The Catholic community lost a champion with the passing of Kate O’Beirne; she died April 23rd. She was a smart, courageous pundit and policy analyst who never ducked an opponent.
Kate was featured on the CNN talk show, “The Capital Gang,” for many years. She was polite yet firm: she knew her stuff and delivered her message with alacrity. Pity those who sought to upend her. She was just as devastating with her pen: she wrote for Bill Buckley’s National Review, and later worked in an administrative capacity for the magazine.
Bill Donohue first met Kate in the late 1980s when he was a Bradley Resident Scholar at The Heritage Foundation; Kate was a vice president there. He recalls her ability to master public policy issues—on a range of subjects—always knowing how to cut to the quick. But it was her amiable personality that won everyone over.
Kate had a great sense of humor, and while she could be tough, she was never mean. That is why even those who didn’t agree with her came to admire her.
Shortly after Donohue became president of the Catholic League, Kate joined the league’s board of directors; she would later switch to our advisory board. She was outspoken in her denunciation of Catholic bashing, and was equally vocal in her support for the rights of the unborn.
We need more outspoken women like Kate O’Beirne in the Catholic Church. She will be sorely missed.
