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Currents News for Friday, May 24, 2019

On the newscast: With tears in her eyes, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has resigned. But who will replace her? And what does it mean for the future of America’s closest ally; Did you get a text from the Bishop of Brooklyn? A warning: it’s not him – it’s an unholy scam; The President may have a Catholic problem – one that could cost him the office; And young survivors making strides against a deadly disease. Walking together, they’re bigger than cancer.

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The Road To Priesthood In The Brooklyn Diocese: Pedro Angucho’s Story

By Katie Engesser

Deacon Pedro Angucho’s road to the priesthood was filled with doubts, but as he prepares for his ordination he feels the people from the Brooklyn Diocese have given him confidence to fulfill his vocation.

“I see the presence of God in the people, so that people made me to think ‘yeah, you are going the right way,’” Deacon Pedro said.

His way to God and the priesthood began in Columbia. Though Deacon Pedro is from a small city called La Plata, his family is large. He has ten siblings, and it was one of his brothers who first planted the seed that led to his vocation.

“One of my older brothers, he told me, ‘you should be the priest of the family,’ and he put the idea in my mind,” Deacon Pedro recalled.

Since he was just a kid at the time, he thought nothing more of it until he entered high school and a Monsignor from his parish posed a similar question.

“He asked me, ‘are you a seminarian?,’ and I say ‘no, I’m not,” Deacon Pedro remember, “And once again he says, ‘you look like a seminarian no?’ ‘But I’m not.’ And then he told me, ‘but you’ve been thinking about it.’”

The truth was that Deacon Pedro was thinking about the priesthood, and at the urging of that Monsignor he decided to give the seminary a try. But doubt started to creep in, and he wondered if this really was the path God wanted him to follow. After a year, Deacon Pedro left his studies.

“I was afraid, you know?” Deacon Pedro explained.

For years Deacon Pedro went back and forth with his choice, struggling to answer God’s call but fearing that it wasn’t his true vocation. Then a priest from the Archdiocese of New York invited Deacon Pedro to study in America. He asked his Vocation Director what he should do. His answer was a quote by a popular pope and saint: “‘Do not be afraid,’ like John Paul II always said,” Deacon Pedro explained.

And so Deacon Pedro came to study in America, reconnecting with God and falling in love the Brooklyn Diocese. “Everybody was very kind,” he said of the priests and parishioners.

Now, Deacon Pedro is ready to give back to the community that helped him back on the road to the priesthood, and is looking forward to becoming a spiritual father to the people of the Brooklyn Diocese.

“The day that I get to say my first Mass and put my hands like that- that’s the most exciting to me.”

Phone Scammer Strikes Again, This Time Posing As Brooklyn’s Bishop

By Emily Drooby

John Quaglione, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Deputy Press Secretary, got what looked like a text message from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio asking for a favor.

“I cautiously responded and asked, ‘how can I help?,’” Quaglione said.

With the knowledge that someone had already tried scamming Catholics in the Diocese, he was on high alert.

According to Quaglione, the texts asked “for 300 dollars worth of gift cards in 100 dollar denominations for a person suffering from cancer in a hospital, and they go on further in the message to ask me to pray for the person.”

That text, and others, are all fake.

Currents News first reported on the scam two weeks ago, when at least one person was swindling thousands of dollars from the faithful by posing as local pastors.

Now the con artist is upping the ante by posing as Brooklyn’s beloved Bishop.

“Very unfortunate,” said Bishop DiMarzio of the incident. “You feel terrible that people are harassed like this, and some might even believe it. It’s very much a shame.”

At least six churches have been targeted, including Saint Rose of Lima in Rockaway Queens, Saint Helen in Howard Beach, Incarnation Church in Queens Village, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in South Ozone Park, Saint Clare in Rosedale, and Saint Fortunata in East New York.

John Heyer is the Director of the Annual Catholic Appeal, a campaign conducted in every parish of Brooklyn and Queens, where people donate money. He said parishioners should be aware that this kind of text is unusual.

“We don’t send out texts and ask you to then donate things like gift cards,” he warned.

Heyer also explained that parishioners would only receive a text if they sent one first, signing up for an annual Catholic Appeal notification.

“Then you would receive a response to the Annual Catholic Appeal donation page, where you can give your donation, which is completely secure.”

Vatican Women’s Magazine Hires New Editorial Board

Currents News Staff

After the 11-member editorial board of the publication Women Church World quit late March, a new board has been selected, which already published their first magazine in May.

Rita Pinci is the new coordinator of the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano women’s magazine, ‘Women, Church, World.’ She was selected to head a new 14-member staff as a well-known female Italian journalist. She said there is room to grow, and the sky’s the limit.

“The newspaper will be done according to our experience, according to what we think, our point of view,” said Pinci. “Also based on our ability, because probably some things we can do better, other things worse. But we won’t have any specific limits to the arguments we’ll cover.”

She also identified that one of the main advantages of this new staff is its diversity. The new board includes women who are Catholics, Muslim, Jewish, consecrated women and non-believers.

Pinci said some have children and others don’t, but one aspect they all have in common is their belief to encourage women.

“I was a feminist and I’m still one,” Pinci confirmed.

“I drew closer to this feminist movement 18 years ago when I came to Rome to study at university. I’m a feminist, but not a separatist. I think we have to work together, men and women. Because before we are classified by gender, male or female, we are people.”

Pinci said feminism has helped her confront problems, instead of being afraid of them. It has also brought to light many topics or thoughts that women have, that she would like to cover in this magazine.

