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Catholic News Headlines for FrIday 09/22/2023

 

Unique relics to help tell the life of Padre Pio.

The message Pope Francis has to help Migrants in the Mediterranean.

Students are lending a helping hand by preparing for the Tablet Catholic School Fundraiser.

Staten Islanders Rally Against New Migrant Shelter in Residential Neighborhood

By Jessica Easthope

Honks of support rang out on Father Capodanno Blvd for the second night in a row.

The crowd was energized in its protest against the conversion of the vacant Island Shores Senior Residences in Midland Beach to the latest of New York City’s emergency shelters, housing some of the 60,000 migrants who have settled in the five boroughs.

“The border is wide open. They’re letting anyone and everyone in, it’s overwhelming at this point,” said Kathy Dredger.

Kathy’s mother lives a few blocks from the new city-run shelter. She says her concern is not why people are coming in – but who they are. But like several others in the crowd, Kathy came to the rally as a concerned resident and a Catholic. She says she has the corporal works of mercy on her mind, but lately it’s hard to ignore the reports citing the 12 billion dollars the city plans to spend on caring for migrants.

“As a Catholic, you want to feed people you wanna clothe people, you want to give them shelter but to what expense? It’s really not fair to the people who live here and are paying taxes and they feel like they are being taken advantage of, it’s out of control.

Fifteen migrant families are currently being housed in the facility, which sat vacant for over a year before the city acquired it.

Staten islanders like Barbara Agugliaro said she understands the frustration of her fellow New York City taxpayers, but her concern is with the migrants.

“I worry about the people in there too, I want them to be safe. They’re human beings, they deserve to have a home and get a job, they should make sure even the people that they are staying with inside of there have background checks. These people don’t know each other that are in there, it’s not like it’s one big family that moved here, they don’t know who they’re sleeping next to, it’s not fair to them either,” she said.

As more people joined as the sun went down, standing away from the crowd was Juan Eduardo. Juan said he didn’t like what he saw coming out of the rally, and is instead looking to his faith.

“We live in America, we’re all immigrants we all come from helping each other, I feel like welcome them, if they’re not doing anything bad, welcome them,” he said.

As protesters made their voices heard on Staten Island, in Washington, the Biden Administration granted Temporary Protected Status for the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who have crossed the southern border, allowing them to work legally in the United States. According to city statistics there are about 15,000 currently living in New York City.

Padre Pio Feast Day: Parishioner Celebrates With Personal Relic Collection

Henry Voso never thought he’d live long enough to see middle age.

So when he was given an unexpected 40th birthday present, he knew his life would be forever changed.

“I was really shocked,” Voso said. “It was one of my few silent moments, speechless, because I talk a lot. I didn’t know what to say. I’m pretty sure I said thank you but other than that what do you say?”

Voso is legally blind. He started losing his sight as a teenager as a result of the neurological disorder hydrocephalus. 

Voso and Catholics all over the world celebrated the feast day of Padre Pio on Saturday Sept, 23. Voso did it with his 40th birthday present, two of Padre Pio’s second-class relics. 

“I really believe the little eyesight I do have, because I’m legally blind, is thanks to him because I’m not supposed to see you at all and even though a lot of people think I’m faking it,” Voso said.

At first, Voso, a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus, was given an amice worn by Padre Pio by a fellow knight 23 years ago. 

When he got home and explored the liturgical vestment, he found under it a second relic, a handkerchief used by the Italian priest.

On the amice that Voso keeps in a repurposed box in his Manhattan apartment is Padre Pio’s blood, most likely from the stigmata wounds he bore, in the same places where Jesus was nailed to the cross during his crucifixion.

The stigmata appeared on Padre Pio’s body in 1918 and for the next 50 years until shortly before his death. 

He bled from them every single day, a mystery that has touched his devotion for decades. 

Voso deals with a mystery of his own. His condition left him with no optic nerves yet sometimes he’s able to see. He said much like Padre Pio’s stigmata, doctors have never been able to explain it. 

After being given the gift of the relics, he wanted to share it with others. “That’s when I started visiting the sick,” Voso said. “I was anti-relic completely. Now I have relics of all kinds, but back then people would want to pray over me with a relic, and I would say no leave me alone. Now I pray over other people.”

What Padre Pio means to him is something that’s kept him going, despite all the obstacles he faces.

“What Padre Pio has brought into my life and kept it going is the big four letter word hope,” Voso said. “When I die, I want it written on my tombstone, don’t give up.”

Voso will soon be entering into a clinical trial he hopes will help him regain his sight. He said Padre Pio will be with him.

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 09/21/2023

 

Hundreds of protesters were out once again on Staten Island.

The federal government just announced its granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are in the country.

Pope Francis is set to address migration when he visits Marseille, France.

Christ The King Kin: Family Works and Learns at Middle Village High School

by Jessica Easthope

The Arbitellos buzz around their Howard Beach home getting ready for work and school.

From the outside looking in, they’re a normal family starting their day, but what makes them unique is once the car doors close, they all head to the same place, Christ The King High School in Middle Village.

