Split across three different sites in Brooklyn and Queens, more than 600 people shook hands with Brooklyn bishops Feb. 25 as a sign of welcome to the Catholic Church. Stretching from the Flatlands to Douglaston, the candidates seeking to update their union with the Church attended the Rite of Calling the Candidates to Continuing Conversion.
Never baptized in any Christian tradition, these catechumens – as they are called – are enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), and will enter the Church at the Easter Vigil, March 31, in their home parishes.
The youth group from Incarnation parish, Queens Village, has one special goal in mind come January 2019: attending World Youth Day in Panama City, Panama. To help bring that to fruition, Father Christopher Bethge, parochial vicar, and Youth Minister Rose Ruesing are coming up with creative ways for the teens to offset the steep costs of the trip.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget for 2018 proposes to radically expand the state’s abortion offerings and cut back on its commitment to private education.
“Can you do a backflip?” isn’t the average question that Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio must address, but during Catholic Schools Week, students at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Academy, Bellerose, got a chance to “Stump the Bishop” with inquiries that showcased their inquisitive innocence and curiosity.
A Bishop, the State Deputy of the Knights of Columbus and two pro-life counselors were the honorees at the Pro Vita Mass celebrated Jan. 27 at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn.
The bishop blessed the students and thanked the teachers for their work. Students had been working on decorations all school year and were very proud to finally be able to show off all of their work. He told the students he considered them all family and was excited to meet them.
Among the hundreds of thousands who participated in the March for Life Jan. 19 in Washington, D.C., were 10 busloads of students and parishioners from Brooklyn and Queens.
The diocesan Vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns hosted its annual praise and prayer service celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Our Lady of Victory Church, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Jan. 15.
The arctic temperatures, harsh winds and snow that visited the diocese before and during Epiphany weekend canceled events, closed schools and brought down Mass attendance somewhat, but did not bring too much long-term damage according to a sample of parishes interviewed.
