Currents News Staff
A Brooklyn church was attacked during Sunday morning services on Jan. 12.
During 9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Greenpoint, a man stepped up to the altar and apparently poured juice all over the sacred space as the priest was celebrating Mass.
The man said nothing, stepped down from the altar and stood there.
Police immediately responded and the man is now in custody.
By Michelle Powers
Only six presidential candidates took the stage last night, making it clear today that the reality is all six are frontrunners and only one will leave Iowa with a win.
As the presidential Democratic prospects took the stage on the evening of Jan. 14 for the debate in Des Moines, Iowa, it was clear what’s at stake: the final chance for these White House hopefuls to go head to head before the Iowa Caucuses.
The progressive favorites, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, addressed the heated rhetoric between the two campaigns this week.
Meanwhile, for Joe Biden, the night presented another opportunity to focus on who he hopes will be his only opponent come November: President Donald Trump.
“It was predictable from the day he pulled out of the agreement — Trump — what exactly would happen. We’re now isolated,” he said.
Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar continued to court a more moderate vote, seeing a path to the nomination by focusing on centrists.
“It’s going to take a view of the future, as well as the readiness, to learn from the lessons of the past,” explained Buttigieg.
“When it comes to Iraq, right now, I would leave our troops there,” said Klobuchar.
And the sixth candidate, businessman Tom Steyer, positioned himself as the outsider.
“It’s time from someone from the outside to have a strategic view, about what we’re trying to do, and how to do it,” he said.
The candidates spoke out the key issues, many important to Catholic trying to vote with their conscience.
“Every other major country on earth is guaranteeing health care for all,” said Sanders, “the time is long overdue.”
“What you want in the president is someone who has dealt with these life and death decisions,” said Klobuchar on the topic of foreign policy.
“I am the one who has the broadest coalition of anyone running up here in this race,” responded Biden in regards to taking on Donald Trump.
But candidates mostly skipped over health care and abortion entirely, it was a disappointing move for pro-life Democrats ahead of Washington D.C.’s March for Life next week.
The candidates will not share the debate stage again until after Iowa’s Feb. 3 caucuses. Until then, campaigning will take place in living rooms, diners and community centers in Iowa and the other early voting states.
On the newscast: A battle is brewing in the wake of that deadly terror shooting at a naval base in Florida. Find out what the Justice Department wants done; Governor Cuomo is in Puerto Rico tonight surveying the earthquake damage to see how New York can help; Martin Luther King Day is almost here. We’ll explore why his message is so important to the values of all Catholics; And a selfless act of bravery – how the man who stopped a church shooting is being honored.
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.
By Tim Harfmann
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was on his way to Puerto Rico Jan. 14 after a series of earthquakes rocked the island, including one the same day with a magnitude of 4.6.
Cuomo’s led a delegation along with 150 members of the National Guard.
“We’ll make sure that Puerto Rico is not left on its own,” he said.
As the group departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport, some Puerto Ricans were arriving, like Carlos Velazquez who lived through the tremors with his family.
“The whole building was shaking,” he said. “We had to go down like three or four times. The bed shook. My daughter was crying.”
It’s been an emotional period for Catholics in the Brooklyn Diocese, as well.
Alex Ayala, a parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria, Queens, has been worried about his mother living near Ponce, the quake’s epicenter.
Her parish now celebrates Mass outdoors, afraid the church will collapse.
“She couldn’t sleep last night because thinking about the earthquake, and she’s scared,” Alex explained.
Despite fear, Archbishop of San Juan Roberto Nieves said Jan. 14 that those on the island have faith.
“There is a spirit of trust in the Lord, and I would even suggest that even non-believers have a sense of the spirit,” he told Currents News.
Governor Cuomo promised to help the U.S. territory.
“We’re American citizens. We’re the family of America. They’re our brothers and sisters,” he said.
Governor Cuomo is scheduled to visit Puerto Rico for two days. He vows to “report back” to New Yorkers on how they can help the island.
By Emily Drooby
There was deafening silence in a Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School classroom as students listened to stories of Holocaust survivors.
While in most schools the Holocaust is just part of the history curriculum, at the Brooklyn Catholic high school it’s a semester-long class.
Ameer Brown, a student at the school, lives in Brooklyn surrounded by Jewish neighborhoods but still doesn’t know any Jewish people. This class has helped him understand the religion and its history better.
“We have to remember it so we can do better in the future,” said Ameer.
“It just teaches me to be a better person and recognize what other people go through because sometimes life can be tough but it’s about what you’re willing to give, what you’re willing to put forward, your best foot,” he added.