When they walk through these halls, Joe and Veronica aren’t mom and dad, they’re principal and vice principal. 

“It was, like, surreal to me when Joey came up to me and was like, ‘Hello Mr. Arbitello,’” Joe said. “He likes to play around a little bit; he’s already in high school and we’re all in the same place.”

Ava gets to her sophomore classes and Joey is already getting a taste of the high school experience on his second day.

“I have to wake up at 6:50 now instead of like 7:30 and it’s terrible but I guess it’s fine,” Joey said. “I get to see my sister and annoy her in the halls.”

“He comes up to me in the hallways and is like ‘Ava, Ava I love you’ and I’m like leave me alone. I’m just trying to hang out with my friends and get to my classes,” Ava said. “But I still want to make sure he’s OK in school so I’m going to try my best to check up on him.”

The Arbitellos are navigating this new life of all four of them in the same place, but Christ the King has been part of their journey from the beginning. It’s where their family started.

“They were always here,” Veronica said of their children. “They were always around the students and so the fact that they’re here as students themselves it’s almost natural.”

Joe and Veronica are alums but met while teaching in the social studies department. They changed positions but stayed in the school they call a second home and raised their children here.

When Joe and Veronica have a problem to solve, it’s all business.

“His talents are different than mine,” Veronica said. “He’s very outgoing, he enjoys engaging with people. Will I say that we’ve always had these perfect wonderful conversations? No.”

“She’s so good at the administrative,” Joe said. “You need someone who’s going to tell you they don’t agree with you, and I don’t think she does it because she’s married to me but because she’s a strong person who’s very intelligent.”

They run Christ The King the way they do their own home, what Joe calls: God first. 

“God first and then everything else,” Joe said. “If you do that I think you’re going to have students and children who are well adapted to the world and will make good conscious decisions.”

For the Arbitellos there’s no escaping each other at home, work, and school.

“If they offered me a job for a million dollars I wouldn’t take it,” Joe said. “I want to stay here for the four years that my kids are here. It’s going to make our bond even stronger.”

New Learning Space: St. Brigid-St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy Renovates Classrooms

by Katie Vasquez
The third graders at St. Brigid-St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy started the school year walking into a brand new classroom.
Student Kimberly Torres said, “it was super nice.” Another student, Leah Adorno, said, “The classroom is very pretty that I liked that they added detail.”
In August, the room looked completely different. Current News visited the classroom as it was getting new floors and the walls were being painted.
Principal Israel Rodriguez says he wanted it redone because school is more than just learning, it’s creating an environment where kids feel cared for.
“The kids need to come into a classroom where they feel loved. and you feel loved in details, in the wall being painted, in the floor being nice and clean,” said Rodriguez.
It’s a message the parents of the Bushwick school understood. They organized a bingo night and gala to fund the repairs, raising more than $18,000 which their pastor, Father Carlos Velasquez, matched.
Their first classroom was redone over Easter break and then during the summer, the 3rd graders got their new room.
But Mr. Rodriguez wants to do even more.
“If the parents see the results, their hard work with 2 renovated classes, I’m sure come this year they will be more generous. they see their kids are using it,” said Rodriguez.
He expects to update two to three more classrooms by the end of this school year.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 09/20/2023

 

Meet the married couple who work together at the same Catholic high school their kids attend.

Some New York lawmakers are suing to keep migrants out of Floyd Bennett Field.

The recent influx of migrants is one of the reasons New Yorkers say the quality of life in the state is getting worse.

Pope Francis is set to address the issue of migration when he heads to Marseille on Friday.

Brand New Eyes: Blind Girl Claims She Received Miracle and Can Now See

MADRID — It was at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima that a teen from Madrid said she received a miracle.

Jimena claims she regained her sight during World Youth Day, after receiving Communion at Fatima and praying to Our Lady of the Snows.

Now, a month later, her family spokesperson says she is sharing her story. 

“She tells her experience and is very conscious saying that the protagonist of this event is Our Lady,” said Pilar González, Jimena’s teacher and tutor. “In other words, she is simply an instrument that Our Lady has used to make her power and intercession known to many people.”

Jimena lost 95% of her sight two years ago during a bout with myopia.

After her experience at World Youth Day, she underwent medical tests that confirmed that she had been healed. 

“She sees perfectly,” González said. “She has perfect 20/20 vision, both with and without glasses. Because it is true that after the summer, she went to the doctor again and she had the same prescription she had before she lost her sight, with normal myopia.”  

Shortly after news of Jimena’s possible miracle, the president of the Spanish bishops’ conference, Cardinal Juan Omella, spoke to her. 

“She was excited,” Cardinal Omella said. “And I said: ‘”Well, let’s thank God for this. As this does not lead to the beatification of anyone because the Virgin is already a saint, it is a grace from God. So let’s thank him and that’s it.”

Jimena’s family does not want her in the public eye, but said she will share her faith in her everyday life. 

“Jimena said that since the moment she was healed, she has gone to Mass every day and that she will go to Mass every day for the rest of her life … as long as she can,” González said.

After Jimena’s cure on Aug. 5, she prayed a novena of thanksgiving to Mary for her healing.