Amidst Deportation Fear, Immigrant Faithful Unite on Corpus Christi

By Tim Harfmann

Solidarity could be felt in an immigrant, Queens community as undocumented migrants fear deportation.

“There is a feeling and a sense of refuge,” said Emily Alexa Acosta, who showed strong support for her neighbors.

Acosta was one of nearly 1,000 Catholics from Saint Sebastian Church processing through their Woodside neighborhood with the Eucharist on Sunday, June 23.

It was the feast of Christ’s Body and Blood — Corpus Christi.

Acosta is the daughter of Colombian immigrants and said the gathering showed that the community is stronger together.

“You really do get unified. It does bleed into all aspects of your life, especially right now where there’s a lot of division in the country,” said Acosta.

The procession came after President Trump delayed plans for nationwide raids to deport undocumented families. But, there’s still concerns for the future.

Blanca Tenpaguay, an immigrant from Ecuador, said they’re not losing hope.

“They trust in God. God protects us.”

Father Kevin Abels, pastor of Saint Sebastian, said the Church protects immigrants.

“I think a lot of people are cautious, and they’re looking behind their back; but we just have to protect them and assure them that when you come to Church, we provide a safe haven for worship and the praise of God,” said Fr. Abels, who celebrated Mass in that safe haven before the procession.

Leading worshippers through the streets, Fr. Abels stopped along the route to pray at makeshift altars. “We are all united together, and as I mentioned in the homily, we can always agree to disagree, but we are still united,” he said.

“I come because God loves me, and God is love. God gave that life for me and for everybody,” said Tenpaguay.

Now, they’re united as one Church to show their love for Christ during these times.

Trump to Postpone Raid on Undocumented Immigrants

Currents News Staff

On June 22, President Trump said he was putting a series of announced raids on undocumented immigrants on hold for two weeks, giving Congress a chance to “get together and work out a solution.”

Trump says Congress has two weeks to come up with a solution to illegal immigration, and to stem the influx of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border

This also comes as his administration is receiving criticism for reports of major problems at several customs and border protection facilities in Texas.

“I want to give the democrats every last chance to quickly negotiate simple changes to asylum and loopholes…probably won’t happen, but worth a try. Two weeks and big deportation begins!,” he wrote in a tweet.

But after a new report showing major health and hygiene problems at several U.S. customs and border protection facilities, including a lack of beds and soap for children, the administration says Congress hasn’t provided funding to properly care for the number of migrants in custody.

“We are on track this year to have more than a million people come into our country illegally. We continue to Call on Congress to give the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection additional resources at the border,” said Vice-President Mike Pence.

“It’s outside the circle of civilized human behavior, to just be kicking down doors, splitting up families, and the rest of that, in addition to the injustices that are happening at the border,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who decried the proposed raids.

She also indicated that the House would move on legislation. However, Congress leaves for a July Fourth recess at the end of this week, leaving little time for negotiation.

“I think at this point we’re kind of in a crisis situation, and sometimes out of that, hopefully produces some meaningful conversations,” said Democratic Congressional Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi.

St. John the Baptist Church Celebrates 150 Years of Service

Currents News Staff

One of the oldest churches in the diocese is still going strong as it celebrates 150 years of serving their Williamsburg community.

St. John the Baptist Church marked a milestone anniversary on Sunday June 23, with a Mass in English and Spanish by Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.

Bishop DiMarzio explained the deep roots the church has for the Brooklyn Diocese.

“This is a very interesting parish. This is the first place where we established the seminary and St. John’s University was first established here,” he explained.

“So this is a mission of the Vincentian Fathers who came to the diocese just a few years after the diocese was established.”

Vatican Releases Global Report on Effects of Cyberbullying

Currents News Staff

Bullying and cyberbullying are an increasing phenomena, with serious consequences for children’s emotional health and educational development.

To present this issue with real data, the pontifical foundation Scholas Occurrentes released the first Global Report on Cyberbullying.

Pope Francis sponsored the study with a message declaring war on cyberbullying.

“The emptiness of the aggressor’s own identity is apparent. There is a need for them to attack in order to feel like a person,” he said.

According to Scholas, boys are more likely than girls to be bullied on the Internet. For girls, the effects of bullying are stronger, such as a loss of confidence, stress, and difficulty sleeping.

Arturo was the victim of serious assault by a gang of teenagers he did not know at all.

Now that he has recovered, he told his story, and said that insults on the internet may be even worse.

“It can be said that cyberbullying is more despicable and may be even worse than bullying itself. With bullying, you have your persecutors right in front of you. With cyberbullying, not only are they unseen, you also have to confront an invisible audience,” he said.

