Currents News for Tuesday, August 27, 2019

On the newscast: Puerto Rico is getting ready for a hurricane as a new storm that is growing in strength heads their way. Residents are stocking up on supplies; Missouri’s strong law to protect the unborn has hit a roadblock; In the midst of Hong Kong’s unrest, we’ll have an exclusive interview with the leader of the city’s catholic students; And we’ll tell you about U.S. Catholic students who are tackling a big problem facing veterans.

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Puerto Rico, Caribbean Brace for Impact of Tropical Storm Dorian

Currents News Staff

Puerto Ricans are scrambling to stock up on supplies before tropical storm Dorian churns closer and closer by the hour, with the potential to hurricane strength.

The storm system intensified as it raged across the Atlantic on August 27. Puerto Rico’s governor has declared a state of emergency, and now other parts of the Caribbean are following suit and making preparations.

“When a storm comes, we are much worried about what is going to become after,” said Kamil Matos who is preparing for the storm.

Residents are bracing for impact while many are still reeling from Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017, when thousands were killed and power was knocked out for nearly the entire U.S. territory.

“The whole island has been traumatized, so you have to take that into consideration,” explained Dr. Jesus Vega, a resident of the island.

In Barbados, anxiety over the storm had motorists lined up bumper to bumper to fill up on gas.

And in Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency activated two Miami-based federal task forces — one headed to Puerto Rico and another to Saint Croix.

“We prepare, we train year round and our guys are elite. They’re the best of the best. The 28 teams around the country are the elite. They are trained to the technician level across the board and where their expertise might be,” said Scott Dean, Assistant Chief of Miami’s Fire Rescue.

Measles Outbreak Leads to Mandatory Vaccinations for Returning Students

By Tim Harfmann

As parents prepare to send their children back to school, New York remains at the forefront of the measles outbreak.

Of the 1,200 confirmed cases across the U.S. in 2019, more than 75 percent are linked to New York State, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the five boroughs alone, there have been 654 confirmed cases since September of 2018, according to the city’s health department.

Opposition to the vaccination of children has played a key role in the outbreak.

Doctors like Joseph Kaplovitz, a pediatrics specialist at NYU Langone, are still urging people to get the vaccine and watch out for symptoms.

“The anti-vaccine movement, in general, has this belief that by giving the vaccine, I’m going to danger my own child. That becomes a very hard thing to try and fight,” said Dr. Kaplovitz.

“It starts off as fever, usually a high fever like 104 or 105; cough, congestion, runny nose; red eyes, what’s called conjunctivitis; and it also comes with a head-to-toe rash,” he explained.

While many cases have been found in predominantly Jewish communities, now all students throughout the state must get vaccinated.

The New York Supreme Court recently upheld a new law eliminating any religious exemptions from required vaccinations.

Yoel Binyomin, a father living in Brooklyn, also believes children should be vaccinated.

“You have to obey the doctors. If the doctors say you got get vaccinated, then you have to take the vaccine,” Yoel said.

If the city’s health department identifies any child without the necessary vaccinations, that family could face a $1,000 fine.

Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $572 Million in Oklahoma Opioid Trial

Currents News Staff

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will appeal a judge’s landmark decision that is holding the company financially responsible for its role in the opioid crisis in the state of Oklahoma.

This marks the first time ever that a drug maker is being held responsible for one of the worst man-made epidemics in history.

Johnson and Johnson has now been ordered to pay the state of Oklahoma $572 million in the result of a case which spanned two years and a seven-week long trial.

In his decision, Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman cited what he called the drug giant’s false and misleading marketing of opioids.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter called Johnson & Johnson the “kingpin” behind the nation’s opioid crisis. “We have proven that Johnson & Johnson built its billion dollar brand out of greed and on the backs of pain and suffering of innocent people,” he said.

Hunter’s team of 13 attorneys described the trial as “taking on the lion.” The ruling also marks the first case in the nation to reach trial out of dozens others by states suing opioid drug makers. He hopes it’ll help other states be successful.

But an attorney for Johnson & Johnson described the judge’s decision as “flawed.”

“Johnson & Johnson did not cause opioid abuse crisis in Oklahoma, or anywhere in this country,” said company attorney Sabrina Strong.

