Inclusion on Full Display as Knight with Special Needs Turns 50

By Jessica Easthope

A newly inducted Knight of Columbus celebrated a milestone birthday, and those who helped him along the way were highlighted through family and faith.

On Saturday, February 22, Robert Rubino turned 50. His party was held at the Archbishop John Hughes Council’s Headquarters in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.

Robert has a developmental disability and doesn’t speak a lot, but all you need to see is the smile on his face to know how he felt about his birthday.

Linda Rubino, Robert’s mother, has been affiliated with the Knights of Columbus as a Columbiette for decades. Her son has attended many of their events at her side. Just a few months ago, Robert was inducted as a Knight.

“It means a lot to Robert — he’s been anxious all week. All I’ve heard all week is, ‘birthday, birthday, birthday’. I didn’t think it would ever happen. I guess if we dream or we try, things do happen. I’ve always had him reach for the stars, no matter how far he can get,” Linda said.

Mike Grazidei was Robert’s sponsor. He feels as if God put the two men in each other’s lives.

“My faith is stronger since I became a Knight, it’s always with me, I hope that I am a better man for sponsoring Robert,” said Mike.

Joe Sbarra, Deputy Grand Knight of the Archbishop John Hughes Council, said that through Robert, he can see what the organization is all about.

“It’s putting faith into action. It’s what we’re about as Knights. Our first principal is charity — that doesn’t always mean someone outside of the council. We can be charitable toward each other. This is a great way to be inclusive,” he said.

Robert’s birthday is remarkable for a number of reasons, but especially so because he shares it with his sister Kathleen. They were born on the same day 10 years apart and despite that difference, they grew up like twins. To this day, they remain inseparable.

Now, there’s another family Robert belongs to: the Knights.

“They still accept him for being a person, he comes to all the events, he helps out at fundraisers as much as he can, maybe he carries a basket or something but that’s okay, that’s enough,” said Linda.

For his friends, family and now the Knights, Robert will always be enough.

Black History Month: Celebrating Culture and Faith Through Music

By Tim Harfmann

At Saint Matthew Church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Chris and Colleen Chasteau play steel pans to express themselves.

“I see the steel pan as kind of my voice through worship. It’s a great way to tie in my culture with my Catholic faith, as well,” said Colleen.

The brother-sister duo uses the instruments each Sunday to honor their ancestors from Grenada, while bringing back memories of the West Indies for Catholics from the islands.

“It reminds them of back home and also gives them that kind of comfort in a place of worship,” Colleen said, particularly as they celebrate Black History Month.

“It’s great that we have a month devoted to that, the recognition of how many things we’ve been able to accomplish,” Colleen said.

“Remembering everyone before us and what they fought for,” is what Black History Month means to Chris. “That there’s a lot of culture that a lot of people, we don’t really hear about.”

It’s a culture Father Frank Black, coordinator for the West Indian Ethnic Ministry for the Brooklyn Diocese, said was misunderstood when people started arriving from the Caribbean.

“They thought we were almost like a different population,” he explained. “I said, ‘No, it’s Africa.’ That’s where we all come from.”

Eventually they hit the right note in supporting one another.

“It just shows me how powerful God is, that He can take people who have been victimized and turn them into a blessing for so many people,” Father Black added.

It’s a blessing of using music to remember history while building pride for their heritage.

Currents News full broadcast for Fri, 2/21/20

On the newscast: An amazing event at a New Jersey Catholic hospital… Three decades apart the same nurse helps a family; The Russians are at it again… new reports claim that they’re tampering with our elections; A fiery crash put a truck driver’s life in jeopardy. Never underestimate the power of a mom…. who risked her life to save a stranger; And there’s good news tonight from Paris about Notre Dame Cathedral.

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How a New Jersey Father Discovered His Son’s NICU Nurse Was Also His Own

By Emily Drooby

An amazing coincidence has taken place in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at The Children’s Hospital at New Jersey’s Saint Peter’s University Hospital.

It started when Renata Freydin and David Caldwell’s son, Zayne, was born 10 weeks early.

On January 30, the premature baby was admitted to the NICU of the Catholic hospital in New Brunswick.