For months, the Scholas Papal Foundation has been proposing new steps to combat the issue of bullying.

“Our idea is gathering young people from all over the world and say to them: You are sometimes the victims – we always talk about the victims – you are also the bully, but you are also the public,” said José María Del Corral, President of Scholas Occurentes.

“Well, we are not going to study to see what we do with you, but you are the ones who are going to implement a different policy, and we the adults are going to discover our responsibility.”

For 24 hours, Scholas brought together young people and experts from around the world in a large virtual gathering to showcase useful initiatives against bullying and how to detect it.

Queens Church Moving Forward After Devastating Fire

By Emily Drooby

Parishioners of St. Pius X did what they always do Sunday morning, attend church. However, this week something was very different, they couldn’t use their church.

Exactly one week ago the house of worship went up in flames. Video taken inside the church just one day after the blaze shows the devastation, twisted windows, burnt books, melted candles.

The Pastor, Father Jean-Miguel Auguste says, almost everything was destroyed.

He explained, “The books, the tabernacle, everything, we keep everything in the Sacristy.”

It could be weeks before they know if the building can be saved or if it has to be rebuilt but nearly everything inside the church was reduced to ashes.

Despite the devastation, the people of St. Pius X are determined their faith community will live on. To ensure that happened, they moved their weekend masses to the school across the street and borrowed essential items needed for celebrating mass, like a chalice, from other local parishes.

“We’re determined to stay together,” said Kathleen McCabe, a member of the church’s Parish Council. McCabe proud to see her church coming together to overcome what happened.

She said, “I think it shows that it doesn’t matter what the building is that you’re attending, it’s the heart of the community, the people. What we always say is, ‘God is the Church, is the people’ and it just proves that we have always been that.”

Many of the St. Pius X faithful were worried the fire would prevent people from celebrating their faith, but it didn’t. Mass was attended by many, a site which inspired parishioner Fiano Jackman.

Jackman explained,”It proves to me that God is there. God is with us because people are coming out so it shows that they have their faith and we all believe and we are holding strong, we are taking our strength from him.”

The determination of the parish proving that church is so much more than just a building.

Currents News for Friday, June 21, 2019

On the newscast: Iran is showing off the missiles it says brought down a U.S. drone while President Trump is explaining why he stopped the clock on retaliation; The streets of Hong Kong packed again in protest as the top cardinal there speaks out; Word that ICE raids are about to begin with 2,000 families targeted for arrest and deportation; And in Brazil, an unexpected visitor in the sanctuary during mass.

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.

HOPE in Queens: Feeding New York’s Undocumented Laborers

By Tamara Laine

At nearly 78 years old, Deacon Art Griffin has dedicated over 20 years to helping homeless men and women and now migrant day laborers. Deacon Art is the founder of Project HOPE, which stands for Help Our People Eat, and that is exactly what they do.

Every Tuesday he greets them with a smile and a brown-bagged lunch.

“I’ve been doing work with the homeless since 1995,” he explained.

“Take the average of 40 a week for 50 weeks, and you do it for 10 years, that is 20,000 at least,” the number of sandwiches Deacon Art estimates he’s handed out since he started offering lunches.

Currents News joined Deacon Art for a ride along to see the impact firsthand, gathering at Transfiguration Church in Queens before loading up his car and hitting the streets.

With an estimated 62,000 homeless and 10,000 undocumented day laborers in New York City, just a look out the car window highlights the crises this humble organization faces.

“Now I see familiar faces,” said Frank Griebel, one of a handful of volunteers that make Project Hope possible. He has been by Deacon Art’s side since Project Hope’s inception 11 years ago.

The program is an offshoot of a previous outreach program founded by Deacon Art, which was defunded by the city in 2007.

“We used to get people with heroin, and addicts and take them to hospitals,” Deacon Art recalled.

“We don’t really get that now. We get what you see now, the feeding and the conversations, and if they need any help, we try to help.”

Just a short drive away, in the basement of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Frank’s wife, Maureen and four others gather every Monday. They bake bread together, preparing the sandwiches for delivery.

“It depends on the weather,” said Frank of what they bring to those in need. “For example, it is summertime so we bring water. In the wintertime, we take out soup.”

“It feels good to help someone,” said Frank’s wife Maureen. They pack each bag with care, hoping it has an impact.

On the street, Deacon Art hands out sandwich after sandwich to thankful hands. And though his mission hasn’t changed, the people he serves has. The majority are now undocumented day laborers.

