Southern Nevada Catholic Charities pays $200k over claim of fraud

Washington D.C., Feb 25, 2019 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Recent poll shows a 17-point increase in the number of Americans who identify as pro life, up from 38 percent earlier this year. The results follow a month in which several states passed expansive new pr… […]

Washington D.C., May 26, 2017 / 03:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As military veterans and victims of violence are treated for psychological trauma, the emotional wounds of missionaries and military chaplains might be overlooked, but are just as present.

And with mass shootings, suicides, and acts of terrorism on the rise, more and more first responders like policemen, firemen, hospital workers, and clergy will “continually bear the brunt” of experiencing these horrors.

That’s according to Monsignor Stephen Rosetti, a psychologist and former president of the St. Luke Institute, who spoke to CNA.

“The priests are helping others, and the question is who helps them?” he asked.

Monsignor Rosetti led the St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., an organization that provides psychological care for priests and religious in need of treatment for mental illness, addiction, and other disorders.

Part of the institute’s ministry is helping military chaplains and missionaries who have served in war-torn areas, but also religious who have ministered to victims of trauma at home – amidst events like natural disasters and mass shootings.

Military chaplains suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or other mental illnesses related to their ministry shared their struggles with the Washington Post last year. Repeatedly serving as a listening ear for the dark problems of soldiers, combined with experiencing the horror of battlefield combat and seeing the dead bodies of friends, can take its toll on a priest’s psyche.

“Just about all” priests and religious returning from a war-torn areas will need “some sort of support,” Monsignor Rossetti noted, like a “detoxing” in their transition from a stressful environment to life back in the U.S.

However, a few will require special attention, he said. These are cases where someone has experienced a particularly appalling atrocity or ongoing violence or stress, “almost too much for the human soul to bear.”

“I think especially of missionaries who are in violent areas,” he said, those who have witnessed “mass murders” or “unbelievable poverty and disease.”

For any clergyman traveling to a poor or war-torn area, “we try to train them as best we can to deal with such trauma” before they depart, the monsignor said, “but sometimes the situation is just so horrible that there’s a real human toll to it.”

Trauma – inflicted especially through acts of terrorism, mass shootings, and suicides – is on the rise, he said. The suicide rate in the U.S. is the highest in decades; the number of mass shootings are also on the rise.

Catholics cannot act as if the first responders like parish priests or military chaplains won’t be affected, he insisted. We must “help train them” to deal with trauma, he said, noting the need for “qualified laypeople” in fields like psychology.

Also, he added, “I think we shouldn’t isolate our chaplains.” Rather, we should be working to connect “first responders” like police, emergency medical technicians, hospital nurses and priests, who can talk about their experiences with each other and “support each other,” he said.

Tragedies can make or break someone’s faith, he added. If a person who has experienced trauma is treated with professional psychological care and a network of support, it can help sustain one’s faith and not break one’s spirit.

“Unspeakable sufferings do challenge our faith, and in times when our faith is a little bit too glib, it kind of bashes that and challenges it,” he admitted. “So these kind of events really challenge us to move deeper into the Lord’s passion and eventually, hopefully, His resurrection.”

“It can build up your faith in a new, deeper way, or sadly sometimes people lose their faith.”

This article was originally published on CNA June 5, 2016.

[…]

Damage at St. Stephen’s Catholic School in New Orleans / Monsignor Christopher Nalty

Washington D.C., Sep 2, 2021 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

A New Orleans pastor whose parish school was severely damaged in Hurricane Ida is bracing himself for a “big expense,” but hopes classroom life will not be overly disrupted for students this year. 

St. Stephen Catholic School, located in Uptown New Orleans, lost the roof of its gymnasium when Hurricane Ida swept through the area on Aug. 29. 

“At some point during the early part of the storm, the wind got underneath the vinyl material and then just ripped everything off the roof,” Monsignor Christopher Nalty, pastor of St. Stephen’s church and school, told CNA on Thursday. 

The type of roof formerly on the gymnasium “is very prone to getting destroyed,” Nalty explained. And while the full extent of the damage is not yet known, he suspects that the floor of the gymnasium is destroyed as well. He is also waiting to find out how the other wing of the school, with classrooms, fared. 

“We’re going to have to replace the roof,” he said. “That’s what we’re working on now.” 

In-person classes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans are suspended until after Labor Day, due to the effects of the hurricane. Many areas of the archdiocese still do not have power. 

Local media reported on the significant damage at the school. 

“Take a look at this. It looks like the roof came off of the school building,” said Travers Mackel, a reporter and anchor at WDSU News in a video surveying the area. “This is by far the worst damage that we’ve seen right here.” 

Mackel said that most of the destruction in the surrounding area was to vegetation, and that only St. Stephen Catholic School seemed to have suffered significant property damage. 

Pieces of the school’s roof were strewn into nearby trees and in the street. The church building, located next to the school, was largely spared, although part of the steeple was damaged. 

Nalty told CNA that he hopes to replace the gym roof with one made out of slatted steel. He said that many Gulf Coast churches have opted to replace their roofs with similar styles after they sustained storm damage.

“I said to [a contractor] ‘That’s what I want on the school,’” Nalty said. “‘Cause I don’t want to fix this again, you know?”

The cost of the repairs is not yet clear, but Nalty told CNA that he does not think it will be cheap. The archdiocese’s insurance policy charges a 3% deductible for any damage done by a named storm, such as Hurricane Ida. 

“So 3% of the value of the whole building is the deductible,” he said. “For instance, for my school, my church, I think it’s valued at $15 million. So that means I have a $450,000 deductible before any insurance kicks in.”

For Nalty, the school and its students hold a very special place in his heart, and he hopes that they will be able to return to the school before too long. 

“I do a lot of different things in the archdiocese. I teach at the seminary. I’ve got three churches. Quite possibly, the most important thing I do is the school,” he said, blinking back tears. 

The school was founded in 1852, and serves students from age two through seventh grade. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, St. Stephen Catholic School became a “central school” that took in students whose schools were destroyed. 

“Now our school is about 98% African-American and they are from the poorest demographic of the city,” said Nalty. “My principal is a rockstar and these kids are all on scholarship.”

The school is “such a family,” said Nalty. Students are brought to campus early for breakfast, and stay afterwards for aftercare. For the last four years, every graduate has been admitted into a Catholic high school in New Orleans, with a scholarship. 

“They go to school in this family community. We have Mass every Friday,” he said. “The kids are actively engaged. They know their faith.” 

The opportunities provided to St. Stephen’s students “means the trajectory of their lives has been changed.” 

“Their chances are exponentially different from their neighbors that go to the public schools,” said Nalty. “It’s an incredibly important ministry to me. I just love these kids. They’re just, [the storm damage is] just hard.”

“But anyway, you know, well… We’ll get through it.” 

Anyone wishing to support the rebuilding effort can do so here.

[…]