On the newscast: The crisis at the border escalates as a tough new policy is being put into place; The famed Crystal Cathedral is getting a full make-over and will soon be re-dedicated; Bishop DiMarzio celebrates Mass and takes part in a beloved Brooklyn tradition.
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By Emily Drooby
As the managing attorney for Catholic Migration Services’s immigration program, Alex Gonçalves-Peña has been very busy this past week.
She has received calls from undocumented immigrants throughout Brooklyn and Queens who are nervous for their future and their families future.
The Trump administration’s latest move, referred to as the ‘3rd Country’ rule, will deny asylum to migrants who don’t first apply for protection in a third country before requesting asylum at the United States southern border.
“It’s going to prevent many individuals who have strong asylum claims from coming to the U.S. and seeking the relief they are requesting,” Alex said.
This new rule comes as President Trump is cracking down on illegal immigration.
As of July 16, Alex started to hear about some credible raids in the New York City area, specifically right here in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Sunset Park.
She said it’s important those facing raids know their rights.
“If we don’t know about our rights, and this applies to everybody, we don’t know how to enforce them, and the federal government and others can just do with us and our community members what they want, and we just can’t in this point in time allow that to happen.”
Catholic Migration Services is available to help teach people these rights. First and foremost, the most important: the right to remain silent.
Among them are also the right to not open doors, the right to not sign anything, and the right as a witness to record and report the raid.
But not everyone thinks that undocumented immigrants should even have these so-called privileges.
President Trump has said that a lot people “came into our country illegally,” and a large majority of Americans agree with his statement.
While some people who think these undocumented immigrants don’t have rights because they’re here illegally,“the Constitution says otherwise,” Alex explained.
“In fact these rights to apply to everyone, and like I said previously, everyone has the right to enforce them.”
The Trump administration claims the raids are primarily focusing on deporting criminals, especially those with a violent background. However the president acknowledged that they will target anyone who entered the country illegally.
By Tim Harfmann
The pews of Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn were packed on the afternoon of July 16.
Worshippers honored the Blessed Mother as Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated a bilingual Mass honoring her namesake in English and Italian.
“Today is a day that those devoters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are really, very happy. It’s her feast day. It’s a day that they show their love and devotion to Our Lady in different ways,” he explained.
That love and devotion was on full display throughout the parish’s 11-day festival, but Catholics hold rosary beads and raise their hands in praise on this particular feast day.
Outside the church was long line at a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Worshippers waited with great anticipation to pray in front of the statue, pinning their monetary offerings and lighting candles.
To Grace Lugara, a parishioner at the church, the Blessed Mother means everything.
“She’s the mother of all mothers. She’s the mother of heaven and earth,” she said.
“All the Italian people, we got a very, very strong devotion,” explained fellow parishioner Franca Marsillo, who says her devotion also brings mixed emotions.
“Every year, my heart is full of joy and, I cry.”
Franca prayed not only to the Blessed Mother, but remembered her grandmother, who instilled her love for the Virgin Mary while growing up in Italy.
“My grandma was a very, very religious woman,” she recalled, “every morning she used to get up at 5:30 and first go to Mass. Everyday she said the rosary. She taught me a lot of things.”
Now, Franca and her friends are teaching their families, and praying that their dedication to Our Lady of Mount Carmel continues for generations.
As for Grace, she knows that “for us, I think we were all born in the Church. That’s how we grew up. And we keep on going, we keep the faith, and we try to transmit it to our kids.”
Currents News Staff
Standing at over 18 feet above ground, a half-mile steel barrier was built without help from Congress, and without President Trump.
With thousands pitching in, the organization ‘We Build The Wall’ says it has raised millions of dollars to build its own stretch of border wall in New Mexico.
It all started with Brian Kolfage, a military veteran, who was tired of what he called “inaction from Congress.”
“We were promised border security and that is something that was close to me,” said Kolfage, President of We Build The Wall. “We wanted border security.”
Just a few miles away in El Paso, Texas, attorney Sylvia Borunda Firth has taken matters into her own hands, but with a very different approach.
She volunteers pro-bono, assisting asylum seekers in the early stages of their immigration proceedings at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.
