Daniel Payne

Daniel Payne

Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.

Articles by Daniel Payne

Grammy-winning Florida priest cleared of sexual misconduct charges

Mar 19, 2024 / 14:30 pm

Bishop Frank Dewane said that Father Jerome Kaywell’s accuser apologized and said the accusation of sexual misconduct was based on a “false memory.”

Pope Francis laicizes Toledo priest after life sentence for sexual abuse of minors

Mar 19, 2024 / 11:30 am

Pope Francis has laicized an Ohio priest, Michael Zacharias, who was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking by a federal jury in Ohio last May. 

Pontifical Gregorian University announces merger with biblical, Eastern institutes

Mar 19, 2024 / 10:30 am

The historic Pontifical Gregorian University this week announced its official merger with the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

U.S. bishops call for ‘focused effort of prayer’ ahead of Supreme Court abortion pill hearings

Mar 18, 2024 / 12:55 pm

The bishops said the FDA “has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry and turned neighborhood pharmacies into chemical abortion providers.”

‘Miracles’: Rhode Island Catholic school thrives after last-ditch purchase from diocese

Mar 18, 2024 / 07:00 am

Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope in Warwick, Rhode Island, recently acquired the property of St. Francis School and Church from the Providence Diocese.

Virginia diocese offers to assist with burial of unborn baby found in pond

Mar 15, 2024 / 17:05 pm

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, announced that his diocese is willing to help with the burial of the body of an unborn baby discovered in a local pond.

French bishops condemn Macron’s assisted suicide bill

Mar 15, 2024 / 13:30 pm

Several French Catholic bishops this week roundly condemned a recently announced proposal by the Macron government to legalize the practice of assisted suicide.

Pornhub disables website in Texas rather than comply with state’s age verification law

Mar 15, 2024 / 11:25 am

Pornhub, one of the largest pornography websites in the world, has ceased offering its website in Texas rather than comply with the state’s age verification law.

Wisconsin Supreme Court says Catholic charity group cannot claim religious tax exemption

Mar 14, 2024 / 16:00 pm

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a major Catholic charity group’s activities were not “primarily” religious under state law.

Priest sues Indiana diocese after ‘no evidence’ found in sex abuse investigation

Mar 14, 2024 / 12:45 pm

A priest in Indiana is suing his diocese for fraud and defamation after he was suspended over what the clergyman claims were false allegations.

Diocese of Buffalo announces sale of headquarters to pay sex abuse victims

Mar 14, 2024 / 11:15 am

The Diocese of Buffalo in New York has announced the sale of its headquarters in downtown Buffalo nearly four years after it declared bankruptcy.

DOJ signals that U.S. prisons must adopt transgender policies for prisoners

Mar 13, 2024 / 14:00 pm

The Department of Justice said the Utah Department of Corrections had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

State attorneys general threaten lawsuit over Maine abortion, transgender bill

Mar 12, 2024 / 17:30 pm

Over a dozen state attorneys general are threatening a possible lawsuit over a bill that extends legal protections to out-of-staters seeking transgender-related procedures.

Pope Francis laicizes North Dakota priest after sexual assault guilty plea

Mar 12, 2024 / 13:30 pm

Diocese of Fargo Bishop John Folda said in a statement this month that former priest Neil Pfeifer “received a dispensation from the clerical state” effective March 8.

Pope Francis appoints UCLA astrophysicist to Pontifical Academy of Sciences

Mar 8, 2024 / 16:05 pm

Andrea Mia Ghez, recognized for her groundbreaking research on black holes, is one of only four women to have been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. 

Connecticut latest state to consider ‘human composting’ amid Catholic opposition

Mar 8, 2024 / 12:10 pm

The measure under consideration seeks to “authorize the natural organic reduction of human remains as a final disposition of such remains.”

Fake priest robs New York church of $900 in multistate impersonator scam

Mar 7, 2024 / 15:20 pm

NYPD Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,500 reward for tips leading to the arrest of a man who impersonated a priest to gain access to a Queens church. 

New criminal justice program in Steubenville ‘rooted in the Catholic tradition’

Mar 7, 2024 / 12:10 pm

Franciscan University of Steubenville, founded in 1946, announced the launch of the program in a press release last month.

Leaked files reveal transgender group’s ‘pseudoscientific’ crusade, ethical abuse

Mar 5, 2024 / 15:50 pm

Members of a transgender advocacy organization admitted that children who receive transgender procedures are too young to be capable of consent.

French bishops call for fasting and prayer as France enshrines abortion in constitution 

Mar 4, 2024 / 15:22 pm

The French National Assembly in January voted to introduce a “right to abortion” in the French Constitution.