That’s what teacher William Mason was hoping for when he created the semester-long class five years ago.
“We talk about the fact that the Holocaust is officially over but anti-Semitism is still with us, we see it more and more recently,” he explained.
According to the New York City Police Department, the city saw a 26 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2019.
“We want the students to be warriors against this,” said Mason in response to the uptick. “We want them to not stand by and watch this happen. I mean, Elie Wiesel said one of the worst things you can be is a bystander, never be a bystander.”
The class is a senior elective offered in both during the fall and spring semesters. In it, students are learning lessons they never knew, and now will never forget.
“The fact that still to this day there’s still bodies buried underground in Germany and that they dehumanized Jewish people and just looked at them differently,” is something students like Giovanni Wilson reflect on.
Currents News Staff
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At the request of retired Pope Benedict XVI, his name will be removed as co-author of a book defending priestly celibacy, said Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican official who coordinated work on the book.
“Considering the polemics provoked by the publication of the book, ‘From the Depths of Our Hearts,’ it has been decided that the author of the book for future editions will be Cardinal Sarah, with the contribution of Benedict XVI,” Cardinal Sarah tweeted Jan. 14.
“However,” he said, “the full text remains absolutely unchanged.”
The tweeted announcement came only a few hours after Cardinal Sarah had issued a formal statement accusing people of slandering him by saying that while Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI may have contributed notes or an essay to the book, he was not co-author of it.
Archbishop Georg Ganswein, personal secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, phoned several German news agencies and spoke with the Reuters news agency Jan. 14, saying the retired pope had requested that his name be removed as co-author of the book, its introduction and its conclusion. The Archbishop Ganswein confirmed that the book’s first chapter, attributed to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, was the work of the retired pope.
Since marriage and priesthood both demand the total devotion and self-giving of a man to his vocation, “it does not seem possible to realize both vocations simultaneously,” retired Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote in his essay.
The French newspaper Le Figaro published excerpts of the book late Jan. 12 and, almost immediately, some people began questioning just how much of the work actually was written by the 92-year-old former pope.
The introduction and conclusion were attributed jointly to the retired pope and to Cardinal Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments; the book has two other chapters, one attributed to each of them alone.
The book was to be published in French Jan. 15 and in English Feb. 20 by Ignatius Press.
Given Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s declining health and energy, many questions were raised about just how much of what was attributed to him was written by him and about the decision to list “Benedict XVI” as co-author of the book, rather than “Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI,” the form he used for his series of books on Jesus of Nazareth.
At the end of a day of questions and accusations posted on Twitter, Cardinal Sarah tweeted early Jan. 14: “Attacks seem to imply a lie on my part. These defamations are of exceptional gravity.”
And, as “the first proofs of my close collaboration with Benedict XVI to write this text in favor of celibacy,” he tweeted photographs of correspondence from the retired pontiff.
In the first letter, dated Sept. 20, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said that before receiving a letter from Cardinal Sarah dated Sept. 5, he already had “begun to write a reflection on priesthood. But while writing I increasingly felt my energies would no longer allow me to edit a theological text.”
“Then your letter arrived with the unexpected request for a text precisely on priesthood with particular attention to celibacy,” the retired pope continued. “So, I took up my work again and will send you the text when it is translated from German into Italian. I will leave it up to you to decide if these notes, whose inadequacy I strongly feel, can have some usefulness.”
In a brief note posted by Cardinal Sarah and dated Oct. 12, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote that “finally I can send you my thoughts on the priesthood. I leave it up to you if you can find some usefulness in my poor thoughts.”
In a formal statement released Jan. 14, Cardinal Sarah said that after meeting Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Sept. 5, he wrote to the retired pope saying that with debate about mandatory priestly celibacy already begun before the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, he realized Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI might not think the timing was right for him to intervene on the subject because of “the polemics it could provoke in the newspapers.”
Nevertheless, Cardinal Sarah said, he believed a contribution from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI would be a gift to the whole church and “could be published at Christmas or at the beginning of 2020.”
Cardinal Sarah said Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gave him “a long text” on Oct. 12 and he realized that rather than publishing it in a journal or magazine, it would be more appropriate as part of a book.
“I immediately proposed to the pope emeritus integrating his own text and mine for the publication of a book that would be an immense good for the church,” Cardinal Sarah said.
After several exchanges, he said, on Nov. 19 he sent “a complete manuscript to the pope emeritus comprising, as we had decided by mutual agreement, the cover, an introduction and a common conclusion, the text of Benedict XVI and my own text.”
