On American Critics, Pope Says He Doesn’t Want a Schism But He’s Not Afraid of It

By Inés San Martín

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Crux) — In response to a question about his recent declaration that he’s honored when “Americans are attacking me,” Pope Francis said September 10 that while he prays to avoid a schism in the Catholic Church, he’s not afraid of it either, because such rifts have occurred throughout history.

The Holy Father also acknowledged that the U.S. is hardly the only place from which he occasionally draws fire, noting that he also has some critics within the Roman Curia, meaning the administrative bureaucracy of the Vatican itself.

Further, Pope Francis also said that criticism isn’t always destructive, especially when it’s delivered in the open rather than behind one’s back.

“On the question of schism … In the Church, there have been many,” the said, giving the example of ruptures that followed the First and Second Vatican Councils, including one led by the traditionalist Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X.

“There always is the schismatic option in the Church,” Pope Francis said. “It’s a choice that the Lord leaves to human freedom. I am not afraid of schism … I pray for them not to happen, as the spiritual health of many people is at stake.”

The pontiff also said that he prays for dialogue, because the “path of schism is not Christian.”

Pope Francis then said that it’s the people of God who ultimately save the Church from schism, because all such movements have one thing in common: “They’re a split from the people, from the faith of the people, from the people of God.”

A schism, he said, is an ideology that can sometimes have a point, but which “enters into doctrine and splits it apart.”

Pope Francis’s remarks came as he answered questions from the nearly 70 journalists who traveled with him during his Sept. 4-10 visit to Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius.

The question about schism was posed by English-speaking journalists about his comments on the Sept. 4 flight to Maputo, Mozambique, when he told a French journalist that he’s “honored” by the criticism he receives from some quarters within the American Church. The journalist, Nicolas Seneze, handed the pontiff a copy of his new book “How America Wanted to Change the Pope,” which hasn’t been released in English.

The Holy Father began his response by saying that “criticism is always helpful,” and that when one receives a criticism, it’s important to ask if it’s true or not. Criticism, he said, can sometimes cause anger, but there’s always something to learn from it.

The pontiff swiftly observed that Americans aren’t his only critics.

“Criticism comes not only from the Americans, they’re coming from all over, including the Curia,” he said.

Pope Francis also praised those who criticize him to his face, “having the honesty of saying” their objections out loud. “I don’t like it when criticism is done under the table… when they smile and then stick the knife from behind. This is not loyal.”

Criticism, he insisted, can be a constructive tool. When a person issue a criticism that isn’t fair, the pontiff said, he or she should be ready for a response and to dialogue about it.

On the other hand, Pope Francis said, a critic who cloaks his or her objections behind a façade is “an arsenic pill, a bit like throwing a stone and hiding your hand. This doesn’t help, and it comes from closed [minded] people who don’t want to hear the answer.”

When it comes to criticizing the pope, he said, “saying what you don’t like, writing an article and asking for a response, this is loyal. This is loving the Church. Instead, voicing a criticism without dialogue [and] without wanting an answer, is not loving the Church … [it’s to want to] change the pope, make a schism.”

Answering the same question, Pope Francis said that those who criticize him for following the Second Vatican Council and for speaking about social issues, “saying [the same] things John Paul II said,” and who label him as “a bit communist,” are injecting ideology into doctrine, “and that’s when schism occurs.”

“Today we have pockets of rigidity, which aren’t a schism, but they’re semi-schismatic ways of life that will end badly,” Pope Francis said. He added that bishops, priests and lay people who are “rigid” lack the “health” of the Gospel.

On the Three Countries He Visited

Pope Francis said that he was particularly moved by the “joy” demonstrated by the people he encountered in the three nations, particularly in Madagascar, where close to a million people took part in the Mass he celebrated on Sunday, despite sporadic rain and also despite that, due to their poverty, most hadn’t eaten since the previous afternoon.

“I felt humbled, small, facing this popular goodness,” he said.

