On the newscast: The Pope is ready to go to war against the abuse of minors; Trump & Kim Jong Un – Round 2; Brooklyn’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio bestows blessing on a Bensonhurst church as another in the Diocese is a victim of vandals.
Today’s top news from the Catholic perspective anchored by Liz Faublas. Currents News airs Monday through Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST on NET-TV (netny.tv)
By Emily Drooby
Parishioner Raul Mejia, saddened to hear about vandalism at St. Thomas Aquinas church “Well I feel very upset, I don’t think people should do that. People should have respect for the faith of other people.”
Mejia, who is Ecuadorian, came to St. Thomas Aquinas church in Park Slope on this afternoon to pray, an activity he does often. This time something was missing, the statue of Our Lady of Cisne, the patroness of the Loja province of Ecuador.
Mejia said, “As an Ecuadorian a lot of people are very upset especially the Ecuadorian community, it’s not nice, at all.”
On Wednesday the statue was stolen from the church. Surveillance video showed an unidentified man wearing a hoodie sweatshirt walk into the church, pick up the statue and walk out. Not realizing at first that it had been stolen church employees and Father Willy Kingsley began to search for it. Eventually it was found in the trash can across the street.
The statue sustained substantial damage to the left side – but Father Kingsley says it’s not just about the physical damage to the statue, it’s about what the actions say. He explained, “Having her placed in a garbage can is an insult, it’s not really something we can be proud of as a people, as a community. And so, it was quite distressing.”
This is the second time this statue was stolen and thrown in the same trash can, the first time it was found quickly and not reported. Father Kingsley further explaining the importance of Our Lady of Cisne.
Father Kingsley, said, “Our Lady Of Cisne, represents a lot for Ecuadorians, it’s just really part of who they are its part of their faith, in this particular parish we have a group that has a weekly devotion to our lady.”
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident, no one has been arrested and the statue is being kept in the rectory for now.
Father Kingsley said he’s very grateful to the NYPD for being helpful, and continuing to check up on the church.
Currents News Staff
Results of the Summit are a new law in Vatican City State on child protection, the creation of task forces to help bishops combat sexual abuse, and a new Motu Proprio coming soon.
At the end of the Summit on Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis let out a battle cry against the abuse of minors, but victims are questioning the implementation of his words.
Pope Francis ended the summit telling bishops eight guidelines he said the Vatican’s Commission for the Protection of Minors will carry out immediately.
“I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas. These parameters serve as rules and not simply indications. No abuse should ever be covered up, as was often the case in the past, or not taken seriously sufficiently,” said Francis.
The Pope also wants to implement a better selection of potential priests and ensure they don’t have criminal addictions, including pornography. He also asked for accompaniment and listening to those who have been abused.
Yet, victims in Rome are not so convinced. They’ve presented their own 21 points they want Pope Francis to implement instead.
“Number 18: We need to know the current whereabouts of guilty clergy and how they’re being monitored,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, the Co-Director of Bishop Accountability.
“These 21 points are directed to Pope Francis. He has sent his bishops back home saying I’ve got your back. So, there’s no sense in us ever talking to our bishops until Pope Francis acts and tells his bishops these 21 points are the law of the land,” said Tim Law, the President of Ending Clergy Abuse.
Their points are looking for major changes to canon law and the implementation of zero-tolerance on every level.
Results of the Summit are a new law in Vatican City State on child protection and the creation of task forces to help bishops around the world combat sexual abuse in their own countries.
Additionally, Summit moderator, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, also announced that in addition to “Come una madre amorevole,” Pope Francis will issue another Motu Proprio on the topic of protection of minors and vulnerable people.
Even this morning, the Vatican held a follow up meeting with organizers. They say concrete outcomes from the Summit need to be discussed in further detail and implemented at local levels and more importantly that this is only the beginning.
Currents News Staff
The abuse summit will have a huge impact on the Catholic Church, but it’s unclear what concrete actions will take place.
Father Gerald Murray from Church of the Holy Family in Manhattan joins Currents News to explore what the Church could possibly expect going forward.
Currents News Staff
It’s round two for high-wire nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea.
“We want to denuclearization,” said Trump.
President Trump is traveling to Hanoi, Vietnam where he will sit down Kim Jong Un this week.
“I think we can have a very good a very good summit. I think we’ll have a very tremendous summit,” said Trump.
Their first meeting in Singapore eight months ago was a diplomatic milestone. But their agreement was short on specifics – with vague pledges of nuclear disarmament.
Since then, new satellite images reveal North Korea has significantly expanded a key long-range missile base, and according to a confidential United Nations report its nuclear arsenal remains intact.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that while a lot of work still needs to be done, there are some positive signals.
“We’ve got work to do on the denuclearization. We’ve got remains back. We’ve had testing stop. Those are good things. Tension along the border is reduced,” said Pompeo.
So, what will their second summit yield? That’s still being worked out. Possible outcomes could include agreements from North Korea to allow inspectors into certain nuclear sites or even agree to a joint political statement to ending the Korean War.
At a minimum, U.S. officials hope for a more defined road map that would lead North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
President Trump appears optimistic, saying “We see eye to eye, I believe. I’m not in a rush. I don’t want to rush anybody. I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing, were happy.”
Currents News Staff
A cross commemorating the sacrifice of soldiers could be coming down.
The World War I memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland has been a cause of controversy.
Some say the forty-foot cross shows Christian favoritism. The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the memorial this week.
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