On the newscast: Mexico takes action in response to the migrant crisis; A huge blow to American auto workers; Monsignor Kieran Harrington joins us to share what he saw while in the Middle East.
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 Tim Harfmann
Rosa Caraballo has a developmental disability, but she feels independent. “I wash the dishes. I clean my room. I do the chores,” said Caraballo.
Caraballo has her own room and lives with three roommates. They, too, have disabilities. Caraballo moved into a Bayside, Queens residence in June known as the Rose Home. Run by Little Flower Children and Family Services, it’s one of 10 homes throughout the five boroughs and Long Island. Nearly 80 people with developmental disabilities receive 24-hour care. “I like the people from here. They’re sweet and really nice to me,” said Caraballo.
Though Little Flower receives government funding, they need support of donors. “Anything extra we want to do: innovative, special, new, special treat, new therapy; we’re paying for on our own. And that’s throughout the generous, long term donations from funders,” said Corinne Hammons. She’s the C.E.O. of Little Flower.
Tanisha Washington oversees the developmental programs so residents can live their lives like everyone else. “They’re out in the community. Many of them work in the community and attend day programs. They go to basketball, baseball. They’re busy,” said Washington. “We color. We watch TV. We do everything there, like read, write, and arts and crafts,” said Caraballo.
Little Flower carries on the work of Monsignor Bernard Quinn — a Brooklyn priest on the road to sainthood. He founded Saint Peter Claver Church, the first African American church in the Diocese of Brooklyn. He was renowned for establishing hospitals and orphanages. “His idea was to take kids who were underprivileged and show them the countryside,” said Hammons. Monsignor Quinn also had a great devotion to Saint Therese of Lisieux — known as “the little flower.”
Through her developmental programs, Caraballo looks to whip up her favorite dish of chicken, rice, and beans. For now, she relies on her caregivers. “But I can try one day,” said Caraballo.
You can make a difference this holiday season by donating to Little Flower. Just call 631-929-6200 or go to littleflowerny.org and click on donate now.
Currents News Staff
This Christmas, special attention is being given to Syrian children who’ve been trapped in eight years of war, some who have never even seen peace in their country.
The international Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need is launching its 2018 Christmas campaign: “Candles for peace in Syria.” It’s not only a response to the dramatic humanitarian situation caused by the war, but a support for the Christian presence in the Middle East, so it doesn’t disappear.
Thousands of these Syrian children have written messages and lit candles, praying for peace in their country.
“The children are especially in need of peace, to live in peace and to feel peace. This is because they lost a lot of this peace to go out of their houses and to play out of their houses; and to come to the Church because there are a lot of voices and bombs surrounding them,” said Fr. Lukas Awad, St. Mart Syrian Orthodox Church, Homs.
Now Aid to the Church in Need will carry these same candles to many countries around the world, to transmit the light of hope during Advent and Christmas.
The campaign “Candles for Peace in Syria” wants to remind the world of the tragic situation the Christians in Syria are facing and demonstrate the world’s solidarity with them with millions of candles.
Currents News Staff
General Motors is taking major steps to restructure its organization – and it will come at the cost of many of its workers.
On Monday, the motor vehicle giant announced it will cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce. That’s about eight thousand people, and thousands of hourly workers will either lose their jobs or be reassigned.
The move is part of a broader shift to new technologies and away from traditional car production – underscored by the company’s new motto, “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion.”
In a statement, GM CEO Mary Barra said, quote:
“The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future.”
Shortly after the announcement, President Trump expressed his disappointment over GM’s move.
“We’ve made our position known and we aren’t happy about it. I said you know, this country’s done a lot for General Motors. You better get back in there soon,” said Trump.
GM’s Oshawa assembly plant in Ontario is one of five North American facilities that will shut production.
“They come to work every day and make General Motors a lot of money. They’re the best workers in the industry, they’re the best workers in General Motors, and this is the reward they get,” said Greg Moffat, Plant Chair, Unifor.
The other four plants are located in Detroit, Michigan, Warren, Ohio, White Marsh, Maryland, and Warren, Michigan.
GM says the plan will save the company 6 billion dollars by the end of 2020.
Currents News Staff
New addictions such as gambling and internet pornography will be closely examined at an international congress organized by the Vatican.
From Thursday, Nov. 29 to Saturday Dec.1, 465 experts from 63 countries will share their experiences in the fight against addictions afflicting the people of the 21st century.
The congress has not been organized by a medical organization. Instead it was convened by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which was established by the pope in 2016.
“The human being is not just a body to be fed and clothed. He has an eternal dimension, a spiritual dimension that must be taken care of, that must be guided. This dimension is what so many times is the key to dealing with many of these addictions,” said Msgr. Segundo Tejado Muñoz, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Of course, drug addiction will also be discussed. According to the 2017 World Drug Report, approximately 5% of the world’s adult population has used them at least once while 0.6% has serious problems caused by it.
The congress participants explain that there is still a lot to learn about these newer dependencies. They say their biggest obstacle will be informing entire societies and public institutions of the seriousness of some of these illnesses.
“With gambling, there are many contradictions. On the one hand, it is condemned, even at the state level. On the other, the state itself receives a percentage of taxes from this business. Therefore, the message is very ambiguous at the educational level,” said Nicolò Pisanu, a psychologist and expert in family therapy .
On Saturday, the Pope will receive congress participants alongside people who have overcome drug addiction.