Those who lose that sense of people, community, Pope Francis argued, lose their happiness, because they lose the ability to see reality through the lenses of those who are around them, as a reminder that despite the challenges they might face, they’re not alone.

“I was touched by the children… who would greet me, because they too were participating in the joy,” passed onto them by their parents.

Pope Francis underlined the “respect for religious identity” he encountered in the three countries, particularly in Mauritius and in Mozambique, where he took part in an interreligious youth gathering for peace. He said he was moved by the friendship among religions he found in Mauritius, underlining that Christians, Muslims and Hindus can work together.

As he’s done before, he warned against proselytism, saying that that’s something for political parties or sports teams but not for religion.

“Someone can say, pope, what does it mean for you to evangelize?” the pontiff said. “There’s a phrase by St. Francis that I like: Preach the Gospel, and, if needed, use words.”

Evangelization, he said, is to be done by example, and only when one is asked where their attitude comes from should one talk about faith. The protagonist of evangelization, Pope Francis said, is not the individual Christian but the Holy Spirit.

“When you see religious proposals on the path of proselytism, that is not Christian,” he said, noting that in Mauritius, there’s an understanding among the followers of different religions that they’re all brothers.

The Holy Father also said he was moved by the fact that as he passed by in the popemobile, adults would try to show him their children, as if to say, “this is my treasure, my joy, my pride, my triumph.” He contrasted the “youth” of Africa with Europe’s aging population, noting that “mother Europe” is becoming “grandmother Europe.”

Asked about the United Kingdom’s and the United States’s refusal to return the island of Chagos, close to Mauritius and where the U.S. has a military base, to its original inhabitants, Pope Francis said countries that acknowledge international organizations such as the United Nations are called to live up to their rulings.

The U.N.’s General Assembly voted earlier this year in favor of the locals, some 2,000 of whom were deported in the 1960s.

A Message to Journalists

The Holy Father was also asked about growing xenophobia in Africa, saying it’s not a problem only on this continent, but a “human disease like measles.”

Xenophobia, he said, is a disease justified by “purity of race” and it rides on “political populism.”

Asked by Spanish journalists about the future of journalism, he said he doesn’t have a “crystal ball” and that he’s not an expert. However, he listed a series of values he believes journalists should have.

Communicators, he said, have to “transmit facts,” clearly distinguishing things that have happened from the “narrative”. Communications, Francis added, must always be “humane” and help build, not destroy.

“It’s always key to distinguish the facts from the narrative,” he said. “This is what being objective is all about, and this is one of the values that the news industry needs to retain.”

Pope Francis Bids Farewell to Madagascar, Travels Back to Rome

By Melissa Butz

On September 10, the president of Madagascar waited for Pope Francis at the airport entrance to thank him and accompany him to the base of the plane.

They met one another in a terminal lounge. In the background could be heard the tunes of farewell songs, prepared by choirs.

During the brief meeting, the president’s wife also gave the pontiff a final parting gift of the visit.

Then Pope Francis said goodbye to each of the bishops of Madagascar and some members of the country’s government.

A choir then sang a melody, sending the Holy Father off on his long journey.

Before entering the plane, Pope Francis turned to say goodbye one last time. At 8:15 a.m., the Air Madagascar plane took off.

The trip to Rome will be around 10 hours. The plane will fly over Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt and Greece before landing in Rome at around 7 p.m.

After 150 Years, The Foundling Continues to Serve

By Emily Drooby and Allyson Escobar

MANHATTAN — The Foundling — one of New York City’s largest and oldest child welfare and social services organizations — is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

It all began with one baby.

In 1869, Sister Mary Irene Fitzgibbon, S.C., found an orphaned baby on the steps of St. Peter’s Church in lower Manhattan. Moved with compassion, Sister Mary Irene took the child into the care of her community. She then felt compelled to help as many of New York’s children abandoned on the streets as she could. With the help of her fellow Sisters of Charity, Mary Irene rented a brownstone on East 12th Street, which became the first headquarters of The New York Foundling.

