Priest and Refugee Suffered Syrian War Firsthand

Currents News Staff

Fr. Jacques Mourad has Syria in his heart, but he has decided not to return home. He lives in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as one more refugee among others.

“Refusing to return to Mar Musa in Syria is a choice. I have chosen to live as a refugee alongside other refugees in order to understand them and to share in their suffering. I have done this to tell others what they have gone through,” said Mourad.

The priest has suffered the Syrian war firsthand. He had to flee from his country, torn apart by a conflict, with no end in sight, and in which religion has been used for violent ends.

“Religions are a gift, whether it’s Islam or Christianity. They endow strength, and are both a path to peace. Therefore, religion should never again be used to wage war,” he said.

On May 21, 2015, Fr. Jacques was kidnapped by jihadists from ISIS in his Monastery of St. Elian, near the ancient city of Palmyra that had been recently conquered. They took him to Raqqa, at the time the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Thus, began his months spent in Calvary.

He recounts his experience in A Monk Held Hostage, a book with which he intends to send a clear message.

“My experience is to share that the power of love and the strength of dialogue overcomes fear, overcomes evil and overcomes darkness,” said Mourad.

His great concern for the millions of Syrian refugees around the world led him to learn about the work of the Community of Sant’Egidio. Their humanitarian projects have saved the lives of thousands of refugees, many of them Syrians. During these times, he developed a solid friendship with Andrea Riccardi, who wrote the prologue to A Monk Held Hostage.

“It is the story of a Christian Arab living in a very complicated situation in Syria, as he faces Islamic fundamentalism and jihad. It is a book to be read because it is a special testimony that presents a story from our time but also a story of spirituality,” said Riccardi.

In the book, Fr. Mourad also remembers another priest who has been kidnapped since 2013, Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio. Together they founded the monastic community of Mar Musa, a home that peacefully brings together Christians and Muslims.

‘Sister Strike’ Receives ESPY Nomination

Currents News Staff

Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, a theology teacher at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, is no stranger to the pitcher’s mound or the spotlight.

Video of the first pitch she threw out in August of last year at a Chicago White Sox game quickly went viral, dubbing her “Sister Strike.”

That video has since racked up over 278,000 views on YouTube and has earned her a an ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) nomination in the “Best Viral Sports Moment” category.

Currents News spoke to Sister Mary Jo back in April of this year, after it was announced that her pitching prowess had earned her a baseball card deal with Topps.

“I had a colleague at school that said to me, ‘Sister, you’re going to throw a strike and it’s going to go viral.’ And I’ll be honest with you, I always wondered what going viral even meant,” the Dominican Sister said during the interview.

The ESPY awards will take place on July 10 in Los Angeles and will air nationally on ESPN and ABC. You can cast your vote for Sister Mary Jo by clicking here.

Meals on Wheels

Joe Estevez speaks with Sister Alice Marie Quinn, founder of Meals on Wheels, an organization she created 40 years ago that feeds the elderly homebound, serving 3,500 meals a day.

Following Easter Church Bombings, Sri Lanka Cardinal Demands Justice for Victims

Currents News Staff

The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka killed more than 250 people in several churches. Since then, the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has had to face very difficult situations.

“There is also this one gentleman who lost his wife and three children. He was all alone,” Cardinal Ranjith said, “when I went to see his house, he looked at me with very blank eyes, and told me,’ now I’m alone. My home, what am I going to do at home?’”

Many people on the verge of despair have sought Cardinal Ranjith for an answer to these incomprehensible circumstances.

“My answer, I always tell him, is ‘God loves you.’ Maybe your wife and your children, are now in heaven. so they will intercede for you. they are not gone from you; they are with you. maybe they are even more with you now than they were before,” he said.

After being confronted with the cruelty of these terrorists, Cardinal Ranjith has been moved by the attitude and response of these victims.

“I find people are becoming more religious and thinking, ‘why?’ It seems a positive effect has taken place in the midst of all the crying, all the pain and all the suffering.”

In addition to words of consolation, he demands justice and forcefulness against those who promote radical Islamism.

In the meantime, he is working to restore normalcy to the communities.