“The feminine theme is also the center of debates inside the Church. This pope, the Pope is extraordinary, was the first to propose the problem of the feminine question within the Church.”

Pinci believes the problem within the Church isn’t necessarily women’s power, but rather a lack of recognizing women in their roles. That is what she hopes to do as this magazine continues the legacy that began more than seven years ago.

Using Feet To Defeat Pediatric Cancer

By Tim Harfmann

Members of the Xaverian High School community, took the disease sternly and in stride during a fundraiser on Saturday, May 18.

Thomas Guardavaccaro was diagnosed when he was eight years old. Now 14 and a freshman at the Catholic school, he described the pain cancer caused his family.

“It was a very difficult time. It put me and my family into a very negative place, but we bounced back and now everyone’s really happy,” said Thomas.

Nearly 300 people walked two miles along Brooklyn’s shoreline to raise over $20,000 for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — the place Thomas says saved his life.

“The event really means a lot to me that Xaverian, as a community, is coming together to raise money for other kids battling for their lives.”

The Catholic school also sold t-shirts, bracelets, and headphones for the cause.

Caitlin Mullin, a junior at Xaverian, was diagnosed when she was in first grade and also received treatments at Sloan Kettering. “Doctors found a tumor in my eye, so I had to go through two years of chemotherapy at Sloan Kettering. So, when I heard about this event at my school, I was actually so excited,” said Caitlin because it was an opportunity for her to share how the pediatric ward eased her suffering. “It really makes all the kids feel like they’re at home. It makes them feel so welcomed, and it makes their experience so much easier and more comfortable.”

According to the American Cancer Society, over 10,000 children are diagnosed each year — a growing number in recent decades. After accidents, cancer is the second leading cause of death in children ages one-to-fourteen.

Deacon Kevin McCormack, principal of the Bay Ridge school, said hosting the event expressed Catholic values; “It made so much sense. What we’re all about is that we build the Kingdom of God in everything that we do. Whether it’s in the classroom or the things we do personally, that’s important in what you expect from us. But we also have to give back.”

Giving back by putting one foot in front of the other and fighting for a cure.

To End Christian Persecution, We Must Preserve Religious Freedom

Currents News Staff

Bombing after bombing have been occuring around the world, just part of the most recent pattern of attacks against modern-day Christians.

This already makes 2019 the bloodiest year yet for believers.

Officials around the world agree: the persecution of Christians is nearing genocide.

Knox Thames, the U.S. Special Advisor For Religious Minorities, says religious freedom is one of the most violated liberties in the world, especially in Iraq.

In the birthplace of Christianity, the faith is facing extinction.

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.

They fear that the Islamic State will return and attack again.

“One of the oldest churches, if not the oldest church in the world, is perilously close to extinction,” Archbishop Warda said. “Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom.”

Pascal Warda, a Christian and former minister in the country echoes his concerns.

There are still members of the Islamic State in hiding.

Archbishop Warda accuses the world’s leaders of “political correctness,” saying many will not speak out for Christians for fear of being labeled Islamophobic.  

Executive President of Aid To The Church In Need International, Doctor Thomas Heine-Geldern, is an expert on issues surrounding the global persecution of Christians.

National Correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, Christopher White spoke exclusively with Doctor Thomas Heine-Geldern on the matter.

Former Navy Chaplain: Always Remember Those Who Fight For Country

By Tim Harfmann

As he turned the pages of old photo albums, Father Joseph Ceriello looked back on his time in the Navy, while still thinking of today’s sailors.

“Every day since I’ve left active duty, I think of the men and women who are still on ships that are deploying, who are training,” he said.

Father Ceriello enlisted in the Navy Reserve for two years after being ordained in 1978 and later became a chaplain — ministering to thousands of Catholics serving the United States.

“In many, many places I was the only priest,” he said, “so you’d be constantly making sure the spiritual needs of everyone were being met, but especially Catholics.”

Those needs included celebrating daily Mass, hearing confessions and just being there to listen to sailors.

“They might be homesick, they might be confused, things might not be going right, and everything is just more on the surface,” he said of how those deployed have a different emotional experience than their loved ones back home.

Father Ceriello was deployed for short stints from Norfolk, Virginia to the Mediterranean during the late 1980s. The Brooklyn priest returned home and was assigned to Saint Anselm Church, Bay Ridge.

Years later, he wanted to go back to the Navy.

“I missed that camaraderie, that type of service to young people.”

After serving in Japan in the late 1990s, Father Ceriello returned to Virginia.

He was aboard the U.S.S. George Washington on September 11. The ship was docked in Virginia and called to New York’s harbor.

“I remember all of that night that we were steaming up to New York, fighter jets were landing on the deck,” he recalled.

Father Ceriello watched as sailors answered the call in a time of need.

“It’s amazing how these young men and women are so well trained, that going into that mode of using that training just comes naturally.”

Now pastor of Queen of All Saints Church, Clinton Hill, Father Ceriello said the upcoming Memorial Day is a time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice — while honoring the sailors of today.

“Keeping those young people in mind, so that we’re not remembering them on Memorial Day but all the time, is important for all of us.”

Currents News for Thursday, May 23, 2019

The American fight over abortion is the dominant topic at a Vatican summit on the sanctity of life; Rescuers are scrambling to save more lives tonight after a violent swarm of tornadoes slams into the American Heartland; When teachers pose for high school yearbook photos, they touch off a big controversy; And girls at a Catholic high school are in an uproar when they’re told what they cannot wear.

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.