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Day of Prayer for Peace: Bishop Brennan Led Mass Aligned With Pope’s Worldwide Prayer

By Jessica Easthope

As a second straight day of ground raids in Gaza gots underway, millions of Catholics across the globe answered Pope Francis’ call, pleading and praying for peace in the Middle East.

A sign of peace, one Catholics prayed will help counteract an exchange of fire thousands of miles away.

Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn stood in solidarity with the Holy Father, calling for an end to violence between Israel and Hamas with a Holy Hour and Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James on Friday, Oct. 27. 

“Prayer is about trying to conform ourselves to God’s own will and God’s own mind,” Bishop Brennan said. “So, what we’re looking to do is change ourselves and then to change one another, and change the world.” 

For parishioners like Marise Louis, prayer is power over evil, over violence, and over war among neighbors.

“If I thought prayers didn’t work, I wouldn’t waste my time to be here,” Louis said, “God is there for me all the time. He never fails. He never fails. And I believe, I strongly believe, that the war will stop between Israel and Gaza.”

This week Israel has carried out several small-scale ground raids in Gaza and more than 250 air strikes backed by fighter jets and drones targeting Hamas sites. 

This recent clash amid a deeply political conflict has claimed thousands of innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives. 

Father Bryan Patterson, the rector of St. James, said he wanted people to leave Mass realizing it’s not about choosing sides.

“Taking sides and trying to enact revenge is not helpful and we need to open ourselves up that God may release in us what is best in us, which of course is God,” Father Patterson said.

Israel says the ground raids are preparation for a full blown invasion of Hamas-ruled territory in an effort to destroy the militant group’s infrastructure.

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 10/27/2023

 

Parishioners in the Diocese of Brooklyn came together today to pray for peace answering a call made by Pope Francis.

Before joining today’s Prayer for Peace– Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan led prayers for Hope and Healing.

The diocese is trying to help victim-survivors with the creation of the Office of Victim Assistance.

We’ll introduce you to Sal Ervolino, whose clients include those with some deep connections to God.

Israeli Tank Raid: Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

In the Middle East, the violence continues. Israel carried out a “targeted raid” overnight in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military briefly sent in tanks and armored vehicles, claiming to strike several militant targets in order to “prepare the battlefield” ahead of its ground invasion. 

The raid comes as the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip worsens.

It has been under siege, running out of food, water, and medicine.

The only Catholic parish in the Gaza strip has been a source of refuge for Christians there and now they are getting the support of Pope Francis, who called the parish’s pastor. 

The Church of the Holy Family has been providing food and shelter for more than 100 people who lost their homes to the bombings.

 

Mass of Hope and Healing: Diocese of Brooklyn Brings Clergy Abuse Survivors Together

By Jessica Easthope

Every year the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Office for the Protection of Children and Young People comes up with new ways to support survivors of clergy sex abuse. This year the Mass of Hope and Healing is being opened up to survivors of any abuse.

Maryellen Quinn, the director of the Office for the Protection of Children and Young People, and Elizabeth Harris, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s victim assistance coordinator, say this year people who have suffered any type of abuse can heal through faith. 

The two work directly with survivors of clergy abuse.

They’ve heard their concerns and have helped them process their pain and they’re here to tell them God’s love for them is unwavering. 

With the Mass of Hope and Healing, survivors are welcomed into the Church, and in turn welcome their faith back into their lives.

“We recognize that it’s not that easy for them to walk into a place that should have been a sanctuary for them and was not,” Quinn said. “We want our Church to grow again, we’re never going back to the way things were where these things happened, we’re moving forward. We want them to heal by watching us in what we’re doing to move forward.”

“I have found that they want to heal, they want to come back to their Church, they want to feel that they’re being heard and that the Church is there for them and recognizes the wrongs the Church has done in the past,” Harris said. “So I want to be here for them to hear that from them and support them and let them know that while we’re very sorry for what’s happened in the past we’re always looking to do better.”

A community of survivors from the Diocese of Brooklyn helps plan the Mass of Hope and Healing, picking readings and songs they say will help them regain trust in the Church and strengthen their faith.

The Mass is just one of the ways the Diocese of Brooklyn attempts to help victim-survivors.

It has also created the Office of Victim Assistance to help individuals who come forward with allegations of abuse.

The office provides supportive initial counseling, therapy referrals, and pastoral resources for victim-survivors.

Every employee of the Brooklyn Diocese, including students, undergoes mandatory background checks and training, designed to spot the signs of abuse and how to stop it.

The diocese’s conversations with victim-survivors led to the yearly Mass of Hope and Healing, where the faithful come together and pray.

