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.

First Graduating Class Attends Catholic School’s Last Graduation

By Emily Drooby

Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Academy’s class of 2019 took their first steps towards the future as a special group of people watched: members of the very first class to ever graduate from the school.

Paula Whitney was part of that first graduation. “I graduated on June 27th 1954,” she recalled.

Sixty-five years later, Whitney and some of her 90 classmates were back in Mary Queen of Heaven’s pews. This time, to cheer on the school’s last class.

The Catholic academy is officially closing this summer, a decision made because of declining enrollment and severe budget deficits. The academy has seen a 60 percent decline in attendance over just a five-year period.

Alumni are sad to see the school close.

They’ve met up almost every year since graduation, a tradition started by their beloved former teacher, Sister Mary Jane. Over the years they’ve enjoyed bonds first established through their Catholic education.

“They gave us such a basis…and it’s the spirit of Mary Queen of Heaven that is entwined between all of us that brings us back here all the time,” Whitney explained.

They held this year’s reunion before and during the last graduation. Tina Moore, who is also part of the school’s first graduating class, explained they did that to show the students the support the alumni network provides and will continue to provide them.

“We’re still behind them and encouraging them,” Moore said

Students like valedictorian Tracey Thompson were thankful for the visit. “Excited, honored, happy, those are the three emotions I could really use right now,” she said.

“They really love the parish and so they’ve come back to celebrate with them, it’s a very sad time but at the same time it’s great to know that we have had that kind of effect on people’s lives,” said pastor Father Leach. He added that a Catholic education stays with students.

The visit proved that while this is the last class to graduate, the love, support and faith fostered by Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Academy will always remain.

Migrant Children Removed From Border Station Returned to Facility

Currents News Staff

It’s been a back and forth day for more than 100 migrant children in Texas, reported to be taken away from and then returned to a border facility.

Independent monitors had called the conditions for migrant children inside a border station in Clint, Texas, “unconscionable.”

“There is no soap, there is no diapers. Above all else, there is no human decency,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

A facility official said in a June 25 call with reporters that there is soap and water available, but another official said they’re not set up for a crush of migrants and unaccompanied children.

The political back and forth on the issue continues in Washington, as on Capitol Hill Democrats echo a call for change.

“It’s about lifting them up in a way that takes them beyond what we do today,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

She is trying to get enough support for a multibillion dollar border funding package by the month’s end, but is up against Republicans questioning her push for a House bill instead of a Senate plan.

“She’s waited 56 days to run out the clock. This is not a time to play politics,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

House Democrats also disagree on the bill. Some said it doesn’t do enough to protect migrants, and that it’s more money for an already broken system.

On June 24 the Trump administration warned it may veto any bill which passes, partly because there’s not enough money for immigration and customs enforcement detention beds.

Meanwhile, a Customs and Border Protection official acknowledged to reporters that children should not be held this long in C.B.P custody.

Santa Fe Bus Crash Takes Lives of Seminarian and Catholic Youth

Currents News Staff

On June 23, Jason Marshall along with 14 others, including high school students, were returning to New Mexico after a Catholic youth conference in Denver.

Around 2:30 pm the charter bus crashed, killing two and sending several others to the hospital, among them Marshall, a seminarian aspiring to the priesthood.

More than 24 hours later, the cause of the wreck is still unclear.

Tom Gallegos, Jason’s roommate and a member of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, heard from his friend just moments before tragedy hit.

“21 minutes before the crash, he said, ‘We had a wonderful retreat. It was an awesome retreat, powerful.’ and I go ‘wow,’ That was the last time I heard from him textwise,” said Gallegos.

As soon as he saw the pictures of the aftermath, Gallegos said he immediately knew what happened. “I go, ‘I bet you anything Jason went up there to help.’ And if he was up front and that vehicle crashed the way it did, ‘cause I saw the pictures. I go, ‘he’s the other victim.’”

“I’m sad but I’m actually happy too. I’m happy that he’s with our Lord,” he said.

Marshall’s church, the University of New Mexico Aquinas Newman Center, will hold a special Mass on the evening of June 26 to pray for the victims.

‘We Are All Christians’: Aid for Iraq’s Persecuted Faithful

Currents News Staff

Since the United States-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Christian community there has dwindled from 1.5 million to less than 120,000.

Despite the fact that the Islamic State terror group has been defeated in the country, the Archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda, believes there is still a fear stopping Christians from coming home.

Speaking to British Catholic leaders on the topic of Iraqi Christian persecution, he challenged them, asking if they would ever carry signs that say ‘We are all Christians.’

One woman has personally witnessed the persecution of Christians, Zina Kiryakos.

Kiryakos is a Chaldean Catholic. Born in Baghdad, she is now living in Troy, Michigan and is the President of the Iraqi Christian Foundation, an organization that provides aid and advocates for Iraqi and Syrian Christians.

She joins us from Troy to discuss her personal experience and share how people at home can help these persecuted Christians.

Currents News for Monday, June 24, 2019

On the newscast: Hundreds of undocumented immigrants celebrating their faith in Woodside despite threats of deportations; The Governor of New York’s big trip… after a recent wave of anti-semitic attacks; It was supposed to be the first friendly soccer game for the new Vatican’s women’s team. But it didn’t happen; Answers to last week’s massive church fire: Why it started and where the small Rosedale community goes next.

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.

Religious Freedom Week 2019: Preserving the Faith for All

Currents News Staff

This week is Religious Freedom Week in the U.S., and the event comes at an especially threatening time.

Nationally, the U.S. Church is currently facing one of the most serious potential violations of religious freedom in its history, and around the world, anti-Christian hostility is staggering.

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz is the Chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty.

He joins us now from his archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky to discuss the state of religious freedom in the states, as well as what can we do at home to help Christians overseas.