“She put a cradle at the entrance of the building, with a sign: ‘Let it be known, do not abandon your children. Bring your children to me,” Sister Carol Barnes, a current board member of The New York Foundling, told The Tablet. “And that very first night, on October 11, 1869, they heard a cry at the door … and pinned to the baby’s blanket was a note. Her name is Sarah, take good care of her. And thousands of babies followed.”

By the end of 1869, more than 100 babies were left at the center, which was called New York Foundling Asylum of the Sisters of Charity.

The New York Foundling has since expanded its mission to assisting people with developmental disabilities and mental health issues, and to helping young people in the juvenile system. Its main focus, though, is child welfare.

“We touch the lives of more than 30,000 people every year,” said Kirkley Strand, vice president of development and communications. “We started as an organization that was meeting the needs of the community when nobody else was. So that is what has driven us and what drove the Sisters of Charity … the idea that we have to be responsive to the needs of our community, working to help our neighbors and do so in the best way possible.”

Sister Carol Barnes, a former president of the Sisters of Charity, said the organization “has responded to unmet needs throughout our history, and continues to respond until the need no longer exists.”

The Foundling has several locations in New York City, including two in Brooklyn. It also has a location in Puerto Rico. At its headquarters in Manhattan, it has a “crisis nursery,” a temporary home for toddlers who are homeless or at-risk.

The nonprofit has a staff of more than 2,000 and is supported financially by the Sisters of Charity, corporate backers and community partners.

In the 19th century, it was known for helping “orphan trains,” a process of transporting homeless, abandoned, abused and orphaned children and placing them in Catholic parishes and families throughout the country.

Sister Mary Irene and her community also established St. Anne’s Maternity Pavilion/Hospital, and later St. Mary’s Residence, to serve single, pregnant mothers in need, as well as a nursing tech program for young women to help care for children in the maternity ward.

In 1977, the New York Foundling merged with St. Agatha’s Home for Children to provide a more comfortable home for more orphans.

On Oct. 2, the New York Foundling will celebrate its 150th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza hotel, culminating its yearlong celebrations for the milestone anniversary. It will honor Gregory B. Braca, a longtime Foundling supporter, who is now president and CEO of TD Bank.

The Foundling is part of New York City’s history.

“I think when we do things that are risk-taking and you take a deep breath and do it, you can have such a successful result,” Sister Carol said. “I can’t imagine this city without The Foundling. It continues to be important as long as the need exists … and I pray for that day The Foundling is no longer needed.”

Facing Gentrification, Brooklyn Parishioners Still Come Together to Worship

By Emily Drooby

Hundreds of people packed Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary & St. Stephen Church on the morning of Sunday, September 9.

While the church is located in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, many of its parishioners are not.

As life-long parishioners, Michael Delgado and his wife Illisse call Sacred Hearts – St. Stephens their second home.

They wake up early on Sundays to prepare for their hour and fifteen minute commute from Mount Vernon, New York to Brooklyn to attend church.

The price of living in the area is what made them move over an hour away.

“We couldn’t find anything affordable in Brooklyn, the prices have gone up so much,” he said. “It’s a sad thing to not be able to stay in the neighborhood you grew up in,” Michael added.

Much like the rest of Brooklyn, the neighborhood of Carroll Gardens has been the process of gentrifying for years. Changes and renovations continue to cause housing prices to skyrocket.

According to NYU’s Furman Center, the median gross rent in the neighborhood jumped from $1,660 in 2006 up to $2,280 in 2017, making it one of the most expensive neighborhoods anywhere in the city.

These numbers follow a pattern of rising housing prices throughout Brooklyn.

“We’re seeing it in Crown Heights, we’re seeing it in parts of Flatbush, certainly in downtown Brooklyn,” said Judith Desena, a gentrification expert and sociology professor at St. John’s University. Desena says the rising costs are working against families, but have created a boost in roommates willing to live together and share expenses.

“Sometimes there’s four of them sharing an apartment. We are seeing more and more of unrelated adults living together. They pool their money, right? Families can’t compete with that,” she explained.