“I was lucky enough to get a law degree, and I felt like it was time to give back and if I could in any way to help in this crisis situation. The family separation stuff was really what made me feel like ‘this is not America,’ and these people need help,” she said.
Firth explained how she first helped at local shelters, but later decided that what she was doing wasn’t enough.
“And even though I didn’t have any training in immigration law, I was looking for a way to try to help. to get in the system and help them.”
But, neither Kolfage nor Firth see their work as the ultimate solution.
“This is a band-aid to the problem,” said Kolfage. “The problem, you know, is the cartels across the border. We’re not doing what we need to do as a country to address that problem.”
Both are tired of waiting.
Kolfage’s belief is “until we get border security, this is never gonna be solved.”
But to Firth, “surely, we can rise to fix this. I’m hopeful, I’m just hopeful that something will happen.
Currents News Staff
Executives from the biggest names in tech and e-commerce were grilled on Capitol Hill on July 16 as lawmakers questioned their growing influence and considered steps to limit their expanding power.
Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google executives all took the hot seat at hearings, where the focus of the questioning, was user privacy.
“Facebook has two competing missions: make the world more open and connected. As Facebook attempts to serve both these missions, they wreak havoc on the rest of us,” explained Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.
In focus at one hearing was Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency, Libra, where the company promised to do their homework.
“Let me be clear and unambiguous: Facebook will not offer the Libra digital currency until we have fully addressed regulators concerned and received appropriate approvals,” said David A. Marcus, Facebook’s digital currency head.
But after Facebook’s past privacy missteps, some senators were skeptical of the endeavor.
“It’s one after another after another after another, so I don’t trust you guys,” said Arizona Republican Senator Martha McSally.
Despite establishing Libra as a separate entity, there were questions about whether information about transactions could be shared with Facebook and monetized.
“I can’t think of any reason right now for us to do this,” Marcus said in response.
At another hearing, the major questions surrounded whether Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple are allowing consumers enough options, or stifling the competition.
“The internet has become increasingly concentrated, less open, and growingly hostile to innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Democratic House Judiciary Committee Representative David Cicilline.
The topic of big tech has become an issue in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary Race. Some, like Elizabeth Warren, are calling for breakups. Others are calling for more regulation to rein them in.
By Christopher White, The Tablet’s National Correspondent
NEW YORK – On July 17, Southern California’s famed Crystal Cathedral will be dedicated as Christ Cathedral, the new seat of the Diocese of Orange.
Once the home of evangelical pastor Robert Schuller of the Reformed Church in America and his famed “Hour of Power,” the building, which is made of more than 10,000 panes of glass, was purchased by the diocese of Orange in 2012 after Schuller’s ministry went bankrupt.
Since that time, the building – and its campus – has undergone a complete transformation, physically and canonically, to become a space fitting for Catholic worship.
Ahead of its dedication, Bishop Kevin Vann spoke with The Tablet to chronicle the process, discuss why he believes beauty can help save the world and what he hopes that Cathedral will represent for Catholics in southern California.
The Tablet:Let’s start with a very basic question: How does one go about converting a former Protestant church into a Catholic Cathedral?
Vann: This is like a final exam for me! I would say it was accomplished above all with the help of God in several areas.
Number one, you take the architectural and liturgical part of it and figure out how you put that into a building that was made for evangelicals and make that kind of change.
Then, there is a second part: We had the Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, so we had to figure out how to help the folks at that place transition to a new status and how do you help the folks here on the new cathedral campus grow into a cathedral parish.
Thirdly, there’s the canonical part, where it has to be decreed to be a cathedral, so you have to write the Congregation for Bishops in Rome for that permission and show that you’ve prepared the folks in the former cathedral for their change in status.
You’ve traveled to Italy to help hand pick the marble. The building is designed so that the sunlight plays a major role in creating the right environment inside the space, and the organ is the fifth largest in the world. What role do you believe beauty serves in drawing people to the faith?
Beauty draws people to God in ways that intellectually don’t happen as much, or at least don’t happen quite the same way. When you look up and see the light coming in, especially in the afternoon, that draws you upward to God.
