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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, OCTOBER 13, 2019
For Heaven’s Sake!
Catholic protesters demand city erect statue of saint after McCray snub
BY ROSE ADAMS
More than 1,000 Kings
County Catholics gathered
in Carroll Gardens
on Sunday to march
in support of Mother
Cabrini, a saint and former
Brooklynite, who
was recently snubbed by
First Lady Chirlane Mc-
Cray during a statuebuilding
competition.
“It was extremely powerful,”
said Monsignor David
Cassato, the Italian
Apostolate of the Diocese
of Brooklyn, who helped
organize the march.
The controversy surrounding
the 20th-century
saint erupted in
late August after Mc-
Cray — Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s wife — overrode
constituents who voted
overwhelmingly to honor
Mother Cabrini by erecting
a new public statue.
The saint dominated the
poorly attended polls by
more than a hundred
votes, but the city’s First
Lady snubbed the democratic
process in choosing
seven other historic
women to be memorialized
by the She Built NYC
public initiative, sparking
outrage in the Catholic
community.
The Oct. 6 protest was
attended by more than
1,000 Mother Cabrini fans
from across the city, who
carried signs and statues
honoring the saint —
known for her work with
New York’s immigrants
in the late 19th century —
as they crusaded through
Carroll Gardens, concluding
their march at
Sacred Hearts Church
on First Place and Hicks
Street.
One marcher, whose
grandmother was a student
of Mother Cabrini in
the early 1900’s, said the
procession brought the
community together in
honor of a worthy cause.
“I loved it,” said Carroll
Gardens native Maria
Cammareri. “It was
so nice going around the
neighborhood.”
The Catholic Foundation
for Brooklyn and
Queens used the march
to announce a fundraising
campaign to build its
own statue of the beloved
saint — which they hope
to erect outside of Brooklyn
Borough Hall. Donations
for the effort immediately
took off, reaching
over $17,000 before the
end of the day, according
to Cassato.
But some Catholics remain
uncontent to turn
the other cheek, arguing
that the city should
be bankrolling the new
statue, not private donors.
“I’ve been a very big
donor of the Catholic
church,” said Bensonhurst
resident Ursula
Agosta. “But the whole
principle is that Mc-
Cray is using taxpayer
money.”
Reverend Guy Sbordone
from St. Frances Cabrini
Church in Bensonhurst
also criticized the effort,
arguing that the crowdfunding
strategy takes
the pressure off McCray.
“It should be done by the
city,” he said.
But Cassato defended the
fundraising campaign,
claiming that the money
would simply augment
city funding for a Mother
Cabrini statue, not commission
one on it’s own.
More than 1,000 Catholics marched to protest First Lady Chirlane McCray’s decision to snub Mother Cabrini (above), in a demonstration
that ended at Sacred Heart St. Stephen Church (below), where Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio delivered a homily in Italian.
Photos by Trey Pentecost
“We do not want the decision...
to be limited because
of a budget already
exhausted on their current
selections,” he said.
“Should the city decided
to fully fund the creation
of the statue then donations
will be available to
enhance what is created
by the city.”
Currently, the city is
planning on commemorating
the seven women
of McCray’s choosing
— including jazz singer
Billie Holiday, Congresswoman
Shirley Chisholm,
and civil rights
advocate Elizabeth Jennings
Graham — none
of whom managed even a
second place finish during
the voting period.
Several nuns rode on a fl oat
during Sunday afternoon’s procession
through Carroll Gardens.
Photo by Trey Pentecost