Johnson & Johnson attorneys say the company has strong grounds for appeal and intend to pursue those vigorously.

Catholic Students ‘March’ Forward to Support Veterans

Currents News Staff

Four Catholic school students — Kellen Witty, Quinn Schoenenberger, Karsen Sherrick and Devon Johnson — aren’t just talking the talk. They’ve walked the walk, all 140 miles of it.

All four are members of St. Norbert Catholic College’s ROTC program.

With rucksacks on their back, they spent six days trekking from Green Bay to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as part of the fourth annual ‘For Them 140-Mile Ruck March.’ By walking, they raised money and awareness for the fourth H.O.O.A.H Wisconsin, an organization that supports deployed and returning military members and their families.

For these students it was a difficult undertaking, but one they said was a worthy challenge once they saw the positive publicity that came from it.

“We got a ton. People say like, ‘Hey, we saw you on the news. We heard you on the radio.’ And that really is the point of what we’re doing here is to raise awareness and get the cause out,” said Karsen.

“140 miles is like almost like an attention grabber. When they ask about it, that’s when we come in and say, ‘You know, we’re actually walking to raise awareness and money for people who are suffering from combat,’” he explained.

“I would say it just pays tribute to everyone that is going through the issues after deployments after serving in the military,” said Devon.

“Doing this raises awareness and lets them know that there is a community out there and there are people that care,” added Kellen.

Currents News for Monday, August 26, 2019

On the newscast: The Amazon fires are raging – and the global crisis is capturing the attention of Pope Francis and other world leaders; A Catholic parish is suffering a big loss after a record-setting ICE raid. Half the congregation is gone; A 99-year old fan who wanted to be taken out to the ball game; And a car heads straight for a wheelchair-bound woman. She was certain it was her time to see the Lord.

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.

Jesuit Women Attacked While Volunteering in the Philippines

By Tim Harfmann

Two women volunteering with Jesuits in the Philippines were stabbed.

Twenty-four-year-old Genifer Buckly is dead. Her 30-year-old colleague, Anne Kathleen Gatdula, is hospitalized with serious wounds.

Violence ensued when the women surprised their attacker, who had been ransacking their lodgings in the southern Philippines province of Bukidnon.

“I feel incredibly sad, especially for the family of the young woman that was killed. It was extremely unfortunate, said Father Mario Powell, president of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep in Crown Heights.

To him, Genifer is a martyr.

“I think, absolutely, in my mind qualifies it, as this young woman was living out her faith and she was killed for it,” Fr. Powell said.

He added that volunteers are usually lay men and women who recently graduated from Jesuit schools and want to help others in need. There is a Jesuit volunteer presence right in the Brooklyn Diocese, where two service members are helping immigrant families receive health benefits and housing.

“They’re young, they’re impressionable, they’re excited; and they have a spirituality that they understand that they’re volunteering and going to be living in community because of their faith in God,” Fr. Powell said of the volunteers, who are always thinking of the needy and marginalized before themselves.

“Jesuit volunteers, throughout the world, sacrifice a lot. they live very simply,” he said.

“They live in community with one another, which is not easy. They work in communities that are difficult, and they give, and enough times don’t count the cost.”

Pope, Bishops Urge Action to Save Burning Amazon Rainforest

VATICAN CITY (Catholic News Service) — Describing the Amazon rainforest as “vital for our planet,” Pope Francis joined the regions bishops in praying for action to extinguish the massive fires burning there.

“We are all worried about the vast fires that have developed in the Amazon,” the pontiff said Aug. 25 after leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer. “Let us pray that with the commitment of all they will be brought under control quickly. That forest lung is vital for our planet.”

Leaders of the Latin American bishops’ council also urged international action to save the Amazon rainforest from the fires.

“We urge the governments of the Amazonian countries, especially Brazil and Bolivia, the United Nations and the international community, to take serious measures to save the lungs of the world,” said the statement Aug. 22 by the top officers of the council, known by its Spanish acronym, CELAM.

“What happens to the Amazon is not just a local issue, but is of global reach,” the bishops said. “If the Amazon suffers, the world suffers.”

The Amazon produces 20% of the world’s oxygen, according to scientific measurements.

Brazil’s space research institute, which is responsible for satellite monitoring of the Amazon, had reported that the number of wildfires, common in July and August, had reached a record number already in 2019, with 72,843 fires spotted.

