The bishops of New York have long supported pregnant mothers, vowing to help them in whatever way they can.
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan is among those fighting for the unborn.
He goes to the March for Life annually and is part of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee.
Ahead of the D.C. demonstration, Bishop Brennan joined Current News to talk about how the march has changed, and why it’s more important now than ever to support the unborn.
By Jessica Easthope
Gemma Dadone, 3, writhes in pain while getting her diaper changed. Both of her femurs are broken.
In nearly four short years of life, Gemma’s become no stranger to broken bones. She’s had more than 30 hairline fractures. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) causes her to have a collagen deficiency; her bones are very brittle.
“It takes her so much more effort than the average child. She has to take breaks. She has to lay back because her lung capacity is smaller than a regular child.”
Gemma’s mom Christine Darby knew life having a child with OI wouldn’t be easy, yet life without Gemma would be much harder.
“I heard her heartbeat, I felt her kicking and she was a part of me, and I felt that she deserved a chance at life, and a chance to grow and have a quality of life,” Christine said. “She’s going to be someone in the world and I’m happy that she has the chance to make a change.”
It was at the 13-week mark when Christine’s doctors noticed some bowing in Gemma’s legs on a sonogram. They immediately suggested she terminate her pregnancy. Gemma’s condition and the pressure to abort only got worse from there.
“Every Monday morning, they would call and they would say are you sure, are you sure, and I would say ‘yes I’m sure,’” Christine said. “They told me at one point why have a baby shower, what am I gonna do with all the stuff?”
“When they started calling Christine at 7 a.m. Monday morning, that they don’t think she should continue with her pregnancy, the trauma really started there, not a great way to start your week,” said Peter Dadone, Gemma’s father. “It was hard.”
But abortion was never on the table for the couple. Gemma’s cognitive ability is unaffected. Christine knew what she had to do as a Catholic and as Gemma’s mom, and she hasn’t looked back, even during the darkest of days.
“I felt such a strong connection to her, and I knew that I could not have an abortion,” Christine said. “I just felt that she was mine and I was meant to be her mom. Everyone deserves a chance at life, no matter the circumstance. Just look at her, they deserve a chance to see.”
Today Gemma is thriving. She goes to school, has friends, and dreams of growing up to teach doctors about the amazing potential babies with OI have, the potential every baby has.
“I’m so proud of how far she’s come,” Peter said. “Just in the last 2 years it’s been to the moon with her improvements.”
The next hurdle is saving up for an accessible home and car, to accommodate a power chair.
Gemma’s life will never be without challenges, but Christine says the best part is she’s here to conquer them.
A caring friend set up a Go Fund Me page to help raise money for the family to buy Gemma a specialized wheelchair. If you’d like to help donate visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gemmas-life-with-oi
Some Catholics are passionate about the pro-life cause, others have lived it.
In just two days, tens of thousands of people will converge on the National Mall in D.C. for the annual March for Life.
Before Bishop Robert Brennan heads to D.C., he joins Currents News to talk about how to advance the pro-life movement.
It’s been nearly five years since the Cathedral of Notre Dame was destroyed by fire.
A dreary day outside matched the mood inside as the coffin of Joe Esposito was carried into St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Mourners filled the pews to say a final goodbye to the former NYPD Chief.
“All of us, who came here today to this magnificent cathedral to remember to pray for one of the greatest persons in my life — Espo,” said. Msgr. David Cassato, NYPD chaplain and former pastor of St. Athanasius, where Esposito was a parishioner.
Msgr. Cassato said Esposito was a personal friend and a man who lived his faith every day.
“Where was he every single Sunday? At church at St Athanasius at the 11:30 Mass,” Msgr. Cassato said.
The longest-serving chief of department in the history of the NYPD passed away last week at the age of 73 after a battle with brain cancer.
His daughter spoke at the funeral.
“When my mom left us when her heart gave out, my father lost his heart too,” Eve Esposito said. “And that cancer that was lurking in his system, hanging around since 9/11, I’m sure, decided it’s time: ‘Let’s send this man home to his wife.’”
Esposito helped guide the city in the days, weeks, and months after 9/11.
He also played a key role in reopening churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn during the pandemic.
At one point, Esposito served as chairman of the Diocesan Review Board, the panel that helps the bishop in responding to allegations of abuse against priests.
He’ll be remembered as a man who loved his city, loved his family, and just wanted to take care of everyone.
“We’re so proud to have been his daughter,” Eve said. “My dad, my hero, everyone’s hero.”
“I thank God for this man in my life!” Msgr. Cassato said. “Espo, rest in peace.”
In addition to his 45-year-long career with the NYPD, Esposito also served four years as commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management.
Mayor Eric Adams said, “He was the definition of public service.”
by Katie Vasquez
It was a moment of prayer and eucharistic adoration as more than two dozen young people who went to World Youth day in August, took the time to reflect on their experience during a holy hour at Holy Family Church in Fresh Meadows.
“In the generation I am from, I don’t really see catholic youth that often that I can express my faith to,” said World Youth Day 2023 participant, Shaden De Leon Cruz, “so seeing that was just so it felt like a warm hug of just love and seeing god’s presence.”
