Inspired by Faith, Catholic Girl Scout Advocates for Breast Cancer Awareness

By Tim Harfmann

Students and parents from Saint Agnes High School in College Point, Queens came together to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Amanda Bradley, a Girl Scout and a senior at St. Agnes, put a school dance together in order to earn the Gold Award: the highest honor in scouting.

The 17-year-old is an honor student and active at her parish in Elmhurst, where she’s a Eucharist minister, an altar server and a religious education teacher.

At the awareness event, Amanda shared her family’s emotional journey. “Both my grandmothers had breast cancer, so it was a topic close to my heart,” Amanda explained. One of them lost the fight against the disease before Amanda was born, but her other grandma — Marie Bradley — beat the disease.

“I’m so proud of her that she could do this, but I’m not surprised,” said Marie.

While there was a lot of fun: pink desserts, balloons and a photo booth, Amanda’s mom, Irene, pointed out that a lot of important information on breast cancer was also available.

“Everybody needs support, one way or another,” said Irene. “Whether it’s by means of resources, by means of information or just by leading an ear, it’s our Christian value.”

But the Bradley family is fighting the disease again: Amanda’s grandmother has lung cancer.

“We want to hang out more, we want to just talk more; and every moment is more special,” said Amanda.

“Right now I’m going through that, and a day at a time,” added Marie. “I’m here today, I have a lot of good people praying for me, and prayer works.”

It’s the power of prayer in the fight against cancer.

One Year Later, Jewish Faithful Remember Lives Lost at Tree of Life Synagogue

By Emily Drooby

Every day for the past year, the names of the 11 Jewish people shot to death in their Pittsburgh synagogue have been recited before the mourner’s Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.

Joe Charny, who now attends services five days a week, often leads the prayer.

Charny is only a visitor at the Beth Shalom congregation in Pittsburg. His home synagogue – Tree of Life – remains closed.

The 91-year-old was inside when a gunman slaughtered 11 people, including seven of his friends.

“We heard a noise and I didn’t pay much attention initially. He didn’t shoot me. he started with the people who were seated,” Joe explained.

It was the deadliest anti-semitic attack on American soil.

The suspect recently offered to plead guilty in exchange for spending life in prison, but federal prosecutors rejected the offer and are seeking the death penalty.

365 days later, the building hasn’t reopened yet. In some ways, it’s become a memorial: a way to remember the victims, much like the reciting of their names.

“It feels good to recite those names, because I know I’m doing the right thing and I know that I’m doing something for me and for them at the same time,” he added.

“I’m glad we do it. I like to hear the names. I think they make a difference. And I don’t want them forgotten.”

Joe’s friend of 50 years, Judah Samet, also recites the names each day. He narrowly escaped the massacre by being stopped from walking inside by another man.

“I would be right in the middle of the shooting. So he’s the one who really saved my life,” said Judah.

It isn’t the first time he escaped death. As a child Judah was at a nazi death camp in Germany.

“In Bergen Belson, when we see somebody dead, you walked around him, out of respect. But eventually we were weakening. We stepped on them. You could hear their bones cracking. It didn’t mean anything. By the age of seven, I had seen more death than life,” he recalled.

The targeting of people of Jewish faith, yet again, changed the way he looked at his synagogue for a while.

“And I looked at that and I said, ‘This looks like a tombstone. There’s no holiness emanating from this building and the 11 bodies in it. It’s a cemetery,’” Judah said.

But a year later, all he and survivor Joe Charny want is to go back to their sanctuary.

“Why?,” asked Joe. “‘Cause it’s the right thing to do because, if you don’t, the other side wins.”

But until that day they will be here, honoring the friends they lost.

Jewish, Muslim and Christian Representatives Sign Joint Declaration Against Euthanasia

By Melissa Butz

The Pope met with representatives of the three monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. They showed him the document they had just signed against euthanasia.

“From the three monotheistic religions. The signature to combat euthanasia for the sick at the end of their lives. This is the text also signed by the cardinal, and here are the signatures of Jews, Christians and Muslims,” said one of the representatives.

Among the representatives were Sheikh Bin Bayah, a renowned intellectual in the Sunni world. There was also Rabbi David Rosen and a representative of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.

