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Rising to the Occasion: Brooklyn Baker to be Awarded at Bishop DiMarzio Golf Classic

By Tim Harfmann

Edward Mafoud is on a roll as the co-owner of Damascus Bakery in Downtown Brooklyn.

A third-generation baker, his grandfather started the business in 1930.

“The bakery business is in my veins, it’s part of my blood, my genetic makeup,” he explained.

From pita and pizza crusts to flatbreads and mini stuffed bagels, the Brooklyn factory pumps out tens of thousands of loaves every hour.

This week, Ed will receive a sweet treat, a special honor from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio at the annual Bishop DiMarzio Golf Classic Thursday.

The gathering raises money for a cause, while honoring organizations and individuals for dedication to their communities.

Ed is being honored not for kneading, but meeting a need. He’s Chairman of the Saint Nicholas Home, an assisted living facility in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

“I don’t believe I deserve the honor, but putting that to one side; it means everything. It means I lived a life that’s true to the community,” Ed said.

His parents co-founded the home where nearly 70 elderly residents currently receive 24/7 care.

“It’s always worth it when you look into the eyes of these senior citizens that they know you’re doing everything in your power to help them, to give them a quality of life,” he said.

Seventy-one-year-old Barbara Foresti has been living at the home for 14 years.

“I think Ed Mafoud is a wonderful man. He’s been chairman for a long time, and anything we’ve asked him, he’s always said ‘yes,’” she recalled.

Ed, who is a Maronite Catholic living in Staten Island, said just like the yeast in his dough, his faith continues to rise.

“I talk to Jesus Christ all the time, and I say, ‘What is your plan for me? What have I done? What haven’t I done?”

What he has done is be there for his community, earning him the high honor from Bishop DiMarzio.

Celebrating America in US Territory

By Melissa Enaje

When celebrating America as an independent nation in the U.S., one can be certain that a few staple events will occur: highways will be piled with cars escaping to the beach, the smell of barbecue will fill the air and the sound of popping fireworks will be heard throughout the day. In the mountains of Puerto Rico, while separated from the mainland by twice the length of Florida in distance, the U.S. territory is somewhat tranquil on July 4.

Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, fireworks are far and in between, the smell of grilled meat fills the air, tropical fruits are being sold along the highway and ever so often locals are seen wearing bright t-shirts with the huge letters U-S-A or the flag displayed on them.

Cultural Exchange

In Aibonito, July 4 falls during the town’s 51st annual Festival de los Flores, or festival of flowers. The 30-plus group from Brooklyn and Queens attended the annual celebration. A local band played Bon Jovi in the background as the festival took full flight. For the group visiting from New York, the day reflected familiar street festivals back home. When they found items they wanted to purchase from a local vendor, U.S. dollars and coins exchanged hands in between a hello and a “gracias” greeting in Spanish.

But for some local Puerto Ricans, the road back to celebrating a normal livelihood is still yet to be seen. One neighborhood saw four homes destroyed within walking distance from each other.

“Maria destroyed everything, so they’ve been working on this for a while,” Marilyn Santos explained. She was translating for the diocesan contingent and accompanied them as a representative of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“They’ve obviously done a lot, but it’s only been within the last two months that they’ve been able to get what they needed.”

Despite the lapse in relief efforts, Aibonito was one of the towns that received expedited assistance during Hurricane Maria. According to Evelio Santiago, the director of social ministries at St. Joseph’s Parish, a church in Aibonito of the Diocese of Caguas, the town’s mayor, William Alicia Perez, first decided to empty and clear their town’s streets so that relief could reach the rural town.

Santiago added that FEMA provided his parish with vouchers to local groceries, but assistance from the international arm of Catholic Charities, Caritas Puerto Rico, was sparse. He said most of the help came from the local community, surrounding communities, as well as assistance from local organizations based in New Jersey and Chicago.

