Giglio Lifters Prepare to ‘Carry’ Century-Old Catholic Tradition in Williamsburg

By Emily Drooby

As the Blessed Virgin was carried out of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, along with it moved a tradition over 100 years old.

The church’s nearly two-week long festival known by many as the ‘Giglio Feast,’ opened with a Mass celebrated by special guest, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Pope Francis’s representative to the United Nations.

Parishioners Connie Leist and Francis Garavuso have both have been attending the festival for over 60 years.

It’s a tradition that was started by their parents when they were young, and one they’ve kept as a part of their life.

“It’s a tradition and we dwell on tradition, we live on tradition,” Connie explained.

“It’s something I don’t want to miss,” Francis agreed.

Their family is one of several who have attended for generations, including Andrew Chalmers, who has taken part in the tradition since he was a baby.

“It’s just good to be with God, I love being here,” he said

The church’s pastor, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello explained that the dedicated attendance is normal in this tight-knit community.

“It really keeps our parish going, it keeps the parish alive, but also a time for many people to come back to Brooklyn to come back to the neighborhood to their parish and to celebrate our faith and the traditions we were brought up with,” he said.

Every year, thousands gather to see the festival officially opened, the Blessed Mother carried around the streets and the Giglio lit.

On July 14, this 72-foot-tall, four-ton structure will be hoisted into the air by a nearly hundred men.

The 116-year-old tradition is recruiting lifters for the first time this year to make sure that even in the aging and changing neighborhood, they can continue this ritual for another 116 years.

“I came from Cleveland, Ohio to be one of the lifters, or as they say, ‘a lift-tah,’” said Dennis Garriga, who answered the recruitment call from across the country.

After reading about the need, he traveled to Brooklyn to take part, now one of the many new lifters who will be helping to ‘carry’ on this tradition.

Among Thousands, One Key Unlocks the Beauty of the Sistine Chapel

Currents News Staff

Within the Vatican Museums, lie a whole other world. At 4:45am, before tourists have had their first espresso of the day and gotten in line to see the art filling the museums, the work to open each door begins.

When visitors dream of coming to Rome, many can’t wait to view the most-seen room within the Vatican Museums: the spectacular Sistine Chapel.

As many as 30,000 people can visit per day during the busy summer season, walking the nearly 5 miles of hallways contained behind these doors.

But imagine entering the room every morning all alone.

This is the job of Gianni Crea, the Vatican key master. Once he grabs his share of the 2,979 keys to open his quarter of the museum, his first stop is to get the sole key to the Sistine Chapel.

“We are inside the key bunker, where we get the key for the Sistine Chapel. It’s inside another small box. We take the only copy, the only key to the Sistine Chapel that the Vatican Museums possesses,” he explained, walking through his daily the process of unlocking the chapel.

Gianni’s daily mile-long route to open every door in his part of the museum takes about an hour and a half, finishing around 6:30am. This way, cleaners and tour guides are able to begin their job, before tourists flood in for their daily visits.

“I have the opportunity to open the Sistine Chapel for all the tourists that visit from around the world. So it’s unique, extraordinary and beautiful, for me and also for my colleagues. We are also in the center of Christianity, so for a Catholic, it’s more than you could ever want,” he said.

The magic begins once the door is unlocked and the lights are turned on.

Empty Tomb at Vatican Raises Questions About Missing Bodies

Currents News Staff

The Vatican opened on July 11 two graves in the Teutonic Cemetery next to St. Peter’s Basilica in hopes of finding the remains of Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican bank employee who has been missing since 1983, and found that Orlandi’s remains weren’t there.

The excavators also found that two bodies that were presumed to be buried at the site also are missing.

Orlandi was 15 years old when she disappeared in June 1983. Speculation regarding her disappearance and whereabouts range from that she was kidnapped by terrorists to she was taken by the Italian mob or was involved in human trafficking within the Vatican’s walls to she fled Italy.

New rumors arose in 2018, when according to Crux, the Orlandi family lawyer received an anonymous coded letter suggesting that the family “Look where the angel points.” The reference led the family and the Vatican to the statue of an angel in the German cemetery of the Vatican, underneath which the tombs of Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe and Duchess Carlota Federica of Mecklenburg were supposedly laid over 200 years ago.