I’ve traveled to Italy three times to make sure the stone was being cut right and that it was the right kind. The beauty of the stone and the marble work really speaks to creation and the power of God, so it draws people to that.
Beauty helps us find the presence of God in ways that we couldn’t intellectually, so the light, the stone work, the mosaics, the crosses, all of it helps draw us out of where we are now and toward God.
Some critics will say in an age where the Church should be focusing its attention on regaining its credibility in the public square or heeding Pope Francis’s call for a “poor Church for the poor,” now isn’t the time to be focusing on real estate. What’s your response to that charge?
I would say that the Catholic lens is not either/or, it’s both/and.
For example, when it comes to taking care of the poor, maybe you’ll recall the fundraiser event we held with John Allen a few years ago where we held a fundraiser for victims of the earthquake in Italy. Or take [local chef and philanthropist] Bruno Serato who helps a lot of poor families and children in Anaheim, whose restaurant burned. I gave him one of the kitchens on the campus to keep that ministry going until he rebuilt his restaurant.
If beauty can reignite one’s faith and draw us closer to God, then these things can help us respond to the other challenges of today.
Southern California has been hit by a string of recent earthquakes. Does that make you nervous for the structure?
I grew up in the Midwest, so I tell people I traded tornadoes for earthquakes!
I was out during both of the recent ones and we really felt them, but that’s part of life here. Part of the work of the campus was to seismically retrofit everything so it can withstand these things. I think we’ve done everything we can and there’s been no damage here.
The dedication is the 17th but it won’t be fully functioning until February 2020. What’s going to take place between now and then?
Much of it will have to do with the tuning of the Hazel Wright organ. The acoustics are going to be very different than what it was before, so it’s been completely redone and restored. During the week it will be tuned, but the Cathedral will be available on weekends for Mass. We’ll just have a digital organ until it’s ready.
What do you want the cathedral to represent for Catholics in the diocese of Orange?
I would hope that when people see that steeple they will think, “God is here!’ and he’s drawing us toward himself and one another through the ministry and presence of Christ Cathedral, and the presence of God is growing.
I would have never imagined this. I walk across the campus and my mind and my heart goes back to my mother and my father and our parish church where it all kind of started for me, and here I am now, and I’m grateful God’s providence have brought us all together here.
Next on Currents News: The Trump administration’s deportation raids are off to a slow start, but migrant fears loom large here in the diocese of immigrants. We’ll tell you how one Brooklyn parish is trying to help. Plus, an in-depth look into the rebuilding efforts at Notre Dame, three months after that devastating fire almost destroyed the iconic cathedral. And, a young catholic boy is on a mission hoping to convince New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to change his mind after he signed a controversial pro-abortion bill. And, it’s one of Brooklyn’s most-beloved catholic traditions– the Giglio Festival. On Sunday they raised the ceremonial spire high into the air. We’ll take you right to the dramatic moment when the Giglio is lifted
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By Tim Harfmann
“Absolutely terrified” is how Father John McKenna described the growing tension in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a community with a large Hispanic population.
“I think they’re absolutely terrified,” he said, with residents living in fear as federal ICE agents continue to target nearly 2,000 immigrants across the country. There have been no reported arrests in New York City.
Father McKenna is one of the priests ministering to Catholics at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. On July 14 he received text messages from a woman whose sister had unexpected visitors: ICE agents.
“All the people in the apartment house just called each other and said, ‘Don’t open up! Don’t open up,” he said.
Father Ruskin Piedra shared a similar story. He provides legal services to immigrants and met yesterday with those targeted by ICE.
“They raise their voice, ‘Open this door!’ and so on. What happened in one of the buildings is that the outside door was open. They couldn’t get through the second door. That’s where the shouting started,” he explained.
Working with organizations and local politicians, the parish is stepping in to help immigrants, even handing out flyers with their rights.
“Makes no difference what their situation is, they have rights, by law, in the United States,” said Father James Gilmour, Our Lady of Perpetual Help’s pastor.
Even with protecting the families’ identities, the three priests did not have much information about who these families are because they said status doesn’t matter.
“We don’t ask if you’re Catholic, non-Catholic, registered… You’re a human being, you’re in need, and that’s the way we see people,” said Father Ruskin.