“I feel like I’m very blessed to be surrounded by people who are on fire for their faith, but to see it at that scale in Portugal was so beautiful,” said World Youth Day 2023 participant, Rachel Burgos.
A chance for this group to strengthen their bond and commitment to Christ.
“More of our life is lived in the ordinary day to day, and we need times to bring us back to those moments of grace,” said Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Witnessing the Holy Father up close was an experience many say they will never forget.
“It ended up being exactly as transformative as I thought it would be. I remember specifically the first day when I saw him for the first time, it was pretty close to me,” said World Youth Day 2023 participant, Luis Ayala, ” I got goosebumps.”
Their trip was eye opening but also came with challenges.
“There is a lot of sacrifice that came in even prior to going to lisbon. but in sacrifice also is the great love that our young people have. they do so with joy,” said Diocese of Brooklyn Youth and Young Adultry Ministry Director, Father James Kuroly.
Lessons they will carry on.
“In school, any time I work, everything and every aspect, it’s truly changed my mindset aligned to putting god first in everything,” said De Leon Cruz.
These pilgrims are preparing for their next journey, celebrating the jubilee in Rome with the Holy Father in 2025.
Mourners gathered this morning at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to say a final goodbye to the NYPD’s former Chief of Department, Joe Esposito at his funeral Mass.
A special Mass was celebrated yesterday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
We are just days away from the national March For Life in Washington D.C.
Young people in the diocese came together in prayer over the weekend for a reunion of sorts.
By Jessica Easthope
You need to move fast in the hallways of St. Joseph-by-the-Sea High School on Staten Island, but that’s not the pace senior Sal Agro has in mind.
“I’ve never been in the cockpit of a plane but heights have never been an issue for me and speed. I have a need for speed, just don’t tell my parents,” he said.
Does that line sound familiar? For Agro, ‘Top Gun’ isn’t just a movie, it’s a look into the future.’
Last month, Marine Corp recruiters hand-delivered Agro a check for $180,000, a scholarship to any four year school that offers naval sciences courses. Agro wants to serve his country as an officer.
“An officer’s job is first and foremost to lead Marines. Other than being that leader I also plan on becoming an aviator,” Agro said.
Leadership is where Agro shines. He’s taken his love for fitness and mentors other students in the gym. He’s on the lacrosse and track teams, he’s a member of the Holy Name Society, and an altar server.
“The Marine Corps’ values and being a Catholic has definitely established in my mind what it means to have honor, courage, and definitely commitment. I have conviction in what I believe and perform the way I’m supposed to at all times,” he said.
Sea’s principal Father Michael Reilly says Agro’s faith is incorporated into every part of his life.
“Sal has always been a young man of service, Christian service and national service and our school is about God and country so I’m really happy Sal is doing this,” Father Reilly said.
Serving in the Marine Corps requires a degree of physical readiness Agro has taken to an extreme. Sean Kuechenmeister, the director of student health, says Agro’s commitment to his body, mind and spirit extends far beyond what’s asked of him as a high school senior.”
“His purpose is service, and I think that it goes hand-in-hand with his Catholic faith. He’s not just doing this for the accolades and for the praise, he’s really doing this for the right reasons,” Kuechenmeister said.
In a few short years Agro will be in the air in a military uniform; a foundation of faith and service his co-pilot.
“The journey’s not done. I won the scholarship. I’m ready to go but the journey’s not over, it’s far from over, it’s only going to get harder but the payoff is huge,” he said.
Agro’s ready to prove to everyone the sky is not the limit.
Salvatore Agro, a senior at St. Joseph’s by the Sea, has received the very competitive navy reserve officers training corp scholarship.
Catholics are pushing back against the Biden administration’s immigration plan.
Pope Francis had to cut a speech short on Friday, blaming “a touch of bronchitis.”
A big restoration project is underway at St. Peter’s Basilica.
By Jessica Easthope
It’s one of our country’s hidden secrets, a little piece of the Holy Land.
Tucked into the nation’s capital, it’s been there since 1880.
The Monastery of the Holy Land in America, where Franciscan friars have built 85 replicas of some of the most important Christian sites.
“You will find a replica of the Holy Sepulchre and a replica of Calvary, that are at the same distance as in Jerusalem,” said Father David Grenier, the commissary of the Holy Land. “And the height of Calvary is the same. Then in Jerusalem, you have the Grotto of Bethlehem, the Grotto of Nazareth, the Grotto of Gethsemane, the place of the Ascension. I mean many, many replicas that you can see in the Holy Land. So that’s why we are called the Holy Land in America.”
Each year on special feast days, like Christmas and Good Friday, the friars celebrate services in the American counterparts of the Holy Land’s holiest places.
“We try to take advantage of this beautiful legacy that we have here with the possibility to have the people to experience some things special that we do in the Holy Land because that’s the whole idea of the place, to have the people experience how it is in the Holy Land as much as we can,” Father Grenier said. “On Good Friday, we do a celebration that is done at the Holy Sepulchre, which is the burial of Christ. We take the body of Christ from Calvary and with songs, we bring Him into the tomb, reproducing the rites that were done at the time.”
Throughout the year, the monastery helps financially support Franciscan missionaries serving the Christian community in the Holy Land.