The U.S. space agency, NASA, Aug. 21 and 22 released satellite imagery showing how smoke from the fires had created “a shroud that is clearly visible across much of the center of South America.”

French President Emmanuel Macron called on world leaders to place the fires at the top of their agenda as they meet in France for the Group of Seven summit starting Aug. 24. Attendees will include President Donald Trump, Macron and the leaders from Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said publicly that he believes nongovernmental agencies — including Catholic-backed agencies such as the Land Pastoral and the Indigenous Missionary Council — are behind the illegal burnings because they have opposed his call for development of the rainforest. The organizations have strongly denied the allegations.

In its edition released Aug. 23, the front page of the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, led with two articles about the Amazon fires. The first, titled “The Amazon must be protected,” included general coverage of the fires’ scope and the alarm launched by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. A second article reported on the CELAM statement under the headline, “Save the forest to save the world.”

In their statement, the bishops noted that the upcoming October Synod of Bishops for the Amazon will discuss the plight of the indigenous living in the area as well as the deforestation of the region. Sixty percent of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil.

“Hope for the proximity of the Amazon synod, convened by Pope Francis, is stained by the pain of this natural tragedy,” the bishops said. “To the brethren indigenous peoples who inhabit this beloved territory, we express all our closeness and join your voices with yours to shout to the world for solidarity and pay attention to end this devastation.”

And while the deforestation of the world’s largest tropical forest and the violence against the indigenous population there have been a great concern to the Catholic Church, the upcoming synod also has caused apprehension for the Bolsonaro government.

In February, the Brazilian government was forced to deny that it was spying, through its intelligence agency, ABIN, on more “progressive” bishops and priests working on the synod.

The government’s Institutional Security Cabinet, known as ISC, however, admitted it was worried that the meeting would be used to criticize the Bolsonaro administration’s stance on environment and indigenous rights.

“There are no general criticism of the Catholic Church. There is the functional concern of the Minister of State Chief of the Institutional Security Office for some points of the synod’s Amazon agenda that will take place at the Vatican in October this year,” said an ISC statement at the time.

The CELAM bishops, quoting Pope Francis from his homily at his papal inauguration in March 2013, requested to “please ask all those who hold positions of responsibility in the economic, political and social fields, all men and women of goodwill: (to) be guardians of creation, of the design of God inscribed in nature, guardians of the other, of the environment; let’s not let the signs of destruction and death follow the path of our world.”

The declaration was signed by Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, of Trujillo, Peru, CELAM president, as well as the officers of the organization.

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Contributing to this story was Lise Alves in Sao Paulo and Cindy Wooden at the Vatican.

Vatican Promotes Green Travel With Charging Stations for Electric Cars

Currents News Staff

According to the United Nations, traditional transport annually emits about eight gigatons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, a figure that could double by 2040 and accelerate climate change.

One state promoting initiatives to reduce air pollution is the smallest in the world: the Vatican.

Within the Vatican State, 12 charging towers for electric cars have already been installed.

“Following the spirit of papal encyclicals, the Vatican began to equip itself with electric cars. The Vatican has signed an agreement with Enel X to provide us with a network of electric charging columns,” said Roberto Mignucci, the Vatican’s Technical Director.

By the end of the year, he expects that around 20 of these columns will have been installed inside the state.

The 22 kilowatt charging stations allow up to two cars to be recharged at the same time. It’s use is simple: present a card and connect the vehicle to the column.

“This is a very important initiative. It is the forerunner of a great project that includes the use of electric cars throughout the Vatican, only electric,” Mignucci added.

Very soon Pope Francis could be riding in an electric popemobile, like the one he used on his trip to Colombia.

This initiative is a way to help materialize the content popes have written about on care of the environment.

“John Paul II already referred to the care of creation, a message ratified by Pope Benedict XVI and, finishing with Laudato si’. We begin to combine all the works. We are covering everything at 360 degrees, not only concerned about pollution generated by cars, but also a whole series of systems with energy and water conservation, photovoltage, etc.,” Mignucci explained.

For many, these initiatives in a territory of 108 acres does not represent a significant impact. However, like a small drop water in the middle of the ocean, the Vatican wants to be a pioneer among the countries of the world.