They gave the Pope the “Position paper of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions on matters concerning the end of life.” It is an initiative of Rabbi Abraham Steinberg, an expert in bioethics and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Currents News for Monday, October 28, 2019

On the newscast: History is being made at the end of the Pope’s highly-anticipated Amazon Summit. Married men could be ordained priests; He faced off against the Ku Klux Klan. Now, the sainthood cause of Brooklyn’s Monsignor Bernard Quinn is going to the Vatican; We’ll show the scene after U.S. special forces raided the hideout of the top terrorist in ISIS; The shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes is facing a crimewave.

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.

Catholic High School Remembers Loved Ones, Saints With All Souls Day ‘Ofrendas’

By Tim Harfmann

Students at the Mary Louis Academy are celebrating All Souls Day early and in a unique way – they’re decorating makeshift altars known as ofrendas.

“The tradition is to honor your loved ones who have passed away. So, the idea is you put a memory of them on the ofrenda, or you write a little description about them,” said Juliana Morsello.

Ofrendas, or ‘offering’ in Spanish, are known as a Mexican custom celebrating the day of the dead and recognizing loved ones are in heaven.

“They celebrate the whole day. They go to the grave, they clean it, they have picnics, they talk to their loved one, they eat together. It’s a whole ceremony, it’s a whole day ordeal,” said Emma Gilvary.

The all-girls Catholic high school in Queens also created ofrendas honoring the patrons of their four academic honor societies: Mother Mary Louis, Mother Saint John Fontbonne, Saint Teresa of Avila and Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini.

“Mother Cabrini is definitely a woman of strength, faith and dignity. She assisted Italian immigrants, she created 67 different institutions, whereas they were hospitals and different schools. So, I definitely think she’s very important to us,” said Morsello.

Each student had the opportunity to create her own ofrenda necklace. It’s a tag with photos and decorations of people they admire.

One-person Vincenza Julian is honoring is her uncle, Vinny, a first responder on 9/11.

“He was killed on 9/11, which was also his birthday. He was also a captain in the FDNY. He was promoted posthumously,” said Julian.

Some students made personal ofrendas in shoe boxes while others attended a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico through virtual reality.

It was all an effort to have a better understanding of cultural traditions while honoring those who have gone before us.

Catholic Students Celebrate Clerics of the Brooklyn Diocese on World Priest Day

By Emily Drooby

Saint Athanasius Catholic Academy students spread the message of “we love our priests” through song and gifts to celebrate World Priest Day, a day when parishioners worldwide have a chance to show gratitude to those who have committed their lives to the Lord through the priesthood.

Father Edwin Ortiz who was ordained back in June, this gesture is extra special.

“This parish has done so much to help me feel at home, and so today was completely amazing,” he said. Fr. Ortiz has been serving the faithful at St. Athanasius – including the students – who have become a beloved part of his ministry.

“A lot of times the mentality is, ‘Oh, the youth aren’t interested.’ And it’s quite the opposite – they are actually very interested. There’s a lot of questions that they have and they want answered. I’m just happy I am able to be there to guide them, to grow them closer towards God,” he added.

The feeling is mutual: the kids light up when Fr. Ortiz walks into the classroom.

For students, their priests are central to the school community.

“They’ve always been there for us,” said one student. “If we need something they’re always going to be there for us, and they always listen.”

“We think that it’s very important for everyone to know how much we love our priests,” said another.

“Religion is an important way of life, and they teach us and guide us to do the right things in life instead of lead us to the wrong,” agreed one.

“Priests are very, very important to us. So I think that is why we did it today: to show them that we love them and care for them no matter what,” one student said.

As people in the Brooklyn Diocese and across the country take important steps to protect children from abuse, a top priority for the clergy is to ensure that kids are safe, happy and connected with God.

Under the guidance of Monsignor David Cassato‏, Fr. Ortiz has been enjoying his first few months as a priest, ministering and teaching both in the church and in the classroom.

“We as priests in this parish spend a lot of time in the school with the kids. And it’s so touching to see their reflections and their love for the priests in the parishes,” said Msgr. Cassato. “The priests teach religion every week in all the classrooms.”

“Every day is very different, but it makes it exciting because you don’t know what to expect,” added Fr. Ortiz, who looks forward to continuing to help his students strengthen their faith.

