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Fire At Notre Dame Cathedral

PARIS (CNS) — A major blaze engulfed the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral April 15, sending pillars of flame and billowing smoke over the center of the French capital.

The fire erupted about 6:30 p.m. local time, and authorities said the cause was not certain but that it could be linked to renovation work that the cathedral was undergoing, the BBC reported.

Officials ordered an evacuation of the area around the 850-year-old cathedral that has withstood world wars and political turmoil throughout France’s history.

Le Monde, a Paris daily newspaper, reported that the fire erupted in the attic of the cathedral. Televised images showed the church’s iconic steeple was ablaze.

In 2018, the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Paris opened an urgent fundraising appeal to save the cathedral, which was starting to crumble.

The Associated Press reported that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said about an hour after the fire started that firefighters were attempting to contain a “terrible fire” at the cathedral. An AP reporter at the scene said the roof at the back behind the cathedral, behind the nave, was in flames and yellow-brown smoke and ash filled the sky.

City officials cordoned off the area around the Gothic-style church and urged people to evacuate the immediate surroundings.

Pope In Palm Sunday Mass: Jesus Christ’s Passion Defeats Triumphalism

Currents News Staff

As is tradition, Pope Francis commenced Holy week by celebrating Palm Sunday Mass. It is in remembrance of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His Passion.

Around 50,000 people from across the world attended this important occasion in St. Peter’s Square.

During his homily, Pope Francis reflected on how Christ’s passion overcomes triumphalism, which tries to achieve its goal by “shortcuts and false compromises.” He also condemned the temptation toward spiritual worldliness that is a great threat to the Church.

“He knows that true triumph involves making room for God and the only way to do that is by stripping oneself, by self-emptying. To remain silent, to pray, to accept humiliation. There is no negotiating with the cross: one either embraces it or rejects it. By His self-abasement, Jesus wanted to open up to us the path of faith and to precede us on that path,” said Francis.

He added that the first to follow Jesus on the path of faith and obedience to God was the Blessed Mother, Mary. He said responding with faith to the harsh and painful events of life brings with it “a particular heaviness of heart.” However, it is only from night that one sees the “dawn of the resurrection.”

The pope encouraged young people to follow this path of humility and obedience to God, that countless holy men and women have taken to be with Jesus.

“Do not be ashamed to show your enthusiasm for Jesus, to shout out that He is alive and that He is your life. Yet at the same time, do not be afraid to follow Him on the way of the cross. When you hear that He is asking you to renounce yourselves, to let yourselves be stripped of every security, and to entrust yourselves completely to our Father in heaven, then rejoice and exult! You are on the path of the kingdom of God,” added The Holy Father.

Pope Francis said the silence of Jesus and His rejection of the temptation to answer back like a “superstar” is impressive. He encouraged people to be firm in faith and imitate Christ’s meekness of silence, not putting one’s hand to the sword; but remembering that the battle is between God and the devil.

After the Mass, the pope began his Angelus by presenting everyone with rosaries made in the Holy Land for Panama’s World Youth Day. He asked them to pray for peace.

“I therefore renew my appeal to the young people and to all to pray the Rosary for peace, especially for peace in the Holy Land and in the Middle East. Now let us turn to the Blessed Mother to help us live Holy Week well,” said Francis.

He also further encouraged young people to live out daily the indications given in his recent Apostolic Exhortation “Christus Vivit.” The text is the outcome of the Youth Synod held last October.

Bishop DiMarzio Celebrates Palm Sunday at Queens Church

By Tim Harfmann

Reenacting the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, Brooklyn’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Mary Gate of Heaven Church in Ozone Park, Queens. The bishop blessed the palms and the faithful with holy water as he processed down the church’s aisle. “It’s important that we have some contact with the actual events. By making the procession, we recognize that we follow Christ. We follow Him in the beginning of the glorious time of Palm Sunday, but we follow Him through the whole week,” said Bishop DiMarzio.

The pews were packed with palm-holding parishioners assembled for the start the holiest week for Christians. During Mass, Bishop DiMarzio led the reading of the Passion of the Lord. This year, it was from Luke’s Gospel.

