Joe Bukuras

Joe Bukuras

Joseph Bukuras is a journalist at the Catholic News Agency.  Joe has prior experience working in state and federal government, in non-profits, and Catholic education. He has contributed to an array of publications and his reporting has been cited by leading news sources, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Catholic University of America. He is based out of the Boston area.

Articles by Joe Bukuras

2023 witnessed continued attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers, churches

Dec 29, 2023 / 06:00 am

Attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers only got worse once Roe was officially overturned in June 2022, and they continued throughout 2023. 

Maryland 2024 referendum proposes constitutional right to abortion

Dec 27, 2023 / 06:00 am

Voters in Maryland will take part in a statewide referendum next November to decide whether to make abortion access a constitutional right there.

New Yorkers will vote on making abortion an ‘equal right’ in state’s constitution

Dec 26, 2023 / 06:00 am

The 2024 ballot initiative comes as a wave of states attempt to expand abortion access by amending their constitutions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Ukrainian archbishop says same-sex blessings document doesn’t apply to Eastern Churches

Dec 22, 2023 / 16:56 pm

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said that his statement was in response to numerous appeals from bishops, clergy, monastics, and individual laity.

Almost all Christians have fled southern Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah bombing

Dec 21, 2023 / 17:45 pm

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militant group in Lebanon, began attacking Israel at the Israeli-Lebanese border following the beginning of the conflict.

Indiana Catholic women’s college reverses transgender admissions policy

Dec 21, 2023 / 14:52 pm

Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy had last month confirmed a new transgender-friendly admissions policy for the college.

Biden-Harris to prioritize abortion stance for reelection campaign

Dec 19, 2023 / 19:05 pm

The U.S. vice president’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour is scheduled to focus on the alleged “harm” of abortion bans.

Irish diocese to rely on laity to preside over funerals amid shortage of priests

Dec 19, 2023 / 13:30 pm

A major vocation crisis could result in fewer than 10 active priests in the diocese in less than 20 years, according to the local ordinary, Bishop Larry Duffy.

New York bill would bar Chick-fil-A from major highway over Sunday closures

Dec 18, 2023 / 15:02 pm

A proposed bill in New York state would require Chick-fil-A to leave a major highway system unless it opened on Sundays.

Pro-life group Live Action offers ‘window to the womb’ in new online experience

Dec 17, 2023 / 10:00 am

Users can either watch an animated video that progresses through each day of development or they can click through each week at their own speed.

A cardinal, an archbishop, and a bishop reveal their vocation stories

Dec 17, 2023 / 09:00 am

During this year’s bishops’ conference in Baltimore, three prelates serving in different parts of the country shared their stories of what drew them to the priesthood.

Human rights leaders call for Nigeria to be redesignated as religious freedom violator

Dec 14, 2023 / 13:17 pm

In 2021, the Biden administration removed Nigeria, a nation notorious for extreme levels of religious persecution, from the Countries of Particular Concern list.

Father James Jackson sentenced to 6 years in prison for child pornography

Dec 13, 2023 / 16:15 pm

Judge William Smith gave Traditional Latin Mass priest James Jackson a sentence higher than was recommended.

Court documents reveal Father James Jackson said he was sexually abused as a child

Dec 11, 2023 / 17:52 pm

Jackson, who faces charges of possessing child pornography, claimed he was molested by the mother of another child in his Boy Scout Troop when he was 10.

Quebec Archdiocese celebrates 350th anniversary with jubilee year of celebration

Dec 8, 2023 / 16:30 pm

The oldest diocese in Canada begins Dec. 8, 2023, a yearlong celebration with an opening Mass at the country’s historic Notre-Dame-de-Québec Cathedral Basilica.

After pro-life loss in Ohio, Columbus bishop announces several initiatives to promote life

Dec 8, 2023 / 16:00 pm

Columbus Bishop Earl Fernandes has announced several pro-life and spiritual initiatives that the prelate hopes will make abortion “unthinkable.”

Wisconsin court rules that pro-life law doesn’t apply to abortion

Dec 7, 2023 / 16:45 pm

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Schlipper wrote in her Dec. 5 ruling that the 1849 law “does not apply to consensual abortions but to feticide.”

FBI director grilled after release of new report on targeting of Catholics

Dec 6, 2023 / 17:35 pm

The hearing followed the unveiling of the House Judiciary Committee’s report detailing the results of a monthslong investigation into a leaked internal FBI memo.

Theodore McCarrick case in Wisconsin hangs in the balance after new competency exam

Dec 6, 2023 / 14:45 pm

If the Wisconsin case is dismissed, McCarrick could avoid any criminal penalties for the accusations of sexual abuse that saw him removed from the clerical state.

Opus Dei priest dies from heart attack while preaching at retreat

Nov 30, 2023 / 18:20 pm

Father Fadi Sarraf, a recently ordained priest of Opus Dei, reportedly died of a heart attack while preaching at a facility near Montreal, Canada.