Pope to Make Final Decision on Married Clergy, Women Deacons Following Amazon Synod

By Melissa Butz

The Amazon summit is over, but there’s still controversy. The bishops at the Synod voted overwhelmingly to recommend that married men be ordained priests, but they stopped short of doing the same for women deacons.

Married men as priests, a group to study an Amazonian Rite and re-instituting a commission to study the possibility of women as deacons are just three of 120 points published in the final document from the Amazon Synod.

The conclusions were voted on point-by-point by 181 voting Synod fathers, most coming from the Amazon region.

The proposal on married priests received widespread backing with 128 of the Synod fathers voting in favor with only 41 against.

On the topic of ordaining women as deacons, the summit decided against that for now. Instead, they recommend that the rights of women be better protected and greater roles for female leadership in the Church be explored.

Pope Francis said he will reopen a 2016 commission to study the issue of women deacons and how females may have other opportunities to serve the Church.

“I accept the request to call back the commission, or to open it with new members to continue studying the permanent diaconate in the primitive Church,” he said.

The final document of the summit does endorse an Amazonian Rite, which incorporates local traditions of the rainforest into the Church’s liturgy, which also still needs to be studied further.

Now the Holy Father is creating a new commission in the Vatican department responsible for promoting integral human development. The commission will be exploring how to include the culture and symbols of the Amazon’s indigenous.

Defense of life and land, cultural conversion, pastoral and youth ministries and integral conversion are also main parts of the final document, which Pope Francis stressed throughout the Synod as needing to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

While this document was drawn from votes and suggestions from inside the synod hall, Pope Francis has said he would like to write an apostolic exhortation on his impressions and ideas from the Amazon Synod. His intention is for it to be ready before the end of the year.

Synod Offers Cautious Support For Married Priests, Study of Women Deacons

By Christopher White, The Tablet’s National Correspondent and Inés San Martín

ROME (Crux) – Catholic communities in the Amazon might be able to ordain married men to the priesthood under limited circumstances, based on the outcome of a meeting of bishops in Rome that issued its final report Oct. 26 – although the document stopped short of a full-throated endorsement for the ordination of either married men or women deacons.

The Vatican’s Synod of Bishops on the Amazon neared its conclusion on Saturday evening, with a majority of the 184 bishops and other clergy voting to approve each paragraph of the final 30-page document, “Amazonia: New Ways for the Church and for an Integral Ecology.” It offers a narrow opening to ordain married men in remote areas of the nine-country region, although the proposed language limits the ordination to men who are already deacons.

The document establishes parameters for the ordination of “esteemed men of the community,” commonly referred to as viri probati.

Such circumstances would be open to those who “have had a fruitful permanent diaconate and receive an adequate formation for the priesthood, having a legitimately constituted and stable family, to sustain the life of the Christian community through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the sacraments in the most remote areas of the Amazon region.”

The proposal is meant to offer a solution to the remote regions of the Amazon where some Catholic communities only receive the sacraments once or twice a year.

“Sometimes it takes not just months but even several years before a priest can return to a community to celebrate the Eucharist, offer the sacrament of reconciliation or anoint the sick in the community,” the document notes.

While noting that celibacy is “a gift of God,” the document says that it is a “discipline” not required by the nature of the priesthood. It is also pointed out that some of the synod participants “were in favor of a more universal approach to the subject,” although the document does not go further.

On the question of whether to ordain women to the diaconate — a much-discussed topic during the three-week gathering — the text recommends further study on the historical nature of the question, while noting that “in a large number of these consultations, the permanent diaconate for women was requested.”

The use of the word “consultations” refers to input collected during the two-year lead-up to the Synod.

On Saturday, Pope Francis noted that the members of that commission had not reached a conclusive decision, but that with the help of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he pledged that he will once again have a commission examine the subject. He said that the request must “be heard.”

In his final remarks to the synod on Saturday evening, the pontiff acknowledged that the document “falls short” in expressing the real value women have within the Church and their role in the transmission of the faith. While he said that women have a necessary place in Church commissions, Pope Francis said that their role in the Church “goes much farther than functionality.”

