Schools to Close in Brooklyn Diocese, Leaders Work to Calm Coronavirus Anxieties

By Christine Persichette

Schools throughout the Brooklyn Diocese are shutting down next week so the buildings can be cleaned and sanitized. Most students will have access to online learning.

On March 12, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Academy in Forest Hills and American Martyrs Church in Bayside were both closed after it was discovered an individual with ties to both locations has a suspected case of the virus.

Other schools in New York City, including Success Academy Charter Schools, are also closing their doors for now.

Governor Andrew Cuomo was in New Rochelle, New York March 13, where the state has implemented a containment zone because the suburb has the highest cluster of coronavirus cases in the country.

The National Guard has been deployed to help.

“The National Guard is not here to maintain a perimeter but rather to assist with operations and logistics such as the delivery of meals to public school students, the distribution of supplies, cleaning public facilities,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson.

A drive through COVID-19 testing center has been opened there for residents. Cuomo said the federal government is now going to let individual states regulate their own labs and authorize more testing.

“We do have a crisis in testing,” he said. “We’re not up to scale. We need to change that quickly and let the federal government turn that function over to the states.”

Meanwhile, anxious New Yorkers are clearing the shelves at stores, stocking up on anything and everything. The city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio said that’s understandable, but not necessary.

He’s also squashing rumors of a subway shutdown and a citywide quarantine.

“Anxiety and fear are some of the issues we have to deal with on a continuing basis and that is the responsibility of everybody including the media,” Michael Dowling, CEO of Northwell Health. “We have to deal with the issue, but we also have to deal with the issue of anxiety.”

Tennessee Catholics, Community Step Up for Tornado Victims

By Emily Drooby

For now, Patrick Patton is celebrating Mass from his church’s pews, but one day he hopes to be able to celebrate from the alter.

“I play firefighters, police man and priestess,” said Patrick as he described how he likes to pretend he’s a priest while at home. The four-year-old even has dreams where he’s a priest.

When Patrick found out that his beloved Church of the Assumption in Nashville Tennessee was damaged by a tornado, he wanted to help. The child donated his hard-earned chore money to the recovery effort.

“So, our church gets fixed,” Patrick explained.

His mother, Melissa Patton explained it’s not the first time Patrick has generously offered his own money up to the church.

“One day before Mass, a gentleman sitting behind us gave him five dollars and he chose to give it into the offering,” said Melissa.

Patrick story is cute but, in the days following the storm, it has become the new normal.

Over 22,000 people from all over came to Nashville to help.

The executive director of Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Judy Orr said, “We had armies of people out helping in addition to professional first responders, that’s a really remarkable thing to see.”

In her job Judy sees volunteerism every day, and even she was impressed by the amount of people who came out to help.

“Nashville is great like I said, it’s awesome that everybody wants to pitch in. Nobody’s got a lot of free time, but it’s awesome to see the community come together and help out during the time of need,” said Seth Hauenstein.

Seth is just one of the many students from nearby Belmont University who spent the first few days of their spring break doing manual labor to help clean up Nashville.

Now, Tennessee living up to its name: the Volunteer State.

Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing Sites Popping Up

Currents News Staff

The coronavirus has put the world on hold and the number of those infected with the disease grows on a daily basis.

But most people, especially in the U.S., don’t know if they’ve got it because of a lack of testing.

The disease is spreading rapidly across the globe. The U.S. is among the countries seeing a more-than 33-percent daily increase in case numbers.

But there’s a new method of testing that’s not only helping people but also helping protect health care workers.

A number of drive-thru testing sites are popping up in cities like Rochester, Minnesota, Denver and San Francisco.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York state’s first public drive-through testing facility debuts Friday.

Residents of New Rochelle, who are under quarantine will get tested first.

People need to meet certain criteria in order get tested at the drive-up facility.

Pope Celebrates Seven Years of Pontificate

It’s been seven years with Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St. Peter. He was elected March 13, 2013, after Pope Benedict announced his resignation on Feb. 28.

He brought a new vibe to the pontificate, being the first pope from Latin America and a Jesuit.

These seven years have been marked by a reform in the Curia, combating clerical sex abuse, and improving interreligious dialogue and relations with China.

Pope Francis has held three synods, with the most recent being on the Amazon in October 2019.

He has written major texts on the family, environment, the Gospel and transmission of faith.

The pope has completed 32 apostolic trips during his pontificate, and is hoping to visit Iraq and South Sudan. For 2020, he has a confirmed trip to Malta in May.

Currents News full broadcast for Thurs, 3/12/20

On the newscast: New restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus in New York, while a Queens parish deals with a suspected case; More of our exclusive coverage from Nashville, where volunteers from Catholic Charities are helping those hit by deadly tornadoes; The parents of Saint John Paul II are a step closer to becoming saints themselves; And in his own words… the filmmaker behind a new documentary about Dorothy Day. She was a great Catholic who was born in Brooklyn.

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.

Suspected Coronavirus Case: Queens Church and a Catholic Academy Closed for Cleaning

By Tim Harfmann

An individual with ties to both Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Academy in Forest Hills and American Martyrs Church in Bayside has a suspected case of coronavirus.

“Keyword here is ‘suspected.’ We have not received any confirmation from the New York City Department of Health or the New York State Department of Health,” said Thomas Chadzutko, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

In a letter from the academy’s principal, the individual is “recovering and doing well” and has not been at the school in two weeks.

“The incubation period had come and gone. And there are no, at this point, any repercussions or any children, faculty or staff that have any symptoms,” said Chadzutko.