The Cardinal Sarah tweeted a photo of a letter dated Nov. 25 in which Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI thanked him “for the text added to my contribution and for the whole elaboration you have done.”
“For my part, the text can be published in the form you envisaged,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI added.
The chapter attributed to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is about 25 pages long, including a six-page reprint of the homily he gave at the chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in March 2008 on the meaning of “being a priest of Jesus Christ,” specifically in standing in the presence of God and serving him. The homily did not mention celibacy.
In a chapter originally attributed to both the retired pope and the cardinal, they said the book resulted from an exchange of “ideas and our concerns,” particularly related to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, which heard repeated calls for considering the ordination of married elders to serve far-flung communities and provide greater access to the Eucharist and other sacraments.
Pope Francis’ response to the requests of the Synod is expected early in the year. Observers noted how unusual it was for the retired pope to intervene publicly on an issue the reigning pope is considering.
Cardinal Sarah and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI seemed to recognize how unusual the move was, but the introduction said, “‘Silere non possum!’ I cannot be silent!”
The introduction said the two offered their reflections “in a spirit of love for the unity of the church” and in “a spirit of filial obedience to Pope Francis.”
In a separate interview with Le Figaro, Cardinal Sarah said: “If this book is a cry, it’s a cry of love for the church, the pope, the priests and all Christians. We want this book to be read as widely as possible. The crisis facing the church is striking.”
According to the published excerpts, the chapter signed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI noted how today many people assume the gradual adoption of the discipline of priestly celibacy was a result of “contempt for corporeality and sexuality.” The error of that thinking, he said, is demonstrated by the church’s high view of the sacrament of marriage.
And, while acknowledging that celibacy has not always been a requirement for priesthood, he said that married priests were expected to abstain from sexual relations with their wives.
Renouncing marriage “to place oneself totally at the disposition of the Lord became a criterion for priestly ministry,” he said.
The published excerpts did not discuss the continuing practice of ordaining married men in the Eastern Catholic churches nor the exceptions granted by St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to married former ministers of the Anglican Communion and other Christian denominations who become Catholic.
Last January, speaking to reporters flying back from Panama with him, Pope Francis said, “Personally, I believe that celibacy is a gift to the church.”
“I’m not in agreement with allowing optional celibacy,” he said. “A phrase St. Paul VI said comes to mind: ‘I would rather give my life than to change the law on celibacy.’”
However, he did say “there could be some possibility” of ordaining married men in very remote locations where there are Catholic communities that seldom have Mass because there are no priests. But, even for that situation, much study would need to be done.
Responding to journalists’ questions Jan. 13, Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said, “the position of the Holy Father on celibacy is known,” and he quoted the pope’s comments to journalists last January.
But Bruni also included Pope Francis’ statement that “some possibility” could exist for exceptions in remote areas “when there is a pastoral necessity. There, the pastor must think of the faithful.”
In addition, Bruni noted that when Pope Francis addressed members at the end of the Synod in October, he said he was pleased that “we have not fallen prisoner to these selective groups that from the Synod only want to see what was decided on one or another intra-ecclesial point” while ignoring all the work the Synod did in analyzing the problems, challenges and hopes on the pastoral, cultural, social and ecological levels.
Currents News Staff
Investigators are unraveling the motives of 21-year-old Mohammed Alshamrani, a member of the Royal Saudi Air Force who shot and killed three U.S. sailors at a naval air station in Pensacola, Florida in December before authorities killed him.
“This was an act of terrorism,” said U.S. Attorney General William Barr. “The evidence shows that the shooter was motivated by Jihadist ideology.”
“The shooter posted a message on September eleventh of this year stating, ‘the countdown has begun.’ He also posted other anti-American, anti-Israeli and Jihadi messages on social media,” he said.
Now Attorney General Barr says they need Apple to help them unlock the shooter’s iPhones.
“It is very important for us to know with whom and about what the shooter was communicating before he died,” he said.
“Investigators discovered that 21 Saudi international military students engaged in activity that raised serious concerns, including social media containing some Jihadi or Anti-American content and some kind of contact with child pornography,” the Defense Department said in a statement.
The 21 Saudi servicemen have now been expelled from the U.S..
On the newscast: The search tonight for a suspect caught on camera in the act of vandalizing a church and school in Bayside; And prayers tonight for the thousands fleeing after a volcano erupts near Manila in the Philippines; Some lucky Catholic school kids from the diocese getting pointers from an NBA Hall of Famer; And the children’s classic from a Brooklyn author winning a new accolade more than 50 years after it was first published.