“The ancestral wisdom of the peoples [of the Amazon is] that Mother Earth has a feminine face,” the document states. “We value ‘the role of women, recognizing their fundamental role in the formation and continuity of cultures, in spirituality, in communities and families. It is necessary for the Church to assume with greater strength their leadership within the Church, and for the Church to recognize and promote it by strengthening their participation in the pastoral councils of parishes and dioceses, and even in instances of government.’”

When asked about efforts to reach consensus on the hot-button issues of married priests and women deacons, Cardinal Michael Czerny, a special secretary to the Synod, said “the process is ongoing.”

In his final remarks, the Holy Father also said that the emphasis should not be “who won” intraeclesial debates but on the region itself, which he said was the main focus.

“We all won with the diagnosis,” he said of the final document’s attention to the complex needs of the Amazon.

Announced in 2017, the Vatican summit was meant as a reflection on the reality of the region. The final document is divided into five subchapters, calling for four different types of conversions: pastoral, cultural, ecological and synodal.

The introduction of the document notes that all participants have expressed a keen “awareness of the dramatic situation of destruction affecting the Amazon.”

During a news conference to present the final document, Bishop David Martinez de Aguirre, the apostolic vicar of Puerto Maldonado, Peru, emphasized its ecological dimension, noting that the cry of the indigenous, who know that “if the rainforest disappears, we all die with it,” is present throughout.

He also lamented the fact that the extraction of gold is “closer to all of us than the word of God,” urging the Church to help intervene in both protecting the Amazon and promoting an evangelizing zeal, with a more “abundant” presence of the Church.

In their document, the bishops denounce violations of human rights by multinational companies exploiting the natural resources of the Amazon, and also say they “support divestment campaigns against extractive companies related to socio-ecological damage of the Amazon, beginning with the ecclesial institutions themselves and also in alliance with other churches.”

Cardinal Czerny added that the document speaks of conversion because this word reflects “taking hold of the problems” facing the Amazon, knowing that simply analyzing them further or forming commissions is not going to cut it.

“We have to recognize that to solve the problems, we are going to have to change, convert,” he said.

In discussing the Church in the Amazon region, the document acknowledges that the evangelization of Latin America, though positive in many ways and with several missionaries who gave their lives to transmit the Gospel beyond the greed of the colonizing powers, took place “under the sway of powers that exploited the resources and oppressed the local populations.”

“In the present moment, the Church has the historic opportunity to distance itself from the new colonizing powers by listening to the Amazonian peoples and transparently exercising its prophetic activity,” it continues.

“In addition, the socio-environmental crisis opens up new opportunities to present Christ with all his power to liberate and humanize,” the document says.

Listening to the cry of the earth, the poor and the peoples of the Amazon calls for a “true and integral conversion, to a simple and model style of life, all nourished by a mystical spirituality in the style of St. Francis of Assisi.”

When it comes to pastoral conversion, the Synod fathers call on the Church to be Samaritan, merciful and in solidarity with others, as well as committed to ecumenical, interreligious and cultural dialogue.

They also call for a church that is at the service of and accompanies the people of the Amazon and to be one that travels new paths in urban pastoral ministry, taking into account the fact that humanity has a strong tendency to concentrate in cities.

“The reality of indigenous people in urban centers deserves special attention, as they are the most exposed to the enormous problems of juvenile delinquency, lack of work, ethnic struggles and social justices,” the document states.

One of several proposals to foster this pastoral conversion was an itinerant network that brings together the efforts being made by several itinerant missionary teams that already accompany the communities in the Amazon.

On the new paths of cultural conversion, the Synod fathers highlight the “integrated vision of reality” that the indigenous people offer. This section focuses greatly on the inculturation of the faith and theology, but also underlined the wealth of popular piety and a rejection of the “colonial style of evangelization.”

Ecology was a key element of the Synod, and was again in the final document, listing the several threats against the Amazon biome and its peoples, saying that it is urgent to face the “unlimited exploitation of our ‘common home’ and its inhabitants.”

The Catholic Church, the bishops say in the document, is part of an “international solidarity” that must recognize the central role of the Amazon for the equilibrium of the planet’s climate.

Among the recommendations on an ecological conversion is the official recognition of a “ecological sins.”

The document concludes with a proposal for a commission to study the possibility of establishing an Amazon rite within the Catholic Church for the region for “liturgical pluralism.”