Manuel, who asked that we not use his last name, waits on this corner near Queens Boulevard every day for work.

“Very difficult for the chance to find a job,” he explained.

“When there is no work, sometimes we go days, hungry, hungry, hungry…”

He came to America to escape Ecuador’s failing economy and violence, and like so many others, in search of a better life.

Manny Castro, Executive Director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, said that the organization has seen an increase in day laborers because of the city’s construction boom and sanctuary city status.

“There is a lot of fear and concern amongst the immigrant community about what is coming next, what they might experience at their work site. There is an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment,” he said.

Coming from the diocese of immigrants, Deacon Art helps everyone, no matter when they arrived in the country. This is a service that a service that one worker, who asked to be called John, says is indispensable when work dries up.

“They have been offering their services to us for years, and I respect that so much,” he said. “We don’t get work and we don’t have cash or anything, so they are really helpful.”

Here, the need is never ending.

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

Trump Calls Off Retaliation Strike on Iran at Last Minute

Currents News Staff

On June 21, President Trump said he called off what was supposed to be a retaliatory strike for Iran’s downing of a U.S. unmanned drone, with just 10 minutes to go. This comes as relations between the U.S. and Tehran have become increasingly strained in recent weeks.

That day members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard released video of debris, claiming it is from the U.S. drone that was shot down on June 20.

“I thought about it for a second and I said, ‘you know what, they shot down an unmanned drone, plane, whatever you want to call it, and here we are sitting with a 150 dead people. I didn’t think it was proportionate,” said President Trump, explaining why he called off the strike already in motion.

“Unfortunately, we’re heading toward a confrontation which is very serious for everybody in the region,” said Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the U.K.

Earlier this week, Iran announced it would ramp up enrichment of low-grade uranium and stockpile more of the material than is allowed under the Nuclear Deal.

Last week, the U.S. said it had video evidence that Iran attacked two tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

“It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Oman,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Iran denied responsibility for the tanker incidents, but called the drone incident a warning message to the United States.

“Even if there’s no strikes in the near future, you could see the Iranians trying to provoke Trump again in the days ahead,” said Global Affairs Analyst David Rohde.

Experts say to expect more of those “warnings” to come.

Pope to Naples Theologians: Do Not be Indifferent Towards Adversity

Pope Francis traveled to Naples to participate in a conference on the teaching of theology in Catholic universities.

Throughout the morning of June 21 he heard several lectures on how theology can help to promote dialogue to reduce tensions between the different peoples and religions of the Mediterranean.

Later that morning, Pope Francis spoke on how the renewal of the study of theology can help society become a meeting place for the acceptance and coexistence of different cultures.

“I dream of theological departments where there exists the conviviality of differences, where a theology of dialogue and acceptance is practiced, where one is exposed to the multi-faceted model of theological knowledge in place of a static and disembodied sphere,” Pope Francis said.

“A place where theological research is capable of promoting a difficult but exciting process of enculturation,” he continued, also calling for an increase in dialogue and collaboration between theological disciplines, but also with other religions.

He expressed that Catholic theologians should also study Judaism and Islam. In addition, he mentioned that theologians should not be indifferent to the adversities faced by humanity.

“Without communion and without compassion constantly nourished by prayer – this is important, for one can only do theology on one’s knees – theology loses not only its soul, but also its intelligence and its ability to interpret reality in a Christian way,” the pontiff said.

Pope Francis also defended theological freedom in universities: “Without the opportunity to experience new paths, nothing new can be built and no space is left for new inspirations by the Holy Spirit.”

“Among scholars, onward with academic freedom. Ultimately, the Magisterium will have the final word. But you cannot do theology without this freedom.” he explained.

“While preaching to the People of God, please do not harm the faith of God’s people with questions under dispute. Your duty is to handle these disputed questions with other theologians. But for the people of God, your duty is to deliver substance that nourishes their faith, that does not make the faith relative.”

Before leaving, Pope Francis gave them a blessing.

The Cardinal of Naples then bid his goodbyes, saying, “Holy Father, thank you, and may Our Lady accompany you,” in the Neapolitan dialect.

Pope Francis’s third visit to Naples for the conference and lasted only a few hours, after which he immediately returned to Rome.

Currents News for Thursday, June 20, 2019

On the newscast: An Iranian missile has shot-down a U.S. drone in the Middle East. President Trump is promising a response; A big breakthrough in New York for the people who help put food on your table. Catholics are applauding; A human trafficking victim’s transformed life into a mission of hope and happiness; Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is recognizing the women and men of the Brooklyn Diocese who are making a difference.

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.