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Matt Malone, S.J., (born 1972) is an American Catholic Jesuit priest, author, and journalist. He served as the editor-in-chief of America magazine and as president of its parent publisher, America Media, from 2012 to 2022. He entered the Society of Jesus in 2002 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2012 by Cardinal Edward Egan, former archbishop of New York.[1]

Early life

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Matthew F. Malone[2] was born on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and attended Mashpee Middle School and Falmouth High School. He is the fifth of sixth children born to an Irish-Catholic family. He was baptized at the parish of Our Lady of Victory in Centerville, Massachusetts and was confirmed at the Parish of Christ the King in Mashpee. He has written about the death of his brother in a drunk driving crash in 1984 and his father’s subsequent act of forgiveness.[3]

Education

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Malone was the Massachusetts state champion and second-place national winner in the 1990 American Legion High School Oratorical Competition.[4] For this achievement he was invited to address[5] the Massachusetts General Court. Malone graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he majored in history.

Career

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Malone worked for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, serving as a field coordinator for the 1994 senatorial and gubernatorial nominees. From 1995 to 1997, he was an assistant to U.S. Representative Martin T. Meehan (D-MA). In 1997, Malone was named the founding deputy director of MassINC, a nonpartisan political think tank. He subsequently served as co-publisher of CommonWealth, MassINC’s quarterly review of politics, ideas and civic life. He was twice elected to the Planning Board in his hometown of Mashpee, Massachusetts and served as chairman during his second term.[6]

The Jesuits

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Malone entered the Jesuits in 2002. After completing his novitiate in Syracuse, New York, he earned an M.A. in philosophy at Fordham University, studying under the renowned Jesuit philosopher and teacher, W. Norris Clarke, S.J. From 2007-2009, Malone was an associate editor at America, where he covered U.S. politics and foreign affairs and oversaw the first re-design of the magazine[7] in more than a decade.

Malone led America Media, formerly known as America Press, from 2012 to 2022. During his tenure, he developed and implemented a strategic plan for transforming the weekly print magazine into a multi-platform media company. Malone leveraged the equity in the organization’s headquarters building[8] in Manhattan to invest in new technology, hire staff members and redesign the magazine and website. As of 2018, America Media had grown to include a staff of 45 employees with an annual budget of $10.5 million and an endowment of nearly $40 million.[8] As of 2021, America Media reported 1.1 million unique digital visitors per month and a growing number of print and digital subscribers—the highest numbers in the organization’s history.[9] During Malone’s tenure, in conjunction with a number of Jesuit journals throughout the world, America published the first interview with Pope Francis.[10] During his tenure, America also published: the first issue of a Jesuit magazine written and edited entirely by women;[11] the most comprehensive survey of American Catholic women ever conducted;[12] and the first journalistic interview with then-Vice President Joe Biden following the death of his son, Beau.[13] Malone's profiles and interviews include former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner,[14] Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards,[15] Broadway icon Vanessa Williams,[16] and human rights activist Kerry Kennedy.[17] Since 2012, America Media has won a record-number of awards and has twice been named magazine of the year by the Catholic Media Association, which honored the organization for “setting an incredibly high bar for intellectualism and spirituality.”[18] Malone announced in 2021 that he would step down as president and editor in chief in the autumn of 2022.[19] He resigned both positions on November 30, 2022.[20]

Malone has provided analysis and commentary on ecclesial and political events for most major news networks. He is a consultant for NBC News. He has provided commentary for NBC Nightly News,[21] Hardball with Chris Matthews,[22] Morning Joe,[22] the BBC, NPR,[23] the PBS NewsHour[24] and the Charlie Rose Show.[25] His work and ideas have been featured in The New York Times,[26] The Washington Post[27] and The Wall Street Journal,[28] among others. He is the author of “Catholiques Sans Etiquette” (Catholics Without Labels), a book concerning the church and politics, which was published by Salvator Press in Paris.[29]

In late 2024, Malone announced that he would exit the Society of Jesus and petition to be dispensed from the obligations of Catholic holy orders.[30]

