Currents News Staff
The Pope will soon be on his way to Panama City and World Youth Day. The Holy Father is joining a huge crowd of young people at the end of January. Jamie Lynn Black, the international media coordinator for the event, joins Anchor Liz Faublas to talk about it.
By Emily Drooby
On Tuesday morning at Our Lady Of Sorrows Catholic Academy, students were awarded for their outstanding grades.
Something else outstanding? Over 99 percent of these students identify as Latino. The school’s principal, Dr. Cristina Cruz, said: “It’s amazing, we’re 99.9 percent proud here.”
This is far from the norm across the U.S. In fact, a report published by Boston College back in 2016 said while there’s about 8 million Hispanic school-aged Catholics in the country, only about 300,000 of them are enrolled in Catholic schools, that’s less than four percent. But the Diocese of Brooklyn, bucks that trend, with about 32 percent of students identifying as Hispanic or Latino.
But why is this number so high? It could have something to do with access to scholarships. Dr. Cruz, said: “The tuition is almost $5,000, that’s a lot of money for a family who makes hardly anything.”
During a panel at the Catholic University of America, it was suggested the cost of Catholic schools is a key barrier to Latino enrollment, but many students within the Diocese of Brooklyn benefit from the Futures In Education program, which provides scholarships to students who attend Catholic school.
Vicar for Development in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, said: “The scholarships are so important to our Diocese, because there are many people that would like to send their children to our schools, many of them are immigrants and they struggle, and they would not be able to send their kids to our schools if it weren’t for the scholarships of Futures in Education.”
At Our Lady Of Sorrows, 147 students were awarded Futures scholarships just this year, that’s over $290,000. To which Dr. Cruz, said: “Thank God for it. To be honest without them we would be shut down. ”
Students say they’re happy to go to a school, that nourishes both their minds and their soul.
Currents News Staff
The Bright Christmas Campaign needs your help.
It’s a great initiative run by The Tablet newspaper and donations make Christmas a more joyous time for children in need.
Write your checks to Bright Christmas and send them to Bright Christmas at 1712 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11215.
By Christopher White, The Tablet’s National Correspondent
NEW YORK – Less than two months after serving as delegate in the Bishops Synod on Youth which called women’s leadership within the Church “a duty of justice,” Bishop Frank Caggiano has established a new leadership model in a Connecticut parish, appointing a woman to serve as parish life coordinator.
The appointment of Dr. Eleanor W. Sauers, which was announced on Sunday in a letter to parishioners of St. Anthony of Padua in Fairfield, Connecticut, grants Sauers decision-making authority over a team of priests who will be responsible for sacramental ministry.
“We are at a very particular moment in the history of our Diocese, and indeed, within our Church,” Bishop Caggiano wrote to parishioners. “As I travel throughout Fairfield County, it has become apparent to me that many lay women and men are seeking new ways to serve their parishes, and, in collaboration with the clergy, to create vibrant and thriving communities.”
He went on to note that the appointment was the first of its kind in the diocese of Bridgeport and added that it has support in canon law.
Sauers, who holds a Bachelors degree from Emmanuel College in Boston and a master’s degree and a Doctor of Philosophy from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, had already taken on an extended leadership role within the parish following the untimely death of its former pastor who died at the age of 59 in March.
Bishop Caggiano said his decision to appoint Sauers comes after a period of discernment, which included two meetings with the leadership of the parish.
“Her responsibilities, as it is with any priest or deacon appointed as Administrator, is to work with the parish community to develop and foster its pastoral vision and mission,” he wrote. “She will continue to be present to the parish in times of celebration and sadness. Her education, formation, and experience makes her professionally, academically, and spiritually ready for this role.”
At a Theology on Tap event last month in Washington, D.C., reflecting on the Synod on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment, Bishop Caggiano was asked how he would implement the Synod’s call for concrete inclusion of women in Church leadership.
He said at the time that he hoped to make an announcement in the coming weeks to appoint the first woman to lead a parish within his diocese.
Bishop Caggiano was one of six U.S. bishops who served as delegates during the October Synod in Rome.
“The absence of women’s voices and points of view impoverishes discussion and the path of the church, subtracting a precious contribution from discernment,” declared the final outcome document from the Synod.
“The synod recommends making everyone more aware of the urgency of an inescapable change,” it continued.
Sauers appointment will take effect on January 1, 2019.
Fr. Robert Lauder has a deep connection to the arts including film, stage and literature. THE CATHOLIC NOVEL is a lecture series that will focus on some of his favorite novels where Catholicism is treated favorably. This 29th episode will feature A.J. Cronin’s, THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM!
Currents News Staff
On the first Friday of December, the Pope visited the “CasAmica Onlus” center. Many Sick children and young people were waiting for him there.
The center welcomes sick people and families who need to remain at the hospital to receive care.
He greeted all the children and spoke with them.
The Pope signed a photo so they would remember him.
Then he went to another part of Rome. There he made a surprise visit to 12 young people from the therapeutic rehabilitation center ‘The Bridge and Tree.’
They read for the Pope, who listened attentively to the young people and one of the doctors at the center.
On the newscast: A new pastor installed in Park Slope; A laywoman takes of as the leader of a parish in Connecticut; Authorities investigate after a 17-year-old makes claims she was assaulted by a layperson at a Brooklyn church; Snow in the southeast.
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)
Currents News Staff
Christmas is taking over Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza.
Preparations were underway this morning for Tuesday’s Christmas tree lighting at the historic location, as the nativity scene arrived, ready to be displayed.
Eight pieces weighing between 80 and 100 pounds each were unloaded and arranged just under the soldiers and sailors memorial arch.
“I think what it means is that you can still put Christ in Christmas that there’s still hope that is Jesus. And that we still have this freedom in the United States of America no matter what is going on politically,” said Mark Steele, Creative Designer for DeSales Media Group.
The tree and nativity display will remain in place through the Christmas season.
Currents News Staff
Moments after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Khashoggi was surrounded by his executioners.
“This was a pre-meditated act of willful murder, it was not a rendition,” said Aaron Miller, a global affairs analyst.
A source briefed on the investigation into Khashoggi murder says that after a struggle, Khashoggi repeated the phrase “I can’t breathe.”
A transcript of the incident notes screams and gasping and then the sound of Khashoggi body being dismembered with a saw.
Many in Washington D.C., including reportedly the C.I.A., believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the kill.
“There is no way that 17 people close to him got on a charter plane, flew to a third country, went into a consulate, killed and chopped up a man, and flew back, and he didn’t know about it, much less order it,” said Sen. Marco Rubio.
The Trump administration says there’s no smoking gun that links the Crown Prince to the killing and the New York Times reports Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, maintained regular talks with the prince after the murder, including advice on how to get past the fallout.
“No one is saying that he is condoning the killing certainly but that he’s saying that you’ve got to look at the long term and also that this young Crown Prince is the long-term future of Saudi Arabia,” said Mark Mazzetti.
By Tim Harfmann
Authorities are investigating after a 17-year-old girl claimed she was sexually assaulted by a layperson at Holy Innocents Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
The victim was reportedly between the ages of 12 and 15 when the alleged abuse took place between 2013 and 2015.
Officials from the Brooklyn diocese released the following statement: “We take every allegation of this nature seriously. We were informed of the accusation late Friday afternoon. The case is now in the hands of the authorities. We await the conclusion of their investigation.”
The suspect has not been identified. The police investigation is ongoing and, at the time of broadcast, authorities had not responded to a request for comment.