engaging and relevant, but you have to make it somehow fun for them,” she explained. “I did more research, and it had a name: ‘the Rainbow Connection.’”

For 10-year-old student Shawn Ortiz and his parents Manuel and Jasmin, the Rainbow Connection project is extra special.

“It makes me sad because I love them, and I don’t want them to get it, but i’m proud of them too,” Shawn told Currents News. “They’re doing a good job saving people from the virus.”

His dad Manuel works for the city, and his mom Jasmin works at a hospital. They’re forced to wear masks all day at work and now at home, in an effort to keep their family as safe as possible.

“On the average I’m working a 12 hour shift,” said Manuel. “We talk on a video chat and not even being able to kiss them anymore, something as simple as that, it’s very difficult.”

Jasmin says she’s seen the worst of what coronavirus has done to the people of New York City.

“There’s times when I just break down because it’s so much,” she said. “And we rely on our faith because that’s all we can turn to right now, and just pray and hope it disappears.”

But what won’t disappear are the rainbows. In fact, more are popping up every day.

“When I’m outside and I see the rainbows, I think, ‘Wow, someone’s actually thinking about me,’” Manuel explained. “That a kid took the time to draw that to thank us, it means a lot.”

Currents News full broadcast for Thursday, 4/30/20

On the newscast:

– Rainbows are popping up all over the Diocese of Brooklyn.  Catholic school children are giving signs of hope and thanks.

– A Queens religious sister is providing a lifeline to those trapped at home.  She is helping them through the anxieties of the pandemic.

– New York’s subway system is going to grind to a halt overnight.  There’s a good reason.

– Fox News Channel anchor Ed Henry is helping the Church after making the ultimate donation of the gift of life.

 

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.

Queens Nun Offers ‘Wonderful Hope’ to Parishioners With Phone Call Group

By Emily Drooby

For adults in the Brooklyn Diocese, a ringing phone means more than a call, it’s a lifeline during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders.

For years, Sister Ave Clark has counseled people who are struggling through her heart-to-heart ministry, but those sessions can’t happen now.

Instead, she’s set up a new way to reach them: a group phone call.

“Words of faith, even though we can’t see each other, are so important,” Sr. Ave told Currents News. “So that’s how I see this connection, as a connection of God’s love via the phone.”

She’s calling the group “Wonderful Hope,” something very much needed during the pandemic as anxieties increase.

In this difficult time, calls to the federal Mental Health Crisis Hotline have jumped almost 900% compared to last year.

Over 6.8 million Americans already suffer from anxiety. It’s a common mental disorder often made worse by the isolation, fear and financial pressures brought on by the coronavirus.

President Trump talked about those worries when the pandemic first hit.

“You’re going to have massive depression,” he said. “You’re going to have depression in the economy also. … massive drug use, massive depression, mental depression, massive numbers of suicide.”

Sr. Ave is lending a helping hand to those who are suffering by tackling all of those issues, as well as one of the most difficult to come out of the pandemic: the loss of a loved one.

“Well for it it’s very personal, because I lost my sister,” group member Susan Schwemmer explained. “My sister passed away from the virus.”

It’s been a tough time for Susan and her family, made even more difficult by social distancing restrictions.

“That’s what’s so hard about this, is when you do lose someone, you don’t have the physical family, the touch, everything is missing. We had to bury her and just sit in the car,” she said.

Susan has been leaning on Sr. Ave’s phone-line for support.

“Knowing that all of these people love me and they were praying for me and her through this,” she said. “We lost her, but she’s with Jesus. And it just gives me the strength I need to take it one day at a time.”

This is exactly what Sr. Ave had in mind: help, hope, and healing through faith, and a personal connection.

Drive-Thru Pet Food Bank for Families Facing Hardship During the Pandemic

By Emily Drooby

Pets are a source of comfort and a cure for loneliness, but they’re also a financial stressor.

The global pandemic has cost millions of Americans their jobs. More than ever, people are turning to food pantries and other similar programs to feed their families. But for some families, there’s another mouth to feed: their animal.

