Madalaine Elhabbal

Madalaine Elhabbal

Madalaine Elhabbal is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency based at EWTN’s Washington, D.C., bureau. She has been published by CatholicVote and has also worked as foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.

Articles by Madalaine Elhabbal

Beyoncé attends Glamour Women of the Year at Times Square Edition Hotel on Oct. 8, 2024, in New York City. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour

Beyoncé to sing at abortion-focused Harris campaign rally in Texas

Oct 25, 2024 / 15:50 pm

The Harris campaign has described Texas as “ground zero of the nation’s extreme abortion bans.”

Parents protest the Montgomery County School Board's policy blocking them from opting out their children from pro-homosexual and transgender materials. Credit: Photo courtesy of Becket

Maryland school district pulls LGBTQ books amid legal battle before Supreme Court

Oct 24, 2024 / 12:30 pm

Parents from diverse faith backgrounds filed suit in May 2023 after the district announced it would no longer allow parents to opt out of gender ideology lessons. 

A reconstruction of an ancient church recently discovered in Armenia. The newly discovered church measures about 100 feet across and is shaped like an octagon with “cruciform annexes oriented east-west and north-south,” according to Achim Lictenberger, who noted the discovery of a similar structure from a slightly later period found in Abchazia (Sebastopol). Credit: AGAP

Ancient ruins in Armenia might be oldest church in world’s first Christian nation

Oct 24, 2024 / 08:00 am

A team of German and Armenian researchers made a groundbreaking discovery last week of an ancient church in Armenia dating back to the fourth century.

Anglican nuns from Sisterhood of St. Mary (photographed with bishops from the Anglican Church of North America’s Diocese of the Living Word) are among those suing the state of New York for requiring that they cover abortion in their health plans. Credit: Photo courtesy of Becket Law

Coalition of faith groups side with nuns in religious freedom case before Supreme Court

Oct 23, 2024 / 15:45 pm

The Anglican nuns and religious groups are suing the state of New York after it mandated employers to cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans.

Doctors announce the Women’s Health Declaration at a press conference on Oct. 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Credit: Migi Fabara/EWTN

Pro-life doctors call for dignified ‘life-affirming’ pregnancy care for women, children

Oct 22, 2024 / 17:45 pm

The declaration seeks to address the increased use of chemical abortion drugs and misinformation about crisis pregnancies among health care professionals.

Pro-life protestors hold signs outside the Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 10, 2024, advocating against Amendment 3, which would dramatically expand abortion access in Missouri if passed in November. Credit: Courtesy of Thomas More Society

3 states pick up abortion pill lawsuit against Food and Drug Administration

Oct 21, 2024 / 17:50 pm

The states of Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho argue in the new lawsuit that “women should have the in-person care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs.” 

Operators work on Lilith, the “guardian of darkness,” built for the Hellfest metal festival in Toulouse, southwestern France, on Oct. 15, 2024. “Lilith” is one of the characters in the urban opera of the French company La Machine titled “The Guardian of the Temple Opus II: The Portal of Darkness,” which will be presented on Oct. 25–27, 2024, in Toulouse. Credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

French archbishop consecrates city to Sacred Heart of Jesus ahead of ‘Gate of Darkness’ event

Oct 21, 2024 / 15:00 pm

Archbishop Guy de Kerimel’s decision to consecrate the city and archdiocese comes ahead of the operatic city-funded production “The Gate of Darkness.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meets for its fall plenary assembly meeting Nov. 14, 2023, in Baltimore. Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNA

U.S. bishops to meet in November to discuss synod, Eucharistic Revival, canonization causes

Oct 18, 2024 / 18:15 pm

Major items on the agenda for the plenary assembly include reports on the U.S. bishops’ efforts concerning the National Eucharistic Revival.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, seen taking part in the International Meeting for Peace in Paris,on Sept. 22, 2024, condemned the firing of a Catholic school administrator accused of violating French laws prohibiting religious expression in educational settings.  Credit: THIBAULT CAMUS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Paris archbishop condemns firing of Catholic school principal accused of violating secular laws

Oct 17, 2024 / 17:40 pm

Catholic schools in France, which are state-funded, are allowed to maintain their religious identity and offer catechism classes so long as they are not mandatory. 