This year the Mass is being celebrated at St. Bernard Church in Bergen Beach, but you can watch it live right here on NET TV.

You can also check in with Currents News for updates on the Mass.

There’s also a confidential diocesan line to report abuse, that number is 888- 634-4499. 

Reports are automatically sent to law enforcement and there isn’t any Church involvement to ensure compliance.

If you know anything, please give it a call. 

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 10/26/2023

 

The Diocese of Brooklyn is helping victim survivors of clergy abuse heal through faith.

At least 18 people are dead after a pair of mass shootings in Maine on Wednesday night, Lewiston police reported.

The Israeli military said its troops and tanks briefly raided northern Gaza Thursday night.

The Synod on Synodality is winding down and the hundreds of delegates in Rome have written a letter to the people of God.

Annual Red Mass: Catholic Judges and Lawyers Pray at the Start of the Court Year 

Those who uphold justice in the Diocese of Brooklyn looked to God for guidance on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The diocese celebrated its annual Red Mass at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens.

Every year, judges and lawyers gather together in prayer to mark the beginning of the judicial year.

Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated the Mass, and told those present that they are called to a holy and noble profession.

Rising Cost of the Migrant Crisis: St. John’s Bread & Life Tries to Keep Up With the Need

By Jessica Easthope

New York City is currently housing and feeding more than 60,000 migrants and still organizations like St. John’s Bread & Life have had to increase their hot meal distribution by 92%. That’s only since july. 

They come one by one, but at St. John’s Bread & Life, that adds up. 

Sister Marie Sorenson, the organization’s associate executive director, said you can feel the desperation of New York City’s migrant crisis, from both the newly arrived, and the pantries trying to keep up.

“It’s affected St. John’s Bread & Life profoundly because we have quadrupled our number of people we serve in our community,” Sister Sorenson said.

Earlier this year it cost the city $363 per migrant per day. In January the Adams administration projected it would fall to $320, but instead it’s up to $394 dollars. The City Council wants to know why.

Councilman Ari Kagan said this year members were given $22,000 dollars less to support soup kitchens and food pantries.

“I’m an immigrant and a refugee myself, I’m very sympathetic to this situation,” Councilman Kagan said. “I expected more money for these programs but there was less money for these programs. The cost of groceries for New Yorkers is enormous and now we’re cutting food pantries and soup kitchens because of the migrant crisis.”

More than 500 migrant families are now regulars at Bread & Life. Sister Caroline Tweedy, the executive director of the organization said their mission is to feed those in need but if the city is also feeding the newly arrived, why are they still hungry?

“It certainly can be overwhelming,” Sister Tweedy said. “What we found is people are desperate.”

Many migrants say the two meals they get from the city a day are not culturally sensitive. Sister Tweedy said Bread & Life is supplementing for the city, but not getting enough support in return.

“Local government and state government are really looking to nonprofits like Bread and Life to make up that gap,” Sister Tweedy. “You want to be that person who sees the face of God in the other. Isn’t that what we are about as Christians? I also have to think about the future as well and no one knows what the government is going to offer.”

With the holidays fast approaching St. John’s Bread & Life is prepared to give out more than 5,000 Thanksgiving meals, an 85% increase over last year. 

Mayor Eric Adams said he’s trying to avoid New York becoming a tent city, but he’s running out of options. 

New York City is sheltering more than 65,000 migrants and recently had to close some emergency shelters because of fire safety concerns. 

The crisis is set to get worse as U.S. Customs and Border Protection records the most encounters in more than 60 years.

The agency saw more than 2.4 million people in the 2023 fiscal year. 

September alone broke a monthly record, with more than 269,000 apprehensions.

Israel Agrees to Invasion Delay: Halting Attack to Allow Americans to Protect Troops There

Israel has agreed to delay its ground invasion of Gaza to allow the United States to protect troops across the Middle East.

American officials persuaded Israel to hold off until air defense systems could be placed in the region. 

U.S. officials believe their forces will be targeted once Israel launches the ground invasion.

The delay also takes into account hostage negotiations and plans to supply humanitarian support inside Gaza. 

Pope Francis has been praying for peace in the Holy Land and is asking all Catholics to do the same.

He has marked Oct. 27 as a Day of Prayer and Fasting for the Middle East. 

John Lavenburg, National Correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, joins Currents News to discuss how the Catholic Church is responding.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 10/25/2023

 

The cost of the migrant crisis in New York City has, once again, gone up.

Mayor Eric Adams says he’s actively looking for outdoor spaces for migrants to live.

As the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies, the World Health Organization is warning of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Bishop Robert Brennan helped Catholic lawyers and judges pray for guidance at the Diocese of Brooklyn’s annual Red Mass in Queens.