For years, parishioners of Sacred Hearts – St. Stephen have been feeling the effects of the gentrification of Carroll Gardens and Brooklyn as a whole.

Colleen Trojano and her family couldn’t meet the bills, and were sad when they had to leave.

“My husband grew up here. We raised our children here, and just the history of the neighborhood where rising prices came in, we ended up moving out to Staten Island,” she said.

What’s remarkable about this congregation is that a longer commute hasn’t prevented these families from coming back.

“It’s not just that you’re going to church to praise God, or to praise Jesus, it’s also to pray together as a family. It’s like, you go visit your family every week. I visit my mom every week, so in a sense, for me it’s the same thing,” said Illisse.

“It’s about people, it’s about the relationships we have with one each other, Christ and that we experience together as a community,” explained John Heyer, the church’s Pastoral Associate.

Although rising housing prices are sending families to new homes, the faith community remains in Carroll Gardens remains solid.

Following in Mother Teresa’s Footsteps, Mom Feeds Kids in Poverty

Currents News Staff

Champale Anderson is a health care provider and mother of six. She has been feeding kids in her north St. Louis neighborhood for five years.

“I was noticing how the kids they are always hungry,” said Champale, who has an open-door policy on school days for kids in the community.

The can knock on her door before and after school, and she’ll hand them a snack for breakfast, and lunch.

“They get off the bus and they take off running. They never know what I will have in the bag. I switch it up like special treats for my special babies.”

The bags are filled with goodies that many kids love to eat, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cookies, fruit, vegetables, juice, snacks, and a few surprises.

On a mission to feed kids in her community who live in poverty and who sometimes may go hungry, Champale is helping many kids in need.

“It makes me proud, and I want to keep going. I want to go to different neighborhoods and give out bags.”

What makes this act of kindness so impressive is that Champale makes about 100 bags a day, and pours so much love into each one to make it possible.

“I do a hundred bags every day, sometimes a little more for the kids that’s coming extra. Their parents bring them over here to get the bags, and I’m going to start doing extra bags now. Maybe about 150,” she said.

Outside her home sit a sign that reads, ‘Champ Teardrop’s: Free snack anytime, and donations welcome.’

Inside Champale’s home, a cross sits in the center of her table where she prepares the snacks.

Champale says she lives by a quote by Mother Teresa: “I alone can not change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

There is also a GoFundMe campaign running for Champale’s lunch program.

Pope Francis to Island of Mauritius: Defend the ‘Culture of Encounter’

By Melissa Butz

Early on September 9, Pope Francis flew to the island of Mauritius to begin the final, eight-hour leg of his African trip.

He was warmly welcomed by around 10 percent of the country’s population as he made his way to the Monument to Mary, Queen of Peace. It is the same place where St. John Paul II celebrated Mass 30 years ago.

Pope Francis spoke of the Beatitudes, mentioning French missionary priest, Blessed Jacques-Desire Laval, who cared for the poor slaves in the country.

“The ‘apostle of Mauritian unity,’ Blessed Jacques-Désiré Laval, so greatly venerated in these lands. Love for Christ and for the poor so marked his life that he could not conceive of an ‘aloof and sanitized’ preaching of the Gospel,” Pope Francis said.

After eating lunch with the local bishops, the pontiff went to a special shrine containing the missionary’s tomb, where the Holy Father prayed.

Immediately after, Pope Francis spoke to the Mauritian president and government authorities in his final encounter of the day.

He also visited the tomb of the “apostle of Mauritian unity,” Blessed Jacques-Désiré Laval.

He thanked them for their cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, but most of all for respecting differences.

Pope Francis encouraged the people to, likewise, honor the dignity of any migrant who is in search of a better life on their island. “Be protagonists and defenders of a true culture of encounter that enables migrants (and everyone) to be respected in their dignity and their rights,” he told them.

He also suggested a new policy to the country, which benefits economically from tourism.

“I would like to encourage you to promote an economic policy focused on people and in a position to favor a better division of income, the creation of jobs and the integral promotion of the poor,” Pope Francis said.