Government Assistance

In the town of Argenal, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided assistance for Amerelis Gonzalez and her family of four, including two young boys under the age of four. But FEMA decided that only the inside of her former house qualified for the monetary assistance. That’s because her house was made mostly of wood. So while her family tries to rebuild their house on concrete this time, they have been living for months out of a couple suitcases surrounded by the bricks of concrete that is yet to be covered by a roof. Amerelis said she is still thankful that her family is safe and together.

For one retired couple that grew up in the Diocese of Brooklyn but now live in Aibonito’s Rabanal semi-urban community, they said they celebrate the July 4 holiday when they are in the mainland, but not necessarily when on the island.

Whether it was the army soldiers who visited her community by helicopter and dropped boxes of bottled water to a nearby park, or FEMA who offered a loan to help offset the hurricane’s damage to their home that they couldn’t see for months because of the island’s condition, Maria said the U.S. helped the island and continues to help the people of Puerto Rico.

“God is good,” said the former Our Lady of Mercy- Our Lady of the Presentation, Brownsville, parishioner. Inside the couple’s home is a picture that lights up and displays the Twin Towers. Nearly two years ago, their home was filled with mold because of the devastation. They said what while they learned a huge lesson after the natural disaster, that their faith has carried them through.

“We were so scared, but the third day my husband came with my son and saw the house. And when they got back, I started to cry, because they said the house was still standing. It was such a blessing.”

Flavor of the Fourth

In the evening, the diocesan ambassadors and their co-partners in the mission trip, the parishioners from St. Joseph parish, gathered for a fusion celebration of the American holiday: hamburgers were served alongside plates of arroz con pollo and plantains, or rice and beans. The concrete dance floor transformed into the hub where salsa music played in between line dances like the “Cha-Cha” slide. Regardless of language differences or cultural backgrounds, whether their home was Brooklyn or the local barrio, they danced together to the boom-bap of the drums and the blurred words, English and Spanish alike.

With Miracle Confirmed in Sheen Cause, Plans for Beatification Can Begin

By Jennifer Willems

PEORIA, Ill. (Catholic News Service) — With “overwhelming joy,” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria announced July 6 that Pope Francis had approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

“Now that the miracle has been confirmed by Pope Francis, the Diocese of Peoria can formally begin planning for the beatification of Archbishop Sheen, which will take place in Peoria,” according to a news release issued by the Diocese of Peoria early Saturday morning.

The pope authorized the Congregation for Saints’ Causes to promulgate the decree at an audience on July 5. In addition to affirming the miracle for Archbishop Sheen, Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of one woman and six men, and enrolled Blessed Bartholomew of the Martyrs in the catalog of saints, which is equivalent to canonization.

The miracle concerns the healing of James Fulton Engstrom of Washington, Illinois, who was considered stillborn when he was delivered during a planned home birth Sept. 16, 2010. His parents, Bonnie and Travis Engstrom, immediately invoked the prayers of Archbishop Sheen and would encourage others to seek his intercession after the baby was taken to OSF HealthCare St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria for emergency treatment.

Just as doctors were preparing to declare that he was dead, James Fulton’s tiny heart started to beat at a normal rate for a healthy newborn. He had been without a pulse for 61 minutes.

Archbishop Sheen is pictured in an undated photo. (Photo: Catholic News Service)

Despite dire prognoses for his future, including that he would probably be blind and never walk, talk or be able to feed himself, the child has thrived. Now a healthy 8-year-old, he likes chicken nuggets, “Star Wars” and riding his bicycle.

“It is truly amazing how God continues to work miracles,” Bishop Jenky said in the statement released by the Diocese of Peoria. “I am so grateful that the Vatican acted so quickly after last week’s transfer of Sheen’s remains from New York to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.”

Archbishop Sheen had been placed in a crypt below the main altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York after his death Dec. 9, 1979. After protracted legal proceedings, his remains were brought to Peoria June 27 at the request of his niece, Joan Sheen Cunningham, and now rest in a new marble tomb in the Peoria cathedral.