Since Orlandi’s disappearance, visitors have laid flowers at the foot of the statue in the hopes that her body might somehow also buried beneath the ground alongside the two women.

At the request of the Orlandi family, with whom the Vatican remains in close connection, the Vatican had initially planned to open only one of the two tombs beneath the statue, but interim Director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, said the Vatican later decided to open both graves to “avoid misunderstandings.”

Excavators found the burial site empty.

“They found nothing, not even the remains of those who were meant to officially be buried there,” Pietro Orlandi, the missing girl’s brother, told NBC News. “I am relieved by it. They dug under one of the tombs and found a room underneath completely empty. In the other one, they found a sarcophagus, also empty.”

“A careful inspection of the tomb of Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe brought to light a large underground space of about 4 meters by 3.70 that is completely empty. Subsequently, the second tomb, that of Princess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklemburg was opened. No human remains were found inside,” Gisotti said in a statement, according to Vatican News.

With two empty tombs and the location of Orlandi still unknown, Gisotti noted that investigations are underway to review changes that took place in the cemetery area at the end of the 19th century, and between the 1960s and 1970s, in the hopes that any changes will offer clues about the missing bodies.

Feast of San Gennaro

Joe Estevez is on location in New York’s Little Italy during the annual Feast with a fascinating discussion about St.Januarius and the miracle of the Precious Blood, the local procession and traditions that have continued since 1926, and an interview with the owners of Vincent’s, a historic Italian restaurant on the same corner for over 100 years.

Make the Fare Fair: Parents Pushing MTA to Lower Express Bus Rates

By Tim Harfmann

New York City express buses are driving some parents crazy, costing them $6.75 each way to send their children to and from school or summer programs.

“$6.75 is lunch money, practically, and it’s unfair,” said Antoinette Rowdis, a concerned parent.

She and her friend, Antonietta Cutrona, are two Brooklyn moms pushing the city to make the fare fair.

The MTA already issues student passes, but the green and white MetroCards only cover subways and local buses, making commutes longer for those living in certain neighborhoods who rely on express buses.

“There are pockets in the boroughs that don’t have clear transportation to, let’s say, the train,” said Cutrona.

For one child, paying the express bus fare adds up to nearly $300 a month — that’s about $2,700 per school year.

Rowdis and Cutrona turned to local politicians, who said they need 1,500 signatures to present the idea of lowering the rate to the MTA board.

So far, they’ve received over 1,000 signatures.

The Rowdis and Cutrona families send their sons from Dyker Heights, Brooklyn to Manhattan’s Xavier High School.

They said although there are Catholic schools located closer to their Brooklyn homes, they want to be able to decide where they send their children.

“Education is very important, and picking the right school is very important. This is foundation for these kids,” said Rowdis.

The MTA has yet to fulfill a request for a statement from Currents News.

The mother duo is urging people to sign their petition by going online at change.org and search their specific title, “Lower MTA Express Bus Fares for High School Students Traveling to and from School.”

Currents News for Wednesday, July 10, 2019

On the newscast: Persecuted for the Christian beliefs. Today activists in major U.S. cities come together to rally for justice; A photographer highlights the scourge of human trafficking with the full support of the Vatican; Also, the U.S. women’s soccer team gets a world class parade in the Big Apple.

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.

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Celebrates World Cup Victory in New York City

By Tamara Laine

Fresh off their historic fourth world cup win, the U.S. women’s national team took a victory lap in the Big Apple as New York City hosted a ticker-tape parade for the world champions.

The triumphant team has dominated soccer, securing four titles in 28 years, which is twice as many as any other country in the tournament.

“This World Cup win is so much more than what was on the field. It seems like one of those just sort of iconic turning points in history, to be honest,” said U.S. women’s soccer team Captain Megan Rapinoe of the historic moment.

But their battles go beyond the field.

In March of 2019 members of the team filed a lawsuit saying they’ve showed the same skill as the men, but played more games, generated more money, and performed better, all while receiving a fraction of the pay.

“Equal Pay!” Equal Pay”

“It’s really more about the investment in the game. Is the investment equal?” Rapinoe asked.