It’s the same place where David himself had been treated 33 years before – he was also born a preemie.

Feeling nostalgic after Zayne’s birth, the family looked at David’s old baby book and that’s when they had a revelation.

“I’m literally screaming, ‘Who is this?’ and he was like, ‘Oh that’s me and the nurse.’ And I said, ‘Who does this look like?’ And he said, “It can’t be her, it can’t be her,’” said Freydin.

She saw a photo of her husband being held by a nurse.

“When I was growing up I would always ask my mom, ‘Who is this lady in the baby book, holding me?’ My mom was like , ‘Oh, that was your nurse. She was amazing. She helped me. She reassured me that you were going to be okay when I couldn’t see you. She took great care of you the last day before you came home,’” said Caldwell.

That nurse was Lissa McGowan – the same woman who had been taking incredible care of the couple’s newborn Zayne.

“I could have been on the whole other side of the unit and never even saw them, let alone take care of them,” said McGowan.

Caldwell says it was more than a coincidence, calling it divine intervention from God and his mother whom he lost in 2004.

“That happening just reassured me that mom is watching over us, over her grandson from heaven, watching over her son, they said it’s fate,” he continued.

It’s often difficult for parents of preemies, as they have to leave their most precious gift in the hands of the hospital.

“Not having him with me is one of the hardest things,” said Freydin.

Knowing Lisaa is there has become a source of comfort for David and Renata.

“I was there then, and I’m here now. And hopefully giving them that comfort that I’m here and that they have a strong little guy, we will get him home as soon as he is ready,” said McGowan.

They say a nurse takes care of both the patient and their families, and for this family, that was especially true.

One Year After Pope’s Abuse Summit, Survivors Return to Rome

By Melissa Butz

It’s been one year since Pope Francis’ historic summit to address clergy sex abuse. Survivor-victims are gathering in Rome and they say the Pope’s fight to protect young and vulnerable people is gaining steam. Survivors say great progress has been made, and more is needed.

To be back at the Vatican seems like déjà-vu for Peter Isely, a childhood victim of clerical sex abuse. He recalls his time in Rome just a year ago, for the Sex Abuse Summit called for by Pope Francis.

The founder of Ending Clergy Abuse says until there is no more abuse, he will continue to advocate for victims. Yet, he admits in the course of the year, he has seen some progress.

“One is that for the Vatican State, there’s going to be a change in their statute, just there, for child sex abuse. The second change was about whistle-blowers. You know, that if you report you’re just going to be no reprisal or whatever, if you do it,” said Isely.

Isely named the third change as the destruction of papal secrecy.

He said while it’s taken time, the United States has especially made moves to fight abuse.

Additionally, dioceses throughout the world have organized church offices to receive abuse cases and the legal process has been clarified in many areas.

As a survivor, he admits he would like more done to protect each and every member of the Church; and as an activist, he says he will continue to fight until this safety is achieved.

Advocacy organizations, Ending Clergy Abuse and Bishops Accountability, both organized events in Rome throughout the week to highlight the change made, call for more transparency and demand zero tolerance yet again.

Here in the United States, much has been done to combat sexual abuse long before the Pope’s monumental summit.

The United States bishops have been credited for being on the forefront of policies that have been enacted by the universal church.

For example, in the U.S., a policy of zero tolerance has been in place since the 2002 Dallas Charter.

In addition, the U.S. bishops have long had an existing framework that includes victim outreach, reporting allegations to civil authorities and lay expertise on review boards.

A Kiss for Francis

Currents News Staff

It was a sweet sight at the Vatican – a picture captured the moment a man in the Pope’s audience planted a long kiss on the Holy Father’s forehead.

Pope Francis appeared to be smiling, when the man pulled his head toward him for the kiss that lasted several seconds.

No word on who the man is. He was seated in the front row which is reserved for sick or disabled people.

Currents News full broadcast for Thurs, 2/20/20

On the newscast: Sister Norma Pimentel is in New York promoting support for undocumented immigrants. Her work has earned the respect of Pope Francis; A little girl is at the center of a struggle. Her parents are in New York. She’s locked down in China; There was little attention paid at last night’s Democratic Debate to issues important to Catholics. Our political expert is here; And the Holy Father gets a kiss.

