Articles by Matt McDonald
Local bishops: Steubenville-Columbus diocesan merger back in play
Dec 13, 2023 / 17:25 pmThe bishops who lead the dioceses of Columbus and Steubenville in Ohio could present a merger plan to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops next year.
Bishop Strickland was advised to leave Tyler Diocese but can still say Mass there
Dec 8, 2023 / 10:17 am“I have received no such instruction,” Strickland said by text Thursday night, responding to a report that he has been barred from saying Mass in the diocese.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a swing vote on abortion, dies
Dec 1, 2023 / 17:40 pmPresident Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court in July 1981, fulfilling a campaign promise to name the first woman to the nation’s highest court.
Hard-living Irish musician Shane MacGowan received last rites before he died, family says
Dec 1, 2023 / 14:15 pmMacGowan was raised a Catholic and often used Catholic imagery in his songs, though he did not practice the faith for most of his adult life.
First Ratzinger Prize winners since Pope Benedict's death go to two Spanish theologians
Nov 10, 2023 / 16:06 pmWhile Pope Francis ordinarily presents each award personally, this year the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, plans to do so instead.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Catholic, won’t seek reelection
Nov 9, 2023 / 17:06 pmDemocratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s decision to leave the U.S. Senate may hurt the Democrats’ chances of keeping it in 2024.
Biden NIH nominee grilled on funding for gender transition research, fetal tissue
Oct 20, 2023 / 10:40 amMonica Bertagnolli answered questions for about two hours on Capitol Hill on Wednesday before the Senate Health Committee.
Illinois governor launches national fundraising organization to stump for abortion access
Oct 19, 2023 / 10:30 amThink Big America is “dedicated to safeguarding reproductive rights and standing up against the right-wing extremists who want to take us backwards.”
‘No wiggle room’: Muslim parents object to LGBT curriculum at Minnesota charter school
Oct 18, 2023 / 11:54 amMuslim parents at a Minnesota public charter school are objecting to books that teach about same-sex attraction and gender identity in elementary grades.
Facility-based abortions drop 30% in North Carolina after 12-week abortion ban, data show
Oct 17, 2023 / 11:20 amIn May the state Legislature enacted a bill largely banning abortions after 12 weeks, with some exceptions. The state’s previous limit was 20 weeks.
Southwestern Virginia church named basilica
Oct 14, 2023 / 10:04 amThe former St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in the Diocese of Roanoke, Virginia, is now the Basilica of St. Andrew.
Boston Archdiocese opposes bill eliminating time limits for child sex abuse claims
Oct 5, 2023 / 12:21 pmThe current bill being considered by the Legislature would eliminate the time limit and allow lawsuits at any time against a purported perpetrator.
Newsom’s pick of abortion activist to Senate reveals White House ambitions, experts say
Oct 4, 2023 / 10:20 amLaphonza Butler, 44, checks a number of boxes among Democratic interest groups.
Theodore McCarrick: ‘I have trouble with words’
Aug 31, 2023 / 15:30 pmThe former cardinal’s eloquence made him a force in the Catholic Church. Now, his loss for words appears to have spared him from criminal prosecution.
.jpg?w=310&h=198)
Head of U.S. bishops’ conference contradicts Biden’s claims about taxpayer-funded abortions
Feb 1, 2023 / 18:40 pmPresident Biden asserted this week that neither the pope nor all Catholic bishops oppose public funding for abortion in the U.S.
Cardinal Dolan criticizes Biden administration for trying to force employers to cover contraception
Feb 1, 2023 / 16:15 pmHHS announced a proposed rule that would leave in place the current exemption for religious employers but take away the exemption based purely on moral grounds.
Connecticut pro-life pregnancy center drops lawsuit against state’s ‘deceptive advertising’ ban
Jan 20, 2023 / 18:30 pmCare Net Pregnancy Resource Center of Southeastern Connecticut is satisfied that the state attorney general isn’t taking action against crisis pregnancy centers in the state.