Fifth-Graders Dial Up Tough Questions for Priest

CTN — the educational media service department of DeSales Media Group, which is The Tablet’s parent company — started “Dial-a-priest” during the year of vocations called by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio two years ago. The idea is to give students in the Diocese of Brooklyn a chance to meet more priests beyond those in their parish and hear a variety of vocation stories.

V.A. Tackles Issue of Veterans’ Health Care

As Veterans Day on Nov. 11 approaches, Aponte’s health struggles are reminders both of the sacrifice he and countless other veterans have made to keep the United States safe and free and of the sprawling V.A. medical system that treats them at home.

Crime Spree Raises Issue of Security for Churches

The vandalism, which caused more than $10,000 in damages, was part a spate of crimes at Catholic churches in northern Brooklyn and southern Queens this past summer, raising the already pressing issue of how churches in the all-urban Diocese of Brooklyn can protect their buildings and property.

Longtime Organist a Key Player At St. Gregory the Great

On Oct. 6, Father Frank Black, pastor at St. Gregory the Great, blessed the new pipes at a Mass, and the parish honored Gregory Jack, the organist, for his 40 years of playing the instrument at the church.

A Catholic Convert Canonized

Since the Oratory of St. Philip Neri was established in Brooklyn, its members have been praying for the canonization of one of the most famous affiliates of this religious community, the English Cardinal John Henry Newman. And their prayers have finally been answered.

Bishop Sansaricq Is Honored on His 85th Birthday

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy A. Sansaricq was honored on Oct. 5 by the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Haitian Apostolate at Our Lady of Miracles, Canarsie, for his 85th birthday and for his nearly 60 years of service as a priest.

‘Foot Soldiers’ of Christ in the Brooklyn Diocese

“For a chaplain or priest to be there, it gives them some sense of peace and calm … and moments like this put us [chaplains] in a situation to exercise pastoral judgement. It’s about giving compassion, empathy and care. Bringing comfort to the family — that’s at the core of pastoral care, of what we do.”

Filling Stomachs and Feeding Souls in Crown Heights for 20 Years

Good people and good food. That’s what a passerby will find on the third Saturday of each month in front of the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Men’s Shelter on Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights, where Mirlande Noel and her family, along with some volunteers, set up tables to feed the homeless, provide clothes and offer some solace.

Xaverian, Diocese Confront Teen Vaping Crisis

The danger of vaping is real. According to a Sept. 19 weekly report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people with a deadly vaping-related lung disease rose to 530 from 380 the week before (38 states and one U.S. territory report numbers). Officials have said half of those patients are under 25 years old and 16 percent are younger than 18. Nine deaths have been reported.