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is closed today and tomorrow for cleaning.

Meanwhile, American Martyrs Church is acting to ensure safety.

Father Frank Schwarz said the same individual was last seen at the Bayside parish Saturday.

“We have canceled all activities, except for the weekend Masses, here in this building. And we’re going to do a thorough cleaning,” he explained.

Click here to read the letter to parents of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Academy:

Click here to read the letter to parishioners of American Martyrs Roman Catholic Church:

Click here to read the statement from Diocese of Brooklyn regarding potential school closures:

Residents, Catholic Charities Work to Move Forward in North Nashville

By Emily Drooby

Roofs blown off buildings, trees ripped from the ground and homes torn from their foundation are the view Patrice Sherrell sees when she looks out her backyard.

Her north Nashville neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by the tornadoes.

“My little millennial across the street right here said, ‘What do we do? I said, ‘Call your momma.’” Patrice told Currents News.

“I was in the front watching television on the couch when all that went up,” she recalled. “It picked it up and set it back down, and all I heard was explosions.”

The winds were so strong debris shot through her home like a bullet past her drywall, down the hallway and out the other side. Her roof was also badly damaged.

“That’s what woke me up,” she explained.

So when Patrice woke up, the roof “was up, and I went that way,” she said.

Patrice has decided to stay in her home, but many of her neighbors don’t have that option.

“For some of these other people, it’s just really heartbreaking,” said Misty Roberts, a volunteer for the McGruder Family Resource Center in North Nashville, which is operated by Catholic Charities.

“I’ve seen a lot of people with their children coming in, they had nothing, they lost everything they had,” she said. “We fed them, gave them hot lunches, clothes, diapers, wipes, baby food, shoes.”

She estimates that they’ve helped about 2,000 people in just the one day after the storm.

In the historically African American neighborhood of north Nashville, there’s an extra layer of fear added to the already devastating tornado destruction.

Gentrification has recently been creeping into the neighborhood, with some fearful the disaster could speed up that process.

“Some people are like renters and they might not find a place to stay in Nashville, they might have to go to Clarksville or some other county,” explained Misty.

Now uncertainty, fear, and devastation are the new normal for this neighborhood.

Coronavirus Cases, Concerns Change the U.S. Day to Day

The number of coronavirus cases is rising daily, and as that happens, many everyday life actions are going to be affected.

President Trump, in a coronavirus-based address March 11, says an antiviral therapy will be available in record time.

“These treatments will significantly reduce the impact and reach of the virus,” he said.

But in the meantime, be prepared for things like: rough days on Wall Street, extensive cleanings of most surfaces, empty shelves in your grocery stores and travel restrictions from the White House.

“You’re going to see closing down of venues, schools, large gatherings because you don’t have an option,” explained New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “You’re never going to bring the testing up to capacity in time.”

The NBA suspended its season after at least one player tested positive for the disease.

Fans attending the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Utah Jazz game were sent home shortly before tip-off.

“I want my fun back,” said one Oklahoma fan. “It’s like our fun is being taken away. It’s ridiculous.”

But other basketball fans, like one in Atlanta, Georgia, approved the league’s decision.

“I think that by eliminating the big crowds is a good move,” said the Hawks fan.

Health officials say these steps are necessary to help prevent the coronavirus from spreading even faster.

“We’re 100,000 ICU beds short, we’re probably tens of thousands of breathing machines, ventilators short. What are we going to do?” asked Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “These are real problems and this is hours and days count, not days and weeks.”

On Wednesday, House Democrats released a summary of their Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

According to a statement, the bill “provides paid leave, establishes free testing, protects public health workers and provides important benefits to children and families.”

Currents News full broadcast for Wed, 3/11/20

On the newscast: Coronavirus is officially a global pandemic. What do we do now? And who is most at risk?; Prison riots in Italy over the virus have left six people dead. Pope Francis remembers them in his prayers; Harvey Weinstein may never see the light of day. 23 years in jail for the disgraced movie producer; And an exclusive report from Nashville. A destroyed church is rising from the ashes.

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.

Faithful Work to Rebuild History at Nashville Church Damaged by Tornadoes

Destruction is a new and difficult sight for Church of the Assumption parishioner Mark Cassman to see — just days prior to the Tennessee tornadoes, he had celebrated Mass in the church pews.

“It’s kind of shocking to see these signs on these doors, that simply says danger, do not enter, keep away. it’s not the way it’s supposed to be,” he said. “This whole entire wall is leaning south.”

The second oldest Catholic Church in Nashville, Church of the Assumption was ravaged by the tornadoes. Now, the wall is separated from the roof, the stained-glass windows are blown out, a light peaks into the sacristy through a hole in the brick and the massive steeple is leaning to one side.

“All the vestments had been blown out of the cabinets and they were in heaps around the room and there was dust everywhere,” explained pastor Father Bede Price. “The church was afraid the church was going to collapse, so we took the Blessed Sacrament over to the rectory.”

Fr. Bede and others risked their lives to save the religious art and artifacts from the unstable church.

In the wake of the storm, another hero is stepping up — Mark. His family has been a part of the parish for about 10 years.

“I showed up to be an extra set of hands and saw that there was nobody really leading the effort, so I just kind of stepped up and took it,” he explained.

He is donating his time to serve as a point person, getting the word out on social media and organizing volunteers.

While the future of the church is uncertain, Mark said one thing is for sure: the tenacity of their community.

“The faith is lived out by the people, and to see this community come together like this, it’s really amazing,” he said. “It’s inspiring and comforting to know that in dark times, you still have family that will take care of you.”