These past days, a team from the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need has also visited Cardinal Ranjith in Sri Lanka. They want to show their closeness to Christians there during these difficult weeks, and assess what more can be done to help the Christian community in the country get back on their feet again.

A Spice of Hope for New Wave of Hungry People

By Tim Harfmann

When Junior Christie and his 18-year-old son, Daevon, are hungry, they turn to St. John’s Bread & Life — a Catholic organization in Bedford Stuyvesant that is fighting hunger in the Brooklyn diocese.

The Christies never thought they’d have to live in a shelter, but after their New Jersey home was condemned because of fire regulations, that’s where they ended up.

Due to overcrowding and because they wanted to remain together, no shelter in New Jersey would take them. They were forced to move to Brooklyn.

Now in his late 50s, Junior’s just grateful for a place to eat.

“It’s a very warm place as far as the people go, and it’s the understanding of the community and what’s needed,” he said.

Junior is not the only one thankful for St. John’s Bread & Life. More people than ever before are walking through their doors.

It’s a new wave of hungry people.

Sister Caroline Tweedy, executive director, said the faith-based non-profit is on track to serve almost a million meals this year. That’s up from over 860,000 meals served last year.

“We’re finding that the need is growing, and we’re going to be here to help them and support them,” said Sister Tweedy.

The need is growing in New York because it’s getting harder and harder for everyday people to afford the city they grew up in.

“Brooklyn is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, and they’re under-served communities. You’d be surprised where some of the folks are.”

Sister Tweedy said they’re mainly in areas with the elderly and working families, forcing them to choose between their next meal and a roof over their heads. She also credits gentrified communities, the transformation of neighborhoods where rent eats up paychecks.

One-in-five New Yorkers face hunger. Most of those people go to work every single day — like Junior’s son, Daevon.

He’s not only there for a meal, but he’s helping with the need. He’s interning at St. John’s, serving guests at the food pantry.

He said watching his dad receive a good meal brings him comfort.

“When I’m here and I don’t see him, I’m wondering, ‘where’s he at? Is he good? Is he eating?’ So, seeing him in here and making sure he eats and stuff like that is good,” said Daevon.

On June 26, Junior and other guests were treated to a special dish, butter chicken with chili garlic rice.

It was a different kind of meal that Obaid Kadwani, organizer of the day’s “Spice of Hope” event, said helps people feel better about their situation

“We might not be able to solve the entire problem, but we can make a day better for one person at a time,” said Kadwani.

At St. John’s Bread & Life, they’re striving to do that every day.

Currents News for Wednesday, June 26, 2019

On the newscast: After a migrant father and his daughter are discovered dead at the U.S. border, reaction is coming in from the Vatican to the White House; A leading archbishop is crediting an abuse survivor with saving his life; New hope for the rebuilding of Notre Dame when a discovery is made to replace a symbol that was thought to be irreplaceable; America’s top lawman playing the bagpipes with the NYPD.

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.

Senate to Vote on 9/11 Compensation Fund

Currents News Staff

On June 25, 9/11 first responders emerged from a face-to-face meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, appearing more hopeful than they did about two weeks ago during a hearing on the 9/11 victims fund, where John Stewart gave an explosive testimony on Capitol Hill, shaming lawmakers for not showing up.

“These men and women uniform and non-uniform, the children of lower Manhattan are sick and dying, and there are families being left in financial ruins,” said 9/11 first responder John Feal.

“We’re going to leave here and Luis Alvarez is going to die. And in that meeting, we gave Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Luis Alvarez’ badge.”

9/11 responders hope that badge will keep them at the top of McConnell’s priorities, and remind him that the men and women who put their lives on the line during 9/11 need someone to have their backs now.

“And if he strays from his commitment, we’ll go back into attack mode,” Feal said.

According to the first responders, McConnell committed to a vote on the victims fund in August.

For now, they’re taking him at his word.

“For the first time he said he sensed the urgency, unfortunately there’s more people sick than the money that exists in the fund currently,” explained retired FDNY firefighter and 9/11 first responder Kenny Specht.

“We don’t care how they do it. We just want it done,” said Feal.

Pope Mourns Deaths of Father and Daughter Drowned Near U.S. Border

By Emily Drooby

When Tania Vanessa Avalos followed a stretcher carrying away the bodies of her husband and not yet two-year-old daughter, she was unable to control her emotions.