The country’s political leaders then accompanied the pontiff to the airport to say their goodbyes before Pope Francis returned to Madagascar.

Currents News for Monday, September 9, 2019

On the newscast: Pope Francis’s trip to Africa is hitting new highs. We have exclusive coverage, including scenes from the mass with a million people; The cost of living in some Brooklyn neighborhoods is surging. We’ll tell you about how parishioners are coping; A mom is helping school children eat lunch. She’s inspired by a saint; An update on the boy who used his birthday money for hurricane victims. You’ll smile about it.

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 Organizations in Florida Marshaling Aid for Dorian Victims

By Catholic News Service

MIAMI (CNS) — In the wake of Hurricane Dorian’s brutal blasting of the Bahamas, Catholic organizations in Florida continued to raise funds to aid victims there.

The best aid from individual Catholics is monetary donations. Money can be used to buy supplies in bulk and get them delivered promptly, and to reboot the local economy, enabling communities to start getting back on their feet. Money also ensures the items sent are actually the items needed — not just immediately after the disaster but months later, when recovery is ongoing.

“It’s the agencies that are on the ground providing the help, they really know what is needed. So it’s best to give them the resources so they can purchase locally what is needed. It helps to get businesses back up and running locally,” Peter Routsis-Arroyo, director of the Archdiocese of Miami’s Catholic Charities, told the Florida Catholic, Miami’s archdiocesan newspaper.

Arroyo noted the “tremendous amount of manpower” and agency funds required to organize, pack and ship donated items. “If we had just turned that money over to them, there’s none of those costs involved in that,” he said.

Not to mention that some items may only be needed the first few days.

“Maybe they need MREs (meals ready to eat) for the first two days, but that’s it,” he said. Other needs will arise as reconstruction begins, Arroyo added.

The Catholic Church has a distinct advantage, though, when disaster strikes anywhere: an interconnected network of churches and agencies with deep roots and deep knowledge of the affected communities.

The Miami Archdiocese has many links to the Archdiocese of Nassau. Priests from Miami’s Metropolitan Tribunal helped Nassau set up its tribunal a decade ago. For years, representatives from the Bahamas Women’s Auxiliary have joined members of the Miami Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women at their annual convention — sometimes bringing Nassau Archbishop Patrick C. Pinder with them.

“We’ve been in constant contact with Archbishop Pinder,” Routsis-Arroyo said, adding that what he’s dealing with “is overwhelming.”

“He sends us a list of what he needs and it’s easier for us to collect monies, purchase in bulk, not have to pay taxes or anything. And then we have friends of the agency who will ship it for free to him. And then he knows how to get it to whoever he knows on his end,” Routsis-Arroyo said.

Those “friends” include shipping companies and wealthy individuals who offer to cover the costs or deliver the goods free of charge.

Normally, relief work in a foreign country is done by the U.S. bishops’ overseas agency, Catholic Relief Services. But Routsis-Arroyo explained that CRS doesn’t have any offices in the Bahamas “so they work with the archbishop and the local Caritas,” which is part of the international network of agencies under the umbrella of Caritas Internationalis

When Dorian slammed into the Bahamas, Knights of Columbus of Florida went into action.

The first order of business: texting with a fellow Knight of Columbus by the name of Patrick Pinder.

“We are in touch with Archbishop Pinder of Nassau by text,” said Ronald Winn, a resident of Pensacola and state disaster response chairman for the Knights of Columbus.

The Knights’ Florida Council has had a long relationship with the Knights in the Bahamas, which is considered part of the Florida jurisdiction. When Dorian hit the Bahamas, the texts between the archbishop and the Knights in Florida were traded back and forth.

Winn was prepared to respond to the bishop and his people. Since, July 1, the Knights have stepped up service efforts with their new Disaster Response Program. Once Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas, the organization developed a fundraising campaign posting information about it on their state and supreme council websites.

“Things change day by day. … We are waiting until the airports are safe and in good working order to receive aircraft safely,” Winn told the Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of West Palm Beach. He added that some Knights have offered to navigate their own boats to the Bahamas to deliver items.

