Today, Bishop Frank Betancourt announced the upcoming ordination of Brother Victor Ayala, FCR, to the deaconate to be held on Saturday, June 9, at 11:00 AM. The ordination will take place at Holy Innocents Cathedral, Halcottsville, NY. Brother Victor is pictured here while visiting Assisi, Italy. Congratulations to Brother Victor for completing his preparation and on his upcoming ordination.
On Tuesday, February 27th, the Coalition Against Child Sex Abuse gathered at the State Capitol in Albany, New York. Across the country, this organization, composed of survivors and advocates, lobby legislators to strengthen laws or write new ones, to protect the most vulnerable in our midst. In New York there has been a great deal of effort to pass a Child Victims Act (CVA). This Act would revisit the statutes of limitations, which at this point do not give victims of abuse an appropriate amount of time in which they may file as a victim. Because of the deep personal trauma a victim experiences, they may not have the strength until later in life to report the abuse. Often perpetrators of such abuse “get away” with this heinous crime.
Father Vic and Mary DeSantis, from the parish of St. John of God, had the opportunity to speak publicly to their local legislators and share their perspective of the impact on a parent and family of a survivor. Tragically their son, Michael, had been abused by several Roman priests when he was a child. This did not come to light until he reached adulthood. Mary continually clarified that the strongest opposition to Child Victims Act continually comes from the Roman Church. Mary’s consistent mantra was “All Romans are Catholic but not all Catholics are ROMAN!” Those present seemed surprised to find there were other Catholics churches. The DeSantis explained CACINA as being a Catholic faith community, highly supportive of the bill. Where the Child Victim Act goes from here is in the hands of legislators. Prayer is always needed so that justice will prevail.
Members of Holy Innocents Cathedral and Saint John of God parish, celebrated the opening of the new Albany Damien Center, which will house the centers programs, staff and 20 permanent and supportive apartments for 22 people living with HIV/AIDS, who are chronically homeless. The Damien Center is named after Saint Damien of Molokai, a priest who in the 1800s ministered to terminally ill lepers on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. The husband of Father Tony Green, Perry Junjulas, is the Executive Director of the center and is largely responsible for the construction of the new center. The celebration began with a star studded show at the historic Cohoes Music Hall. This event raised an additional $50,000 to support the center. The following day, Father Tony Green, Father Vic and Mary DeSantis, Father Dante Tarantini, FCR and Bishop Francisco Betancourt, FCR had a personal tour of the new center. At the start of the tour, Perry was presented with an icon of Saint Damien and a statue of Christ, which will be placed in the “Healing Room,” a meditative area at the center. For more information about the Damien Center please visit www.AlbanyDamienCenter.org.
|
|
|