In a recent interview with The Catholic Post, Peoria’s diocesan newspaper, Bonnie Engstrom said God had allowed the miracle to happen for his honor and glory.

“I really don’t think it was given to us, for us,” she said. “I think it was given to the church, for the church.”

Although the date of beatification is not known at this time, Bishop Jenky “hopes and prays” that it will be announced soon. The statement said he continues to be hopeful that it will take place during the 100th anniversary year of Archbishop Sheen’s ordination to the priesthood.

The El Paso, Illinois, native was ordained Sept. 20, 1919, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria, and would go on to teach at The Catholic University of America in Washington and lead the Society of the Propagation of the Faith. Perhaps he is best remembered for his popular television show, “Life Is Worth Living.”

He died in 1979 at age 84. His sainthood cause was officially opened in 2003. The church declared his heroic virtues and he was given the title “Venerable” in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. In general, two miracles must be accepted by the church as having occurred through the intercession of a prospective saint, one before beatification and the other before canonization.

News about the beatification and the life of Archbishop Sheen can be found at CelebrateSheen.com.

Torrential Rains, Flash Floods Hit Washington D.C.

Currents News Staff

Roads turned to rivers, sidewalks to shores, and parking lots to lakes as the Washington, D.C. metro area was pummeled with heavy rain on the morning of July 8 during rush hour. 

Several vehicles were stranded by as much as three feet of water in some areas.

A flash flood warning remains in effect until Monday afternoon as torrential rains hit the Washington D.C. area. 

“It’s just opened up on me, so I knew there was no chance,” said Josh Richards, who turned his car around after encountering flood waters.

“But hey, you got an appointment, you got to keep it. So this is me trying to get there and seeing cars literally under water. So this is just insane,” he said.

Some spots received more than three inches of rain in one hour, sparking a flash flood emergency.

“When I saw the water was reaching my headlights I thought ‘no, no, no, get out of this,’” Richards said. 

According to the National Weather Service, more than a dozen high water rescues have been reported.

First responders and good samaritans alike have helped drivers caught in rapidly rising waters during rush hour.

“There’s always the risk when you are trying to ford the river or any sort of standing water,” explained Mike, who helped pull a car out of flood waters.

“Around here, I figured I know the landscape pretty well. I know how deep the roads are. you can see some certain points, like half way up a fire hydrant might only be a couple feet deep,” he said. 

“You can kind of use some sort of inferences to know how deep it is, but it’s always a risk.”

As of Monday afternoon, Monday has suspended train service south of the nation’s capital, and as the extremely heavy rain continued to fall, emergency responders begged drivers to stay off the roads.

On Lampedusa Anniversary, Pope Prays for Suffering Migrants

By Elise Harris

ROME – At a time when the immigration issue is becoming more contentious across the globe – especially in Europe – Pope Francis offered a Mass on Monday commemorating his visit to Lampedusa six years ago, praying for all migrants who have either died or been abused along their route.

“On this sixth anniversary of the visit to Lampedusa, my thoughts go out to those ‘least ones’ who daily cry out to the Lord, asking to be freed from the evils that afflict them,” the pope said during his July 8 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“These least ones are abandoned and cheated into dying in the desert; these least ones are tortured, abused and violated in detention camps; these least ones face the waves of an unforgiving sea; these least ones are left in reception camps too long for them to be called temporary,” he said, stressing that they are only a small number “of the least ones who Jesus asks us to love and raise up.”

The Italian island of Lampedusa, the southernmost point of Italy, is a key destination for migrants, mostly from Libya, wishing to enter Europe. Francis visited the island in 2013 to commemorate the thousands of people who had lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean, often in flimsy, overcrowded boats.

Since then, immigration has emerged as one of the most explosive issues in European politics, with many EU countries now led by populist leaders pushing a hardline anti-immigrant stance.