“It is necessary that the Church, in her tireless evangelizing work, work so that the process of inculturation of the faith may be expressed in the most coherent forms, so that it may also be celebrated and lived according to the languages proper to the Amazonian peoples,” the document states.

The document also calls for the creation of committees for the translation and writing of Biblical and liturgical texts in the languages of the different places, with proper resources, encouraging also music and singing. The new organism of the Church in the Amazon, they wrote, must elaborate an Amazon rite that “expresses the liturgical, theological, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the Amazon.”

The five proposals that considered the creation of a new Amazon rite were among the least popular ideas for the bishops. With the exception of one on inculturation, they drew at least 22 negative votes, with the last one, calling for study of a new rite, 29.

Pope Francis said on Saturday that while it is not mandatory that he write a final document from the Synod, he would like to do so, preferably before the end of the year.

The October 6-27 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon officially concluded Sunday, Oct. 27 with a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Killed in U.S. Raid in Syria, ISIS Names New Leader

Currents News Staff

President Trump announced the most significant death of a terror group leader since Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died over the weekend after a U.S.-led nighttime raid.

Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest in a dead end tunnel on Oct. 26, after being cornered by U.S. forces in a Syrian compound, according to Trump.

Baghdadi was under surveillance for a few weeks prior to mission, Trump told reporters on the morning of Oct. 27 following his death.

Last week the president was given plans of attack.

“He reviewed them, asked some great questions, choose the options that we thought gave us the highest probability of success,” said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

The covert raid involved sending eight helicopters of elite U.S. troops toward Baghdadi’s compound.

Footage — reportedly of the mission — was taken by a Syrian activist.

Members of the Trump administration who watched the raid unfold as it happened from the Situation Room were tight-lipped about the mission, not even telling key congressional Democratic leaders about it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement, calling the death of Baghdadi “significant,” but added that “the House must be briefed…on the administrations overall strategy in the region.”

According to reports, Abdullah Qardash — a former officer for Saddam Hussein — had been running operations and kill campaigns for the terror group since August and formally assumed leadership following Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death on Saturday.

Regardless, Democrats agree with the president: the death of Baghdadi is a major moment in the war on terror.

“This is progress. I’s good news in the ongoing fight against the terrorist threat posed by jihadist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda,” said Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

“This is a real blow against ISIS and positive step in the fight against stateless terrorism,” said Democratic Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.

Catholic Faith ‘Soars’ at Our Lady of the Skies Annual Luncheon

By Michelle Powers

Our Lady of the Skies chapel has been an island of serenity in a sea of pressurized cabins and crowded terminals since 1955, when stewardesses dressed in vintage and TWA was considered the carrier to the stars.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio attended an annual luncheon held at the new TWA Hotel to make sure that the little sanctuary can keep its wings.

“Airports are busy places, and people traveling through want, sometimes, spiritual help before they take a trip,” said Bishop DiMarzio.

This year the luncheon honored people who know Our Lady of the Skies well: airline managers who have seen firsthand how the chapel responds to a range of spiritual needs, from anxieties about air travel to dealing with tragedy.

“Not only people working at the terminal and at the airport, but also the passengers have a place to reflect, have a place to relax and have a place where they can get counseling,” said Roel Hunink, president and CEO of JFK 1AT, one of this year’s honorees.

It’s “where can you go to work, and that if you feel any of the stresses and pressures — whether or not from home or from work — you can easily stop into the chapel,” added Patrick Brennan, an honoree and passenger service manager at Swissport.

John F. Kennedy International Airport can occasionally find itself in the center of turbulence, welcoming families facing global crises, like the recent influx of migrants or refugees fleeing civil war.

For some, Our Lady’s chapel is their first interaction with faith in New York City or this country.

“Sometimes it’s not the best of all circumstances. We come distressed, we come because of some sad reasons. For us, it is a call to be there for them no matter who they are, what they believe in,” said Father Chris Piasta, chaplain of Our Lady of the Skies.

For most, the chapel serves as a connection between things up in the sky and down on the ground, especially for the people who work at the airport and those who are constantly traveling like Monsignor Kieran Harrington.

“The airport becomes a family in and of itself. The chapel is really a heart of that life,” said Msgr. Harrington.

The donations raised at the luncheon help all passengers and Catholic crew stay grounded in their faith.