Awards and distinctions

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Malone is a chaplain to the New York Press Club. In 2018 he was the presiding chaplain at the memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Robert F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.[31] Malone has twice co-published opinion columns with former U.S. Senator John C. Danforth.[32][33] He has also served on the boards of trustees of Boston College, the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), The Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and the Fulton J. Sheen Center for Thought and Culture. His column in America was named best regular column by the Catholic Press Association in 2018[18] and he has twice won the best essay award from the CPA.[3][34] In 2022, Malone won a first place award for travel writing from the New York Press Club.[35] He is also a recipient of The Cross "Pro Piis Meritis" pro Merito Melitensi from the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for his services to their mission to the United Nations[36] and he is a recipient of The John Carroll Medal from The John Carroll Society.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "Jesuits Magazine Fall 2012 by Communications Director - Issuu". issuu.com. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  2. ^ "Rev. Matthew F. Malone Awarded with Cross Pro Piis Meritis of the Sovereign Order of Malta". Order of Malta's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  3. ^ a b "The Father of Mercies". America Magazine. 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  4. ^ American Legion. National Headquarters (July 1990). The American Legion [Volume 129, No. 1 (July 1990)]. The American Legion National Headquarters Library. American Legion.
  5. ^ Massachusetts State Archives, 1990 https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/796476/1990-House-02-MiscIndex.pdf?sequence=15&isAllowed=y
  6. ^ MCPHERSON, DAVID. "Politics Column". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  7. ^ "Of Many Things". America Magazine. 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  8. ^ a b Margolies, Jane (2018-07-17). "A New Home for a Publisher and Its Priests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  9. ^ America Media website: https://www.americamagazine.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2022America-AtAGlanceOneSheet-07.18.22.pdf
  10. ^ "A Big Heart Open to God: An interview with Pope Francis". America Magazine. 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  11. ^ "Women in the Life of the Church: A special issue of 'America'". America Magazine. 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  12. ^ "No one had ever done a comprehensive survey of Catholic women. So we did". America Magazine. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  13. ^ Joe Biden talks his Catholic Faith, Pope Francis and Politics, retrieved 2022-10-03
  14. ^ "John Boehner has no regrets | The America Profile". America Magazine. 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  15. ^ "The America Profile: Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, the pro-life Catholic Democrat". America Magazine. 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  16. ^ A conversation with Vanessa Williams | Of Many Things with Matt Malone, S.J., retrieved 2022-10-03
  17. ^ Kerry Kennedy on civil unrest in the United States | Of Many Things with Matt Malone, S.J., retrieved 2022-10-03
  18. ^ a b "America Media receives record 48 awards from Catholic Press Association". America Magazine. 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  19. ^ "Matt Malone: Why I'm stepping down as editor in chief of America Media". America Magazine. 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  20. ^ "'I feared we would run out of time': A final conversation with Editor in Chief Matt Malone". America Magazine. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  21. ^ "NBC News: Ann Curry talks to Bishop Cupich, upcoming Archbishop of Chicago | 'Katolikker i Dialog'". Katolikker i Dialog (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  22. ^ a b "Nerding Out: Past U.S. Papal visits". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  23. ^ "50 Years After RFK's Death, Family And Admirers Gather In Arlington, Va., To Remember His Legacy". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  24. ^ "Pope: Church's Moral Edifice Will Fall 'Like a House of Cards' Without Balance". PBS NewsHour. 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  25. ^ "Matt Malone". Charlie Rose. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  26. ^ Haberman, Clyde (2013-04-07). "A Priest in the New Pope's Order Seeks to Move Hearts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  27. ^ Boorstein, Michelle (2013-06-28). "America, a popular intellectual Catholic magazine, bans terms 'liberal,' 'conservative'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  28. ^ Malone, John C. Danforth and Matt (2020-09-03). "Opinion | A First Step Toward Loving Our Enemies". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  29. ^ Catholics without Labels: https://www.amazon.com/CATHOLIQUES-SANS-ETIQUETTE-MATT-MALONE/dp/2706711329
  30. ^ OSV News (2024-12-21). "Former America magazine editor-in-chief Matt Malone plans to leave Jesuits, priesthood". Our Sunday Visitor. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  31. ^ "RFK 50th Anniversary Memorial Service". RFK: His Words for Our Times. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  32. ^ Danforth, Matt Malone and John C. "Malone and Danforth: America's clergy must denounce Donald Trump and antisemitism". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  33. ^ Malone, John C. Danforth and Matt. "Opinion | A First Step Toward Loving Our Enemies". WSJ. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  34. ^ "An open letter to my fellow white Americans". America Magazine. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  35. ^ NYPC:https://www.nypressclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/NYPC-2022-AWARDS.pdf
  36. ^ "Rev. Matthew F. Malone Awarded with Cross Pro Piis Meritis of the Sovereign Order of Malta". Order of Malta's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  37. ^ "Recipients of the JCS Medal - The John Carroll Society". www.johncarrollsociety.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
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