This is especially the case in the pope’s own backyard, where Lampedusa itself has in many ways become the front line of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s attempts to crack down on illegal immigration into the country.

In his homily on Monday, the pope pointed to the day’s first reading from Genesis, in which Jacob, while traveling from Beersheba to Haran, has a dream in which he sees a ladder with angels ascending and descending, representing Christ’s incarnation and the connection between human and divine.

Calling the ladder in Jacob’s dream the “antithesis of the Tower of Babel,” which was built by men who with their own strength wanted to reach heaven and become gods, Francis said that Jacob’s ladder is an image of “God who comes down; it is the Lord who reveals himself; it is God who saves.”

He also spoke about the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew, in which Jesus, while rushing to attend to the sick daughter of one of the city’s authorities, is touched by a woman with a hemorrhage who sought healing.

“Jesus makes no distinctions: Liberation is generously given to each of them. Their longing places both the woman and the girl among the ‘least’ who are to be loved and raised up,” the pope said, noting how Jesus constantly revealed to his disciples “the need for a preferential option for the least, those who must be given the front row in the exercise of charity.”

Noting how migrants today frequently fall into the category of “the least,” the pope lamented that the “existential peripheries” of many large cities are filled with people who have been “thrown away, marginalized, oppressed, discriminated against, abused, exploited, abandoned, poor and suffering.”

Pointing to the Beatitudes, Francis said they are a call for each Christian to comfort the poor and afflicted, offering them mercy and quenching their hunger and thirst while showing them the way to heaven.

“They are persons; these are not mere social or migrant issues,” he said, stressing that “this is not just about migrants,” but it is a human issue and a call to attend to “all those rejected by today’s globalized society.”

Returning to the image of Jacob’s ladder, the pope said the connection between heaven and earth is both guaranteed and accessible to all, but to climb it “requires commitment, effort and grace.”

“The weakest and most vulnerable must be helped,” he said, urging faithful to be like the angels in Jacob’s dream, guiding the poor, sick and excluded under their wings.

“This is a tremendous responsibility, from which no one is exempt if we wish to fulfill the mission of salvation and liberation in which the Lord himself has called us to cooperate,” he said, and thanked all those working to assist and integrate foreigners.

Homeless

Joe Estevez explores why the homelessness situation in Los Angeles has reached critical mass and discusses possible solutions with several local experts.

Currents News for Wednesday, July 3, 2019

On the newscast: 9/11 hero Luis Alvarez is honored at a funeral mass in a Queens church. He fought for many other brave men and women; A top Catholic leader is warning Christianity is on the verge of extinction in his homeland of Iraq, part of a look back at special religious freedom week coverage; A brave nun, in her own words, also speaks out on the fight against persecution; Plus, everyday heroes out to change the world.

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.

9/11 Death Toll Continues to Rise as First Responders Battle Illnesses

By Tim Harfmann

The toxic cloud and deadly dust of September 11, 2001, still impacts first responders today.

More and more heroes are being laid to rest after years of suffering from post-9/11 illnesses.

Father Brian Jordan, a Manhattan priest and first responder himself, said the worst is yet to come.

“Within the next five years it’s predicted, and I believe it’s going to be an accurate prediction: more people have died from toxins due to exposure at 9/11 than those who died the actual day,” said Father Jordan.

Since the 2001 attack, about 10,000 first responders and victims have been diagnosed with cancer, and at least 2,000 deaths are attributed to 9/11-related illnesses. The risk of some cancers among first responders is 30 percent higher than the general population.

“It’s very sad to see them sort of deteriorate gradually throughout the years, and it’s very painful,” said Father Jordan, who has presided over at least 20 funerals so far.

Father Jordan spent nine months in Lower Manhattan, consoling first responders and their families. He said to his knowledge, he hasn’t been affected by the toxins.