The parishioners of Saint Mary Gate of Heaven Church participated in the joy of Palm Sunday and also looked ahead to Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday and His Easter Resurrection — the foundation of the Catholic faith. “It’s very important to me and my family, most overall my son that’s going to be [receiving] his first Holy Communion; and teaching him about our Catholic religion, our Catholic faith, and how important God is in our lives,” said Audrey Salazar, a parishioner at the Ozone Park church. “I teach second grade, so a big part of this week… every day we speak about Palm Sunday, about each event that takes places. [I] try to make the children understand that Jesus just didn’t die on Good Friday; it didn’t end there. He rose from the dead,” said Camille Ferraro, a teacher at Saint Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic Academy.

To become ready for Easter, Catholics across the diocese and around the world will pray and reflect upon each of the monumental moments of Holy Week, leading up to next Sunday’s universal exclamation – He is Risen!

Brooklyn’s Bishop Responds to Benedict XVI’s Essay

By Emily Drooby

Bishop DiMarzio spoke about Benedict XVI after the retired pope published a major essay describing some of the root causes of the global sex abuse troubles facing the church.

Media critics have tried to twist Benedict’s words to set up a conflict between the retired Pontiff and Pope Francis.

Bishop DiMarzio insists Benedict’s writing points to the sexual revolution of the sixties and a post-Vatican II “collapse” in catholic moral theology that is part of a larger picture.

The Bishop explained, “It’s very clear what he said, that this contributed to the problem, this is why if you want to look for one of the reasons he did not say that was the whole problem and unfortunately some of the media is contradicting or at least juxtaposing his position to that of Francis and they really are not contradictory at all.”

Since his resignation in 2013, Benedict has rarely left his monastery. In his farewell address, he promised to stay “hidden” from the world. The former Pope broke his silence on major Church affairs, with the essay. He made two crucial points about the origins of the church’s problems.

First, “The matter begins with the state-prescribed and supported introduction of children and youths into the nature of sexuality….” and second, “Catholic moral theology suffered a collapse that rendered the Church defenseless against these changes in society. ”

Benedict did get Francis’s permission before publishing the 11-page essay, which shows the deep respect both share for each other.

Bishop DiMarzio explained there is no argument between them.  They are highlighting different parts of the issue. Benedict took his cue for the essay from the worldwide summit Francis organized for the protection of minors.

Bishop DiMarzio, said, “This is a complicated issue, a complicated social issue, a complicated issue in the church. You have to look at everything and think about everything this is just a thoughtful piece from theology where, that’s his forte, that he’s trying to help us understand what happened in the past.”

Bishop DiMarzio was a consultant on the acclaimed John Jay College study that found the majority of clergy abusers, 70 percent, were ordained prior to the 1970s. He links that to what Benedict has written.

Bishop DiMarzio, said, “Because he was concentrating on the moral teaching of the church and society at the same time that very same point was brought out in the John Jay study because you had to see this in context. The context was the time of the 60’s and 70’s when morality took a little bit of a dip in our country, and even the teaching of morality had some difficulties. They were not clear on certain areas.”

Bishop DiMarzio describes Benedict’s essay as a very good analysis.

Currents News for Friday, April 12, 2019

On the newscast: Brooklyn’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio speaks out about Benedict XVI’s major essay, naming some of the root causes of the global sex abuse crisis; Dramatic new details tonight about the powerful plea for peace delivered by Pope Francis; Bishop DiMarzio will be here to talk about Holy Week, that gets underway on Palm Sunday; An update on the flu season – one of the worst in a long time.

Today’s top news from the Catholic perspective anchored by Liz Faublas. Currents News airs Monday through Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on NET-TV (netny.tv)

Pope Asks South Sudanese Leaders To Keep The Peace

Currents News Staff

The retreat was an idea of the leader of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. He was also present at the retreat with the two leaders in conflict. The pope offered his house, Santa Marta, as the venue for this meeting which sought to go beyond a purely diplomatic dimension.

Without breaking with the atmosphere of recollection, Pope Francis took the floor. He recalled that the first duty of a ruler is to protect peace.