Pet food can be a big expense. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that food for a cat can cost $224 annually, while food for a dog can cost up to $400 annually.

Saint Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey, is trying to make sure that people can care for their pets during this difficult time by holding an ongoing drive-through pet food bank.

Emma Dolan has been helping to run it.

“Most people are running a week at a time right now,” she told Currents News. “Some people are only running a few days at a time. Just, this is unprecedented, so they’re [St. Hubert’s] just trying to think of their immediate needs and for anybody with a pet, that’s your immediate needs is that, that pet is provided for.”

The charity has been providing food to both individual families and food pantries at their New Jersey shelter location. They’re handing out the food out while remaining socially distanced and wearing the proper protective gear.

“We just didn’t want anybody to be forced to even think about surrendering their cat or their dog because they couldn’t afford to buy food,” explained Sarah Sangree, their Director of Community Engagement.

Sarah says about 19,000 pet meals have been distributed so far. They plan on continuing to hand out the food as long as they can.

St. Hubert’s is named after the patron saint of hunters, dogs and archers, and while the pet food pantry is good for pets, it’s also good for owners. A Rover.com survey says 86 percent of pet parents say spending time with their furry friends helps them alleviate stress brought on by the pandemic.

“Spending a little time to walk your dog, and it gives you a little decompression, or playing with the cat,” Emma explained, “when everything else is starting to fall apart, that’s what you go to – that unconditional love from your pet.”

MTA Workers Forced to Dodge Blood, Urine During Shifts as COVID-19 Drives NYC Homeless Underground

By Jessica Easthope

The problem has always been there, and now a global health crisis has made homelessness on the subway more visible than ever before.

Currents News caught just a glimpse of the problem, pools of blood and homeless people occupying most cars, at the R train station in Bay Ridge.

It’s nothing compared to what workers are experiencing.

“All of these things have always been there but when you’re in the middle of a pandemic you don’t expect certain things to still happen and go on and it’s just been tough for us workers,” said MTA Train Conductor Tramell Thompson.

They’re essential workers who arrive at their jobs to find feces, urine and used syringes.

For the last six years, Thompson says he’s seen a vicious cycle of blame allow problems and safety risks to continue.

“With the MTA and the mayor and the governor. You see it’s a blame game,” he explained. “The mayor is saying it’s the state. The MTA is saying it’s the mayor. The Governor is saying it’s the mayor. You have three entities pointing their fingers at each other and who’s suffering? You and I. It’s not only the workers, it’s the riding public.”

This, all while nearly 2,000 MTA workers have contracted coronavirus, nearly 100 have died.

During a press conference this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio questioned how much of the problem is the state’s responsibility.

“On the question of who’s responsible for homelessness in the subways, it’s like other questions I’ve been asked lately. We’re all responsible, it’s all of our jobs to get this done. The state runs the MTA. Clearly, the state has a whole lot of the pieces to the puzzle here,” said de Blasio.

Currents News sent some of the troubling images to the Mayor’s office asking for a response. A representative said, “I really think you’d want to ask the MTA about this.”

Earlier this year Mayor de Blasio introduced Thrive NYC, a 1-billion-dollar initiative to address mental illness in New York City. It’s an initiative MTA workers say they haven’t seen manifest itself yet.

“You have EDPs, emotionally disturbed persons, those are the ones who really need the help,” said Thompson.

Despite the conditions, Thompson says most homeless are just looking to sleep and eat on trains.

“The City and the State failed them, but can the City and the State make them hostages to what the City and the State believe is right, these homeless people have choices too,” he added.

Thompson says it’s worse than he’s ever seen it, rivaling the subway’s worst years.

“You have to lean on your beliefs, your faith, your religion when you have a job like this, especially when you’re dealing with the public in New York City,” said Thompson.

Governor Cuomo is demanding the MTA come up with a plan to disinfect every train every night by the end of the week. Currents News also reached out to Mayor de Blasio’s office and the MTA, but a request for comment has not been answered.

Currents News full broadcast for Wednesday, 4/29/20

On the newscast:

-There is an uproar over Rabbi Chaim Mertz’s huge Brooklyn funeral and how the Mayor handled it.