“To be honest with you, I’m a little bit surprised that I haven’t. Many others have, and I guess I was spared,” said

Others, like John Feal, haven’t been so lucky. He’s one of many first responders who appeared before Congress, fighting to get funding for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

“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 Feal.

“We’re all the people of God, and we’re all fragile, all vulnerable and realize that we’re human beings. We’re not robots or machines and the idea of care and concern, showing charity and love to them, will make all the difference in the world for those who are suffering at the present time,” said Father Jordan.

9/11 First Responder Luis Alvarez Laid to Rest

By Allyson Escobar and Emily Drooby

A Queens hometown hero was laid to rest today.

The funeral Mass for Luis Alvarez was held on Wednesday, July 3 at Immaculate Conception parish in Astoria, Queens. Alvarez was one of many New York police detectives and first responders to the terror attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The 53-year-old Alvarez died on Saturday, June 29, after a three-year battle with colon cancer, which is reportedly linked to the three months he spent working at Ground Zero.

Hundreds of service members in uniform came to the emotional procession outside of the Astoria church, followed by an emotional funeral Mass of the Resurrection, celebrated by Msgr. Fernando Ferrarese,pastor of Immaculate Conception. The homilist was Father John P. Harrington.

Alvarez’s father served as a deacon at the parish for many years.

At the funeral Mass the Gospel reading came from the Book of Matthew, echoing the heart of service Luis had: ‘Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

“We are asked in faith, dear brothers and sisters, to do something very simple…you saw him give testimony. You may have captured a sense of his dedication to the call, the body of the Marines and the police department, sustained by his loving family all through the years,” said Father Harrington in his homily.

“It’s the word of thanks for all the good that has been received through our brother, Luis. As we come to that respect, to the dignity of each person. This is the faith is the way we join ourselves to Christ.”

Alvarez appeared before Congress in June, alongside other first responders and servicemen pushing for the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund, a federally funded program that compensates victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Congress last authorized funding for the program in 2015 for use until 2020, but that money is running out.

Under the current bill which cleared before the House Judiciary on June 12, Congress would approve an unspecified amount of funding for the program until 2090. The bill now awaits a vote before the full House of Representatives. If passed by the House, the bill would then go to the U.S. Senate and eventually to President Trump.In his testimony, Alvarez said, “I should not be here today but you made me come. You made me come because I will not stand by and watch my friends with cancer from 9/11 like me are valued less than anyone else is because of when they get sick or die.”

According to Dr. Michael Crane at Mt. Sinai Hospital, 10,000 first responders and victims have been diagnosed with cancer related to Sept. 11. At least 2,000 deaths are also attributed with 9/11 illnesses and disease.

“We pray that Congress and Senate heard his message and that he will have died a happy man for his efforts for the World Trade Center Fund, for the Victim Compensation Fund,” Luis’s brother Phillip Alvarez said at a news conference, “I will guarantee that if we need to go down there again, I will go down there again.”

“Despite 69 rounds of chemo, he continued to fight and continued to use what voice he could to get his message across,” said David Alvarez, Luis’s son.

Remembering NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez 

Alvarez was born in 1965 in Cuba. His family immigrated to New York, where he grew up and attended school in the Immaculate Conception parish community.

Alvarez graduated from Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School in Elmhurst, and later studied at the City University of New York. Soon after graduating, he enrolled in the U.S. Marine Corps and later joined the NYPD in 1990, serving the 108th Precinct in Long Island City.

His service included volunteering in the bomb squad and working as an undercover detective for both the NYPD and the Department of Homeland Security. He later retired in 2010 due to illnesses.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, “The city can never repay its debt to Detective Lou Alvarez. It will be my honor to award him with a posthumous Key to the City as a symbol of our profound respect and gratitude for his service and sacrifice.”

Alvarez had asked his pastor Msgr. Ferrarese that, at his funeral, the public remember the victims of 9/11, as well as all fallen police officers and service members.

Alvarez is survived by his wife, Lainie, and 3 sons; David, Tyler and Benjamin.