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.
By Tim Harfmann
Gang symbols were spray painted on the walls of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Bayside, Queens.
Surveillance video captured an individual in a mask early Jan. 12, scrawling “M-S” on the front door of the parish’s Catholic academy, moments after the same vandal sprayed “MS-13” on both sides of the church’s main entrance.
Parishioners like Joseph Ruggiero were outraged.
“I’m beyond upset! I’m absolutely appalled,” he said. “This is an absolute disgrace!”
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident, but Sacred Heart’s pastor, Monsignor Thomas Machalski, doesn’t believe there’s malice against the church.
“I don’t think it was targeted, no, because apparently this has gone on throughout Bayside,” he explained.
At least two Bayside homes and a local pharmacy were also spray painted.
The violent international gang MS-13 is strengthening its presence, particularly in neighboring Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Bayside residents think it could have been a prank.
“I don’t think it was people from that gang,” said Thomas Cronin, another parishioner at the church. “I think it was just somebody who scrawled those things up on the wall.”
“It’s a very quiet, suburban area,” added Ruggiero.
Msgr. Machalski had this message for the vandal: “You need to find more constructive things to do with your energy, because the energy you wasted on something like this could be put to so much better use.”
He also said the parish plans on installing additional surveillance cameras around the church. There is no word yet on how much it will cost to remove the taggings from the building.
By Emily Drooby and Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Since marriage and priesthood both demand the total devotion and self-giving of a man to his vocation, “it does not seem possible to realize both vocations simultaneously,” retired Pope Benedict XVI said in a new book.
“From the Depths of Our Hearts,” a defense of priestly celibacy, has an introduction and conclusion written jointly by the retired pope and by Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and one chapter written by each of them alone.
The book was to be published in English Feb. 20 by Ignatius Press but the French newspaper Le Figaro released excerpts Jan. 12 from the original French edition.
In a chapter signed by both Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah, they said the book resulted from an exchange of “ideas and our concerns,” particularly related to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, which heard repeated calls for considering the ordination of married elders to serve far-flung communities and provide greater access to the Eucharist and other sacraments.
Pope Francis’ response to the requests of the Synod is expected early in the year. Observers noted how unusual it was for the retired pope to intervene publicly on an issue the reigning pope is considering.
Cardinal Sarah and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI seemed to recognize how usual the move was, but they wrote, “‘Silere non possum!’ I cannot be silent!”
The two said they offered their reflections “in a spirit of love for the unity of the church.”
In a separate interview with Le Figaro, Cardinal Sarah said, “If this book is a cry, it’s a cry of love for the church, the pope, the priests and all Christians. We want this book to be read as widely as possible. The crisis facing the Church is striking.”
According to the published excerpts, a chapter signed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI noted how today many people assume the gradual adoption of the discipline of priestly celibacy was a result of “contempt for corporeality and sexuality.” The error of that thinking, he said, is demonstrated by the church’s high view of the sacrament of marriage.
And, while acknowledging that celibacy has not always been a requirement for priesthood, he said that married priests were expected to abstain from sexual relations with their wives.
Renouncing marriage “to place oneself totally at the disposition of the Lord became a criterion for priestly ministry,” he said.
The published excerpts do not discuss the continuing practice of ordaining married men in the Eastern Catholic churches nor the exceptions granted by St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI himself to married former ministers of the Anglican Communion and other Christian denominations who become Catholic.
Last January, speaking to reporters flying back from Panama with him, Pope Francis said, “Personally, I believe that celibacy is a gift to the church.”
“I’m not in agreement with allowing optional celibacy,” he said. “A phrase St. Paul VI said comes to mind: ‘I would rather give my life than to change the law on celibacy.’”
However, he did say “there could be some possibility” of ordaining married men in very remote locations where there are Catholic communities that seldom have Mass because there are no priests. But, even for that situation, much study would need to be done.
Responding to journalists’ questions Jan. 13, Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said, “the position of the Holy Father on celibacy is known,” and he quoted the pope’s comments to journalists last January.
But Bruni also included Pope Francis’ statement that “some possibility” could exist for exceptions in remote areas “when there is a pastoral necessity. There, the pastor must think of the faithful.”
In addition, Bruni noted that when Pope Francis addressed members at the end of the Synod in October, he said he was pleased that “we have not fallen prisoner to these selective groups that from the synod only want to see what was decided on one or another intra-ecclesial point” while ignoring all the work the synod did in analyzing the problems, challenges and hopes on the pastoral, cultural, social and ecological levels.