-Troubling scenes from underground, the subways may have returned to the bad old days.  Transit workers are speaking out.

-The chance to worship God in person, we haven’t in months. The White House is putting together new guidelines.

-The Diocese of Brooklyn is getting couples ready for marriage in a new way.

 

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.

 

De Blasio Faces Criticism Over Disbanding Crowd of Hundreds Gathered for Brooklyn Funeral During Pandemic

Currents News Staff

The NYPD was called in on April 28 as thousands of people of the Orthodox Jewish faith gathered for a funeral in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Crowds of people standing right next to each other — despite social distancing orders — mourning the loss of a rabbi who died of coronavirus.

When Mayor Bill de Blasio found out about the crowds, he went to Williamsburg to see for himself what was going on.

“People’s lives were in danger before my eyes and, I was not gonna tolerate it,” he said on Twitter.

[RELATED: Rabbi’s Reaction To Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Threat Against the Orthodox Jewish Community in Brooklyn]

So he instructed the police to hand out summonses or even make arrests, saying in a tweet, “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed.”

That tweet drew criticism, some saying de Blasio was singling out a religious community, and threatening them in direct violation of their First Amendment Rights.  Jonathan Greenblatt, Head of the Anti-Defamation League, blasted de Blasio on Twitter, writing, “Hey @nycmayor, there are 1mil+ jewish people in #nyc. The few who don’t social distance should be called out — but generalizing against the whole population is outrageous especially when so many are scapegoating Jews. This erodes the very unity our city needs now more than ever.”

And while former Brooklyn assemblyman Dov Hikind called on the mayor to apologize. saying he shouldn’t have blamed the entire Jewish community for the acts of some. He also spoke to the rule breakers. 

“By not following the rules, by gathering in groups, by gathering in funerals by gathering in synagogues, by gathering in other places– it is unacceptable and it must stop!” he wrote. 

De Blasio said his message was to all communities and he won’t tolerate anti-semitism. He also apologized, saying “Iif in my passion and in my emotion I said something that in any way was hurtful I’m sorry about that that was not my intention. But I also want to be clear, I have no regrets about calling out this danger and saying we’re going to deal with it very aggressively.” 

With Wedded Bliss Postponed, Pre-Cana Classes Go Digital for Couples in the Brooklyn Diocese

By Emily Drooby

Across the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic has drastically changed wedding plans.

Some, like one Texas couple, are taking part in socially distanced weddings.

Others have cancelled altogether.

Marriage rates are at the lowest level on record, and experts believe the pandemic could drop them even more.

In New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo tried to make it easier for couples looking to exchange vows, allowing marriage licenses and ceremonies to be done remotely.

“There’s now no excuse when the question comes up for marriage, no excuse,” he said. “You can do it by Zoom.”

The Diocese of Brooklyn is also making it easier for Catholics to prepare for the sacrament of Matrimony by moving pre-cana classes to an online platform.

It’s a major change, as the required marriage preparation for Catholics has always been done in person.

“Because of the pandemic, we actually had to convert all of our class from in person format to an online, on demand experience,” Christian Rada, director of Marriage, Family Formation, and Respect Life Education for the Brooklyn Diocese, told Currents News.

While Catholics still have to be married in a church, this way they’re ready to go.

“So, as soon as the churches are opened, and the celebration of the sacraments are allowed, the couples can simply present to the priest or deacon who is preparing them,” he said.

The online classes were a godsend for Patricia and Sal, who were worried about how they would finish pre-cana before their June wedding.

“Before we knew that June wasn’t happening, we were, like, “Well, what are we going to do now? How are we going to get this done if June does happen?,’” explained Patricia. “So we were relieved to have that option to be able to do it online.”

Unfortunately, the couple had to move their nuptials to September because of the pandemic, but at least now pre-cana is one thing they can cross off their massive to-do list.

“The main goal here is to get married, it’s not about anything else but getting married,” Patricia explained.

The online classes, in Spanish and English, started with the pandemic. Now, they’re here to stay. Rada says they’ll be an option going forward.