Former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward (center) at the tomb of St. Sebastian at Rome’s Cathedral of St. Sebastian after entering the Catholic Church this year. He received the sacraments of initiation from Archbishop Timothy Broglio, USCCB president and archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Credit: Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Retired NBA star Gordon Hayward enters Catholic Church in Rome: Exclusive interview

Oct 17, 2024 / 10:50 am

And what a beginning it was for the former Celtics player, who received the sacraments of initiation and first Communion from Archbishop Timothy Broglio.

In January 2025, Pope Francis will become the first sitting pontiff to publish an autobiographical memoir, which will be titled “Hope.” Credit: Penguin Random House

Pope Francis to release ‘first memoir published by a sitting pontiff’ in January

Oct 16, 2024 / 17:40 pm

The original plan had been to release the memoir after his death. However, the pope decided to publish in light of the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

Catholics join in prayer for the 2019 International Week of Prayer and Fasting at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Credit: IWOPF

‘Trusting the Lord’: Catholics gather for 32nd International Week of Prayer and Fasting

Oct 11, 2024 / 09:25 am

This year’s event will kick off Oct. 12 with an in-person conference at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax, Virginia, followed by a virtual speaker series.

Ethel Kennedy attends the ceremonial installation for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at George Washington University March 27, 2009, in Washington, D.C. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Ethel Kennedy, wife of Robert F. Kennedy and devout Catholic, dies at 96

Oct 10, 2024 / 14:20 pm

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant,” a family statement said.

Nuns from the Missionaries of Charity hold candles in recognition of the May 3 annivesary of ethnic violence in Manipur, India. Credit: Anto Akkara

Christians face arbitrary arrests, grave religious freedom violations in India

Oct 8, 2024 / 06:00 am

According to a recent report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Christians in India are facing increasingly hostile threats.

Sherry Colvin (left) and her daughter Gabriela were among the attendees at the "Remembering October 7th" rally held in front of the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 7, 2024. Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Christians join supporters of Israel at rally on National Mall on Oct. 7

Oct 7, 2024 / 18:45 pm

The event, “Remembering October 7th,” was sponsored by the Philos Project, a Christian nonprofit organization that advocates for pluralism. 

Panelists discuss how the transgender movement is impacting young women in particular at the 2024 Pray Vote Stand Summit panel “Saving America’s Daughters: Title IX and the Fight for Fairness.” From left to right: moderator Joseph Backholm, Macy Petty, Doreen Denny, and William Bock. Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Pray Vote Stand Summit panelists push back against administration’s trans agenda

Oct 7, 2024 / 13:00 pm

Panelists at the annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., this past weekend discussed how the transgender movement is impacting young women.

Mark Houck and other pro-life activists share the severe suffering they have experienced due to the pro-abortion policies of the Biden-Harris administration at the Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Panelists at Pray Vote Stand Summit slam government’s pro-abortion agenda

Oct 5, 2024 / 09:20 am

Pennsylvania pro-life advocate Mark Houck joined panelists at the Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Pope Francis views a historic relic of the chair of St. Peter on Oct. 2, 2024. Credit: Holy See Press Office

What’s behind the viral photo of Pope Francis venerating a chair?

Oct 4, 2024 / 18:15 pm

CNA explains what was behind the viral photo of Pope Francis sitting before an ancient wooden chair during the first day of the Synod on Synodality this week.

A sign for the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center is on display near the hospital in Burbank, California. Credit: Jason Kirk/Getty Images

California Catholic hospital apologizes after lawsuit claims it denied pregnant woman care

Oct 2, 2024 / 17:45 pm

“While elective abortions are not performed in Providence facilities, we do not deny emergency care,” a Providence St. Joseph Hospital spokesperson told CNA.

null Credit: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock

Vermont diocese files for bankruptcy amid more sex abuse lawsuits

Oct 2, 2024 / 14:45 pm

“While my heart is heavy with the decision to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, such weight pales in comparison to the pain suffered by victims of abuse,” the bishop said.