Gay Man Named Executive Editor of National Catholic Reporter

Award-winning journalist Michael J. O'Loughlin makes history as the first gay person to lead the influential Catholic news outlet.

By John Riley on October 23, 2025 @JRileyMW

In a historic move, Michael J. O’Loughlin, an award-winning journalist and gay man, has been named executive editor of the National Catholic Reporter, the nation’s leading independent Catholic news organization.

A New England-based journalist, O’Loughlin has amassed more than 15 years of experience covering religion as a reporter, editor, podcast host, and author. For the past nine years, he has worked at America Media, the Jesuit news and commentary outlet, serving seven years as national correspondent and most recently as founding executive director of Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic news site.

At Outreach, O’Loughlin led multimedia coverage from Rome of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, launched the site’s inaugural endowment fund, and boosted attendance at its national conference by more than 60 percent.

O’Loughlin also recently wrote an in-depth profile of a two-year Catholic college in Chicago serving first-generation Americans, a Washington Post op-ed on the early days of Pope Leo’s papacy, and an award-winning feature examining challenges faced by for-profit Catholic hospitals.

“At this pivotal moment for Catholics around the world and here at home, Mike’s deep knowledge of the Church, his commitment to independent reporting, and his proven leadership make him the perfect person to keep NCR moving forward,” said Joe Ferullo, CEO and publisher of the National Catholic Reporter Publishing Co. “We welcome his perspective and energy as we continue to serve Catholic and wider audiences with rigorous, compassionate coverage.”

Before joining America Media, O’Loughlin served as national correspondent for Crux, an online publication covering the Catholic Church that began as a project of The Boston Globe. He has also written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Foreign Policy.

He has earned awards from the Catholic Media Association, the Religion News Association, and the National LGBTQ Journalists Association, and is the author of the 2021 book Hidden Mercy, which explores how the Catholic Church responded to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. His reporting on HIV and AIDS earned a 2023 GLAAD Media Award nomination.

“I am honored to join National Catholic Reporter,” O’Loughlin, who will officially begin as executive editor in January, said in a statement. “NCR’s commitment to independent reporting, sharp analysis and thought-provoking commentary remains crucial during this unsettled time and I’m excited to join the team as we help bring clarity and understanding to the people, events and circumstances shaping the world and the church.”

New Ways Ministry, a Catholic advocacy group promoting LGBTQ inclusion within the Church, praised O’Loughlin’s appointment, noting that the National Catholic Reporter is the first U.S. Catholic publication to name an openly gay person to its top leadership role.