The man and child were from El Salvador, and drowned while crossing the Rio Grande trying to enter the United States.

Haunting images of them lying face down on the river’s bank have been seen around the world.

The child’s head is tucked inside her dad’s t-shirt, and her arm is draped around his neck. They had been swept away by the river’s fast-moving currents on June 23.

“This image cries to heaven for justice. This image silences politics. Who can look on this picture and not see the results of the failures of all of us to find a humane and just solution to the immigration crisis,” asked the U.S. bishops in a statement.

The family has shared photos of the victims, who are being identified as 25-year-old Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria who’s face has been blurred out.

The girl’s grandmother lives in San Martín, El Salvador. while clutching the dolls the child left behind, she explained what why the family wanted to go to America.

“Since they lived here with me, in the same house, they wanted to have their own house, and that was what motivated them,” she said.

But they didn’t make it.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis is mourning their deaths. His spokesman released a statement reading, “The pope is profoundly saddened by their death, and is praying for them and for all migrants who have lost their lives while seeking to flee war and misery.”

The family wanted to apply for asylum but couldn’t, so they decided to cross the border by way of the river.

President Donald Trump reacted this afternoon to what happened to the father and child.

“I hate it, and I know it could stop immediately if the Democrats change the laws they have to change the laws and then that father who probably was this wonderful guy with his daughter. Things like that wouldn’t happen because that journey across that river, that journey across that river, is a very dangerous journey,” he said.

“They refuse to change the asylum. In one hour we could have it done.”

Update: Father Finally Allowed into U.S. to Support Sons and Dying Wife

By Tim Harfmann

June 25 was an emotional day for the Barragan family and their friends: the day they prayed for had arrived.

Thirteen-year-old Cristian and 10-year-old Daniel waited anxiously to be reunited with their father, Benjamin, at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

They were together again.

Benjamin had been stuck in Mexico for nearly a year after U.S. officials discovered he crossed the border illegally decades ago. He was then told he couldn’t get a green card for at least 10 years.

Benjamin described the feeling of finally being able to enter the U.S. as, “Happy. Happy to be here in New York.”

When family and friends enlisted the help of doctors and politicians, Benjamin’s application for Humanitarian Relief was expedited.

Then came the good news that he was coming to New York.

“I feel, like, really… I don’t how you say it, but just excited. I haven’t seen him in so long. Since I can see him now, I’m just… Proud,” Daniel said of being able to embrace his father.

“It’s just really exciting to see his face again, like personally, because I haven’t seen him in a really long time,” Cristian agreed.

Benjamin’s wife, Maria, is the reason for his wanting to return to the country. Maria, a U.S. citizen and immigrant from Guatemala, has been battling stage four cancer for over a decade.

Now, doctors are giving her weeks to live.

A photo captured their emotional embrace as they were together again on Tuesday morning.

Benjamin tried reuniting with his family twice, but he was denied.

In Spanish, he explained that even with approval this time, he feared going through security in Mexico.

“They waited for me there, checking the mandatory parole for, like, 40 minutes; and I was afraid that they would tell me that I had to turn around and go back,” he said in his native language.

But they didn’t, and now he’s back in Brooklyn.

Helping to make these dreams happen is Amy Lyons, a parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

She signed-up as guardian for the boys so they aren’t forced into foster care if their mom passes away.

“There’s not really words. I just, I’ve never seen so hopeful and beautiful in my life,” she said, calling the reunion a miracle.

But their fight isn’t over. Benjamin is only approved to stay in the U.S. until mid-July.

Amy and their friends are trying to extend his stay “to be with his boys when and if his wife passes, to help them through that grieving process and to just have the time that that takes,” she said.

For now, they’ll cherish every second they have together.

*Parts of this story have been translated from its original Spanish.

Currents News for Tuesday, June 25, 2019

On the newscast: Maria Barragan is getting her dying wish. She is able to hug her husband once again. He’s back in Brooklyn as she battles cancer; There’s growing outrage over the conditions detained migrant kids are living in at the border as Congress clashes over the emergency; A graduation with a difference, as the first and last classes get together; Tony Piccluto is 96 years old and handing out crosses he has made – by the thousands.

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.