All God’s Creatures Are Gifts For Us

At the liturgical memorial of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4, a number of animals suddenly appeared in parish churches throughout Brooklyn and Queens.

Florida’s Affordable Housing Crunch Is Now Even Worse

Since the day after Hurricane Ian made landfall, Vivian Pelham and her husband have been living out of a Red Cross shelter set up in a former healthcare clinic in Wauchula. As of Oct. 6, she hadn’t gone back to their mobile home, fearful of what she might find. 

Local Catholic Charities Unit Offers Aid to Hurricane-Stricken Floridians

By mid-morning Oct. 4, one week after Hurricane Ian made landfall, there was a line of cars wrapped around the vast San Pedro Catholic Church parking lot and down the adjacent street, waiting their turn to get water bottles, bags of ice, and tarps loaded into their trunks to bring back home. 

Bishop Valero and Our Call to Love One Another

On Friday, Oct. 7, I was honored to be at the dedication ceremony of the Bishop Rene A. Valero Senior Residence in Astoria. Catholic Charities of the Brooklyn Diocese has provided a beautiful, modern affordable residence for seniors and those seniors who have experienced being homeless. I went with Mary and Gerry Purcell — Mary is Bishop Valero’s niece. 

Lack of Insurance Hampers Efforts To Rebuild For Many Survivors

Looking around at fallen tree limbs and brush littered throughout her yard, Elizabeth Reyes couldn’t help but notice that the usual natural sounds of birds overhead were gone, replaced by the sounds of machinery used for power and clean-up after Hurricane Ian.