Articles by Matt McDonald
New bishop ordained in Portland, Maine: A Franciscan shepherd for the people
May 10, 2024 / 14:30 pmBishop James Ruggieri, 56, is known for driving a food truck to homeless people when he was a pastor in Providence, Rhode Island.
Kansas Legislature enacts four pro-life bills over governor’s vetoes
May 1, 2024 / 05:30 amSupporters put together the necessary two-thirds majorities to override the vetoes of Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who supports legal abortion.
Chaplains in public schools? Florida’s Catholic bishops ‘pleased’ by new law
Apr 30, 2024 / 17:45 pmFlorida’s bishops are welcoming a new law that allows public schools in the state to have volunteer chaplains.
Armed New York resident arrested in St. Peter’s in Rome was on ‘Most Wanted’ list
Apr 30, 2024 / 16:03 pmMoises Tejada, 54, is on the Most Wanted Fugitives list of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Catholic Answers pulls plug on AI priest ‘Father Justin’
Apr 29, 2024 / 13:30 pmJust days after debuting an AI priest character to overwhelmingly negative reviews, Catholic Answers gave “Father Justin” the virtual heave-ho.
Eucharist, unity, clarity: What attracts converts to the Catholic Church?
Apr 24, 2024 / 07:00 amSeveral U.S. dioceses reported 30%, 40%, 50%, and even more than 70% more adult converts who entered the Catholic Church this Easter.
Pro-lifers dismayed at Massachusetts pro-abortion governor’s appearances at Catholic school events
Apr 23, 2024 / 16:45 pmPro-lifers are raising a ruckus over two recent appearances at Catholic education events by the pro-abortion governor of Massachusetts.
Cardinal Dolan on St. Patrick’s funeral: ‘We don’t do FBI checks on people who want to be buried’
Feb 21, 2024 / 18:05 pmCardinal Timothy Dolan applauded priests at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for deciding not to celebrate Mass when a crowd acted with “irreverence and disrespect.”
UPDATE: Irreverent funeral service at St. Patrick's Cathedral for trans activist sparks outcry
Feb 16, 2024 / 22:15 pmThe Feb. 15 funeral service was held for Cecilia Gentili, a high-profile trans activist and sex-worker advocate.
Catholic volunteer killed on way home from adoration was ‘old soul’
Jan 24, 2024 / 13:00 pmRyan Realbuto, 23, was shot and killed in an attempted robbery on Jan. 18 while walking home from a Holy Hour and social event in Washington, D.C.
Trenton Bishop released from Rome hospital after heart attack
Jan 9, 2024 / 17:40 pmBishop David O’Connell suffered a heart attack while in Rome where he was preparing to lead a pilgrimage of 20 priests and two lay diocesan staff members.
Kansas bishop to walk 19 miles in pilgrimage for peace
Jan 5, 2024 / 17:50 pmBishop Gerald Vincke, 59, who leads the Diocese of Salina, is planning to walk from St. Mary’s Church in Glasco to St. John the Baptist in Beloit.
Trenton bishop suffers heart attack in Rome
Jan 5, 2024 / 13:05 pmBishop David O’Connell, 68, was in Italy to lead a pilgrimage of 20 priests and two members of the diocese’s staff to holy sites in Rome and Assisi.
Christmas 2023: Unusual back-to-back Mass schedule could hurt parishes’ collections this year
Dec 22, 2023 / 16:44 pmThe worry is that some parishioners will fulfill their Sunday or Christmas Day obligation but not both.
Irish priest calls musician Shane MacGowan’s raucous funeral Mass ‘a scandal’
Dec 14, 2023 / 16:00 pmThe Mass included a live performance of “Fairy Tale of New York” and other nonreligious songs composed by the late singer-songwriter.
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.