The Knights’ disaster response program arose following the destruction Hurricane Harvey wrought in Houston in 2017.

Florida State Deputy Scott O’Connor of Pembroke Pines in the Archdiocese of Miami said in a statement, “We have a much more defined program with people and contacts, and we are also working directly with Catholic Charities because they already have an infrastructure in place.”

The Boca Raton-based Cross Catholic Outreach, is providing immediate assistance to the Bahamas with shipments of food, medicines and other critical resources. Cross Catholic Outreach has already shipped over 540,000 meals to help affected families and children.

To get resources in quickly and distributed effectively, Cross Catholic Outreach is working with Catholic Charities of Miami and Archbishop Pinder of Nassau. The first shipments will include scientifically formulated meals designed to do more than satisfy hunger.

“It’s important to address hunger with nutrient-rich meals,” said a statement by Cavnar, president of Cross Catholic Outreach. “The food we are shipping is created for situations like this, and it will go a long way in keeping people healthy as they face the stresses and hardships ahead.”

Currents News for Friday, September 6, 2019

On the newscast: It’s the second leg — the Pope of the peripheries is now in Madagascar; A Currents exclusive — a rape victim chooses life for her baby. The Christian calls her pregnancy a blessing in disguise; 22 more lives lost. The FDNY is adding names to its 9/11 memorial wall right before the harrowing anniversary; And a Catholic camp for kids with one thing in common — the loss of a parent.

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.

In the Aftermath of Assault, Woman Chooses Life for Her Daughter

By Emily Drooby

Kristi Kollar and her daughter Adeline live a life filled with love, happiness and laughter, but it wasn’t always that way. Her life changed forever when a friend she trusted raped her.

“We were close. We weren’t dating but we were close friends, and he would give me rides places sometimes and things like that,” Kristi said. “And so one day he was giving me a ride home, and then eventually he didn’t let me out of the back of his car.”

After the sexual assault, Kristi faced a huge challenge she was determined to overcome.

“I found out I was pregnant a couple weeks after this happened,” she said.

She knew having a baby wouldn’t be easy. Making it even harder was the fact that she was in high school without a home. A fire had destroyed the place where she lived.

Still the, Christian teenager rejected aborting the life within her. She wanted her baby.

“Even if it was easier for me, it wasn’t right. Like, the easier path didn’t make it right. Just because all of this stuff was happening to me and just because her dad was a rapist, none of that was her fault. I knew she didn’t deserve to be killed because of all that had happened,” Kristi said.

After Adeline was born, Kristi moved to New York City. She wanted to go to college and study performing arts. Her dad, Robert, moved with her to help out and to cope with his own difficulties.

“I believe God used her to rescue me, and used me to rescue her,” Robert said, referencing the way he learned he was a father.

Robert didn’t know Kristi was his daughter until she was three and trapped trapped in an abusive household. He took her out of that environment, and is so proud of Kristi and her inner strength.

“There’s so much blessing hidden under all this. If you look at any story in the Bible, they all start out bad,” he said. “God uses these things to help other people. He’s helped us, he has made us stronger.”

“I’m still going to school and I’m still doing everything. Instead of my life ending, it got so much better and it has so much more purpose now. She’s the best thing in my life,” Kristi said.

Still, the family is struggling. With the costs of caring for a child and going to college, money is tight.

But the Queens crisis pregnancy center The Bridge To Life is giving them support, “helping to young women parent, helping them finish school so they can be contributors to society with a paycheck,” said Catherine Donohoe, president of the organization’s Board of Directors.

The family is also helping to support themselves. They’re holding a fundraiser where they screen Robert’s movie ‘Take Two’. The movie is about his personal path to fatherhood. It’s being shown at 7:30pm on October 23^rd at Bellmore Movie and Showplace at 222 Petite Avenue in Bellmore. You can call (516)783-3199 for more information.

You can also ask The Bridge to Life how you can help. Their number is (718) 463-1810.