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Special Needs Employees Make Up the Staff of the No Limits Café

By Jessica Easthope

The day starts for employees at “No Limits Café,” with what they call the “pump-up session.”

But that’s not the only thing that makes the restaurant unique – it only employs adults with intellectual disabilities.

“Our mission is to give people with intellectual disabilities meaningful employment and to empower them and to show everybody else in the community what they’re capable of which is a lot,” explained Stephanie Cartier, the co-founder of No Limits Café.

She and her husband Mark decided to use their own experiences as motivation to make a much-needed change in their community.

“Our daughter Katie has down syndrome. You can stay in the school system until you’re 21 in the United States,” she explained. “And when she was 18 we said, ‘Okay, what’s going to happen because that part of their life is called ‘falling off the cliff.'”

Now, the newly opened café is helping others just like Katie. Employees take orders, prep food and serve, and they’re all doing it for their own reasons.

“I get paid, like a lot of money, and I can’t wait to show my friends and family,” said employee Claire Digiorgio.

Some, like Hayley Lawrence, love the independence.

“This is the first job that I can do stuff all by myself. I don’t need help,” she said.

Others, like Tom Hedden, do it to feel a sense of purpose.

“It makes me feel like there is something that I can actually do now, it makes me feel energized,” he explained.

And the employees use that energy in a way that puts a smile on customers faces.

No Limits Café is dedicated to training their current employees to work in the restaurant industry, but come the fall when the café closes its doors at night, it will open a world of possibility for others with intellectual disabilities.

“Our training academy, which will be at night, will train others with intellectual disabilities who don’t work here,” explained Stephanie.

For now, to eat at the cafe you need reservations so the employees can adjust to their duties and not get overwhelmed. But soon, walk-ins will be welcomed, showing customers willing to sit down for a delicious meal just how successful these people can be.

“If someone right now has a baby with special needs, by the time they’re old enough to work or graduate school, hopefully we won’t need a restaurant like this,” said Stephanie. “We’re the only restaurant that wants to close because there shouldn’t be a need for it, and there is.”

Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens Welcomes New Board Chairman

Currents News Staff

Helping to minister to God’s people is the Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens.

The non-profit raises millions of dollars to address the needs of the faithful across the diocese.

Joining Currents News is the new chairman of the board for the organization, Sam Romanzo.

Romanzo has been a faithful member of the Diocese of Brooklyn for over 30 years, and is now giving back to the diocese in this special way. He shares his hopes and goals for the Catholic Foundation, and how that money helps those in need.

Pope’s Favorite Nun Inspires New Yorkers to Advocate for Migrants at the Border

By Emily Drooby

Every day, Sister Norma Pimentel fights the surging humanitarian crisis at our southern border. Now, she’s in New York recruiting a new generation to help bring justice to migrants.

Speaking at the Catholic Manhattan College in the Bronx, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley shared with students her first-hand experiences at the border, including the plight of a woman denied asylum.

“She said, ‘What am I going to do? I can’t go back because my husband was killed, and I know if I go back I know my daughter and I will be killed, and I’m afraid,’” Sr. Norma recalled.

“People are there in the thousands,” she said.

Several students say they were inspired to come hear Sister Norma speak because of the time they spent at the border — a time they’ll never forget.

“Having to cut the women out of their jeans because they had the ankle monitors on was really hard,” said student Anna Rosario. “They were treated like animals.”

Anna has spent time in both El Paso and Brownsville, Texas, and was motivated to get involved because it could have been her.

“I’m from Latin America, and I can imagine that if my story was different, I would have been one of these migrants. So, I can see myself in them,” she explained.

Ireland Twiggs was also in Brownsville, and recalled the emotional toll it took to cross back into the U.S. from Mexico.

“It was like 500 feet from this concept of freedom, I think it was really hard for me to understand how we could keep going those 500 feet, and these people could not,” she said.

Sister Norma met with both Anna and Ireland. Their passion is the reason she travels the country: to raise awareness for an issue she says doesn’t get enough attention.

“The only thing different today is that it has been kind of swept under the carpet,” said Sr. Norma, “and pretend the problem is not here anymore because it was moved south of the border.”