“Dear brothers and sisters, let us not forget that God has entrusted to us, as political and religious leaders, the task of being guides for His people,” said Francis.

He regretfully admitted before the politicians that those who have suffered the most from the civil war are the people. Since 2013, it has been devastating the youngest nation in the world. Therefore, he insisted that peace is still possible. To reach it, he welcomed forgiveness and overcoming differences.

The meeting ended with a prayer. Then the pope spoke off the cuff with words addressed directly to the two leaders responsible for the war.

“I ask you as a brother: keep the peace,” he said.

In an unforeseen gesture, Pope Francis approached Salva Kiir, Reik Machar and the vice presidents of the country and kissed all of their feet.

Brooklyn Diocese Celebrates Mass With ‘Heart of a Priest’

By Katie Engesser

An incorrupt heart was carried down the aisle of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Flatlands, Brooklyn Wednesday night – the relic of a saint who has inspired priests for decades.

“[He is] the priest of all priests,” said Father Dwayne Davis, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, “A priestly man with a great zeal for the love of God’s people.”

St John Vianney, who is the patron saint of priests, is making a pilgrimage throughout the United States, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

After two days of veneration in the Diocese, Brooklyn’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Auxiliary Bishops James Massa and Raymond Chappetto, retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq and dozens of priests and parishioners celebrate mass with ‘The Heart of a Priest.’

“He’s a man of great Holiness. I think that’s why God gave him that grace of an incorruptible body and heart that can go around the world still to inspire people,” said Bishop DiMarzio.

The parish priest first began spreading the word of God in nineteen century France. He was known as a great confessor and he gained a reputation for reading hearts, often spending up to 18 hours a day in the confessional. With Holy Week fast approaching, the Diocese of Brooklyn is thankful for the Priest’s presence.

“We go to the simple life of John Vianney and it reminds us that his heroic virtue was not in the budgets or the fixing of the buildings it was taking care of the souls of the people in the parish,” said Father Michael Gelfant, pastor of Saint Finbar Catholic Church.

Brooklyn’s Bishop DiMarzio added, “[We are] praising God for putting this great saint in our midst at a time when we need priestly holiness to bring the church back to where it needs to be.”

Currents News for Thursday, April 11, 2019

On the newscast: Benedict XVI writes about the roots causes of the global sex abuse crisis in a new essay; Pope Francis makes a dramatic gesture of humility as a Vatican retreat for peace comes to an end; The ‘Heart of a Priest’ is present as Brooklyn’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrates mass at a packed church; The gathering of Angels, who make it possible for students to experience the excellence of a Catholic education.

Today’s top news from the Catholic perspective anchored by Liz Faublas. Currents News airs Monday through Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on NET-TV (netny.tv)

Catholic, Political, & Labor Leaders to Visit Central America

By Tim Harfmann

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, led the show of solidarity with immigrants on April 10th; “When the immigrant come to New York City, there are two women that meet immigrants — Lady Liberty and Mother Church.” Now, a coalition from New York will travel to Central America to have a better understanding of the migrant crisis.

At the Catholic Charities Community Services Center in Lower Manhattan, Catholic, political and labor leaders announced a coalition will head to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador the day after Easter. “We serve every person because they’re made in the image and likeness of God. They have status, despite what their documents may say,” said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities in the archdiocese.

Monsignor Sullivan will lead the group to Central America, which will also include New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Retail, Workers and Department Store Union head Stuart Applebaum. They’ll meet with Catholic Relief Services, the international aid organization, which is providing help on the ground in Central America. Also part of the coalition is Jessica Garcia, one of the labor leaders and an immigrant from Honduras. She understands migrants’ struggles firsthand. “My mom lived with the family that she worked for; and I know, just growing up in that household, that you don’t have a lot of resources to work with. You’re not paid a whole lot of money. And the idea of getting an education and doing more with your life is really nonexistent,” said Garcia.

“We continue to be a city that welcomes and a city that encourages newcomers because we’re stronger when we welcome and we open our doors to them,” said Monsignor Sullivan. The goal is for the coalition to return with more ideas on how to help those coming to the U.S. looking for asylum and better lives.