Currents News Staff
In 2016, the world was overtaken by the immersive reality app ‘Pokemon Go’ that invited players to explore their cities catching characters.
Today, “Follow JC Go” attempts to revive the excitment of its predececor. This time, instead of chasing Pokemon, one searches for important religious figures.
As the World Youth Day (WYD) approaches, the Ramon Pane Foundation had the idea to create this app where young people can walk around their cities learning about religious figures in a fun and interactive way.
Currents News spoke to one of the app’s developers, Hugo Flores Arcega, and he says the app is an important evangelization tool.
“The most important thing for us in this app, we’re trying to bring into the church, those guys that not very frequently go to church,” said Arcega.
The figures to look out for are saints, Bible characters, the different titles for Mary and even local friends playing nearby.
Using location services, this immersive experience allows you to collect members for your “evangelism team,” or e-team. You add them by clicking on the saints or figures as you walk in your surrounding area.
In order to have the saint or Bible figure on your team, you must also answer a short trivia question about the person. If answered correctly, the player also wins points toward leveling up.
Once in your collection, each figure can be clicked on to receive more details about their lives and the role they played in the Church.
According to Arcega, the app has already gained some traction within niche online communities.
“I was watching some YouTubers, and I found a young guy in Spain who is not a Christian. He said ‘I am not a Christian. I don’t believe in any religion. But I found this app and I think it’s a good one because it’s about values. It’s about culture. It’s about education. I think we can really use this app,’” said Arcega.
As you walk around using “Follow JC Go,” you can collect these figures along with bread, water, and tokens. These coins are used to advance in level within the game and replenish bread and water when running low.
The app also encourages moments of reflection and prayer when walking by hospitals, schools and churches.
“Follow JC Go” was officially released on October 17, after nearly two years of work by developers. This virtual reality game is available for free in the App store and Google Play.
Currents News Staff
A very special singing group opened for the Radio City Rockettes and their spectacular Christmas show.
The youth choir from Our Lady Of Grace Church in Howard Beach took the stage in front of the audience attending the Christmas show.
The youth choir landed the gig over the summer and spent the entire time rehearsing for Saturday’s big performance.
It’s been three months since the World Meeting of Families took place in Dublin, Ireland. Father Christopher Heanue was in Ireland for the event. He joins Currents News for a recap and to share his perspective on the event.
Liz Faublas gets personal with Mario Costabile, who has dedicated his life to bringing powerful theatrical productions of hope and faith to thousands. Then one day a stunning, unexpected medical diagnosis threatened to end it all. Mario talks about the long, hard road back to health, and what it took to get there.
By Tim Harfmann
Under Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio’s leadership, the Diocese of Brooklyn is producing an informational video, which pastors will soon be able to share with their parishioners, addressing the recent headlines about the sexual abuse crisis in the Church.
“Information is hard to get out. That’s why I wanted to do this because I knew people did not know what we are doing,” said Bishop DiMarzio.
The video will feature highlights from four gatherings called regional meetings with Bishop DiMarzio and the lay faithful. They took place at four parishes. In all, approximately 1,000 parish leaders attended.
“It’s impossible to reach everybody. But now with these four sessions, we’ll get some of the leadership and then have something that we can use with everyone,” said Bishop DiMarzio.
Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto, vicar general and vicar for clergy and consecrated life; Jasmine Salazar, vice chancellor and victim assistance coordinator; and Maryellen Quinn, safe environment coordinator, joined Bishop DiMarzio. Attendees were allowed to ask Bishop DiMarzio any question.
Bishop DiMarzio referred to the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP). Initiated by the diocese last year, survivors could come forward and work with an independent law firm to reach a resolution regarding their claim. Bishop DiMarzio said that program helped the diocese get a better understanding of the scope of the cases that spanned decades. “The fact of the matter is we only knew 14 percent. You cannot cover up what you don’t know. The rest of it was unknown to us,” said Bishop DiMarzio.
Before the question and answer sessions, the audience was presented with important information about the crisis and what the Church has done to prevent sexual abuse.
“These are probably your most informed parishioners, and I’m sure this is the first time some of them are hearing that information. So the general population of parishioners at large — they may be unaware,” said Christopher Spinelli. He’s a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.
Data and graphs from an independent study conducted by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice showed the crisis peaked in the 1980s. Also, the majority of abusers were priests who did their seminary studies in the 1950s and 60s. “An epidemic is something has a beginning, a high point, and then it ends. This is the key thing we need to understand, that the sexual abuse in the Church really has extinguished itself,” said Bishop DiMarzio.
Participants were also shown videos, including one with testimonies from sexual abuse survivors within the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Salazar talked about the outreach the Office of Victim Assistance does for survivors and the programs that are in place to help them. “The hope is with this information that’s being shared, more and more will know that if you are a survivor, or come across a survivor, that the message be communicated — you are cared for, and you are not alone,” said Salazar.
After the meetings, the feedback was positive. “It was good to know, the programs that they have for them. I didn’t about that,” said Gloria Dabreo. She’s a parishioner at St. Therese of Lisieux Church.
“I think it was very good that the bishop provided information on the accuracy of what’s actually happening. It’s important for us to get our own information from our bishop and not just through the media,” said Vincent Camastro. He’s a parishioner at Holy Name of Jesus Church.
The informational video will be released in the coming weeks. And for easy access, all of the information will soon be posted on a separate page of the diocese of Brooklyn’s website.