“The law may not see you as a child of God. That’s the first thing we do.”
These Brooklyn priests vow to stand with immigrants, along with clerics across the country.
Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich wrote a letter to the priests in his own archdiocese, urging them not to let federal agents into churches without identification or a warrant.
Currents News Staff
After being robbed twice in four months, St. Helen’s Church in Howard Beach, Queens was broken into a third time on July 14 following the church’s two o’clock Baptisms.
Surveillance footage of the incident shows that at around 2:55pm, a man used brute force to break down the door to the church’s sacristy.
Father Francis Colamaria, St. Helen’s pastor, suspects the man is a “drug addict looking for money.”
“Sacristies in churches are the main hub,” he explained. “This is where precious items are kept [such as] money that is collected and put in a safe.”
Prior to the most recent break-in, the church used a Dutch door that had five locks including an electronic lock. They also had alarms set in place and security cameras.
“Now I’m going to have to fully alarm the church,” said Father Francis. “It’s gonna be Fort Knox.”
According to Father Francis, at the time of the robbery the church was empty and the doors had been left open.
“He waited for everyone to vacate. He checked the poor boxes, which were empty, and broke through the door and discovered that everything else was locked.”
Father Francis is concerned that the church isn’t the robber’s last stop.
He cited these robberies to a “rampant drug problem” that he believes will cause parishioners to look at the church as a “soft target.”
But, he doesn’t think it will turn parishioners away.
“What’s the next soft target,” he asked, “the old lady walking down the street with a purse?”
“If [this individual does] one soft target, this individual will probably do another soft target.”
There was a time when St. Helen’s was able to leave its doors open for visitors to light a candle and to just sit and pray, but now the church is empty.
“The church is dark and it’s never dark,” said Father Francis. “This church would always have people in it at this time of day.”
He now has to lock his church’s doors to try to keep people from breaking in, but at the same time, lock out those who just want to pray or light a candle.
“I gotta keep locking my church now,” said Father Francis. “Who wants to lock churches? I don’t.”
“Outraged” by the robbery attempt, Father Francis also said that the robber should “absolutely” be punished.
“We received more than 22,000 hits on our Facebook page. People are interested in stories like this because they are outraged.”
Father Francis will try to do what he can to protect the church, but believes he can only do so much and can’t prevent a break-in.
The robber destroyed the five locks on the door to the sacristy and a cross from Jerusalem that was resting on the cabinet door to the safe.
Currents News Staff
In March of 2019, the Vatican paid tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci on the 500th anniversary of his death with a free exhibition of one of his most important pieces, ‘Saint Jerome in the Desert.’
Until June 22, pilgrims from all over the world were able to admire the piece. It was the first time the artwork was shown outside the Vatican Museums.
“Five hundred years have passed since Leonardo Da Vinci’s death and next year will be 500 years since Raphael’s. So all the museums in the world are working to celebrate these two important dates with dignity. The Vatican is fortunate to have the only Roman work by Leonardo Da Vinci,” said Guido Cornin, Scientific Delegate of the Vatican Museums.
The piece, done between 1486 and 1490, shows St. Jerome repenting in the desert. He is dressed as a hermit, about to hit his chest with a rock.
Yet, the subject of the work is not as important as the technique Leonardo used to paint the background.
“The background of the painting is a sketch. It is unfinished, but shows the first indications of a rocky, chipped landscape. We later learn to recognize it in Leonardo’s other works like ‘The Virgin of the Rocks,’ ‘The Virgin and St. Anne’ or in the ‘Mona Lisa,’” Cornini explained.
The exhibition included interactive panels that explain and allow the visitor to “interact” with the artist. In addition to the canvas, the exhibition displayed the only document that proves that Leonardo Da Vinci spent a period of his life in Rome.
“It proves Leonardo’s presence in Rome in 1513. It is a payment he made to Giuliano Reno. He was an architect who helped other artists, like Bramante, on Vatican works. It is the only explicit document that proves the presence of Leonardo in Rome,” Cornini said.
The Vatican Museums restored the piece so that it could be exhibited around the world. After its time in Rome, it will be displayed in New York starting in July 2019, and then in Paris.