Chants of equal pay following the players back to New York City and down the Canyon of Heroes.

Prior to the parade, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, had his own welcome for the U.S. champions.

“You should get paid the same amount whatever the job is,” he agreed.

“These are women’s soccer players. They play the same game that the men’s soccer players play. By the way, they play it better. They play it with better results. If there is any economic rationale, the men should get paid less than the women. Let’s be honest.”

Governor Cuomo took the opportunity to sign into law pay equity legislation in order to close the gender wage gap.

“New York is going to lead the way. And we say to the U.S. Soccer League and we say to FIFA: If you don’t pay women what you pay men….then you have no business in the state of New York,” he said.

Though the team waits to mediate their suit with the U.S. Soccer Federation, they celebrated their massive victory with fans, New York and the nation.

Currents News for Tuesday, July 9, 2019

On the newscast: Federal prosecutors in New York charge billionaire financier, Jeffrey Epstein, with sex trafficking after allegedly finding a trove of lewd photographs; The Affordable Care Act is in jeopardy once again as a federal appeals court hears arguments that could impact the health insurance of millions of Americans; Pope Francis is sounding the alarm about the growing arms race, calling the sale of weapons a sin; Bishop of Brooklyn, Nicholas DiMarzio, heads to the Catskills for a special visit to a boy scouts camp.

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.

Obamacare Returns to Court

By Tamara Laine

The future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Obama’s signature healthcare legislation, is being challenged again in court. The fifth circuit court of appeals in New Orleans is hearing oral arguments on its constitutionality.

The case, brought by Texas and 19 other republican-led states, argues that the ACA is no longer constitutional now that Congress has removed the individual mandate, which required all Americans to obtain health insurance or face a tax penalty.

Proponents of the ACA who fighting to preserve the law in court, including California and 19 mostly democratic states, maintain that Congress did not intend to repeal the whole law when they ended the mandate penalty in 2017.

A repeal of the nearly decade old law could leave up to 32 million people uninsured by 2026, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office.

The battle is not expected to end any time soon.

The fifth circuit’s decision will influence whether or not the Supreme Court considers the case.

The Epidemic of Human Trafficking: Jeffrey Epstein Arrested Over Alleged Trafficking Ring

By Emily Drooby

Influential New York billionaire Jeffrey Epstein has been charged with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. Federal prosecutors out of New York unsealed the criminal indictment on July 8, after allegedly finding lewd photographs in his Manhattan mansion.

Damage to the door of Epstein’s New York City apartment could be seen after federal agents stormed through. According to prosecutors, his home is one of the places from which he operated his sex trafficking ring. Earlier that day, Epstein was also arrested.

The indictment alleges he ran a trafficking enterprise between 2002 and 2005, paying women as young as 14 for sex. He now faces 45 years in prison if convicted.

These charges come a decade after the financier avoided similar charges in Miami through a deal with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Epstein is well-connected, known for having relationships with high level people like former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump. Both have denied involvement in the case.

Epstein is charged with sex trafficking, which is a form of human trafficking, and part of a major global issue.

Forced labor and human trafficking is estimated to be a $150 billion industry.

In New York City, it has become an epidemic. In 2018, The National Human Trafficking Hotline counted 206 cases in New York.

Sister Joan Dawber is the Executive Director of Lifeway Network, a Brooklyn and Queens-based group educating the public and providing safe housing for trafficking victims.

“Brooklyn and Queens is an epicenter for human trafficking,” she explained.

In an interview done earlier this year, she said that Pope Francis consistently fights against human trafficking, calling it a wound on humanity.

She explained that it is important for the Church to work together to help stamp it out, “so that human beings can be just have the dignity that is part of being a human being, made in God’s likeness.”

The importance of combatting human trafficking was not lost on U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who while announcing the charges against Epstein, said it’s important to hold him accountable for all of his past victims.

“The alleged behavior shocks the conscience. and while the charged conduct is from a number of years ago, it is still profoundly important to the many alleged victims now young women. they deserve their day in court,” he said.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta was the U.S. attorney who oversaw Epstein’s original case where he received the controversial plea deal. As more information on the case becomes public, top Democrats including Nancy Pelosi are calling for Acosta’s resignation.