Catholic Herald

===Into the 2000s===

There were controversies under Oddie's editorship. Columnist Father [[David Torkington]] resigned in 1999, saying that the Herald was "lurching to the Right" ever since the passing of [[Basil Hume|Cardinal Hume]], who had been "a stabilising influence" on the newspaper.<ref name=":0" />

His support for [[John Ward (archbishop of Cardiff)|John Ward]], the Archbishop of [[Cardiff]] accused of covering up the actions of two known priests implicated in sexual abuse alegations, led to his downfall. After Oddie criticised Guardian journalist Stephen Bates, claiming his account of the affair was "an unscrupulous fabrication"; the Herald was successfully sued.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bates |first=Stephen |date=2001-12-14 |title=Bates: why I sued the Catholic Herald |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/dec/14/pressandpublishing1 |access-date=2023-07-05 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Oddie resigned from the editorship in 2004.

Oddie was replaced by editor [[Luke Coppen]], who was appointed in his late twenties. Coppen introduced a re-design along with a fresh editorial policy designed to "see off the increasingly conservative competition for good".<ref name="theguardianheraldofchange" /> In this Coppen succeeded, with online readership of the Herald peaking at 1.5 million global readers a month.

Under Coppen, the online version of the magazine began by only including articles from the weekly print edition of the Catholic Herald, but later he added web-only content such as the coverage of Pope Benedict XVI's April 2008 trip to the United States. The site was revamped in November 2013 and again in 2023 following new investment.

In December 2014 Coppen was tasked by the board, chaired by Peter Sheppard, with turning the Herald into a weekly magazine, with a revamped website covering breaking news.<ref name="theguardianheraldofchange" />  "The" was dropped from the title and the magazine started being known as Catholic Herald. A relaunch party on 11 December 2014 was attended by Cardinal [[Cormac Murphy-O'Connor]] and [[Princess Michael of Kent]].

In 2018, Black sold his 47.5% shareholding in the Herald to Catholic Herald directors [[William Cash (writer)|William Cash]], a multi-award winning editor and author, and [[Brooks Newmark]], a businessman, philanthropist, homelessness campaigner and founder of [[Angels for Ukraine]] charity who has rescued over 30,000 women and children in the Ukraine since the start of the war.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ukraine |first=Christina Lamb, Lozova, eastern |date=2023-07-05 |title=Former Tory minister Brooks Newmark saves thousands from Ukraine |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/former-tory-minister-brooks-newmark-saves-thousands-from-ukraine-hh5kg7jl7 |access-date=2023-07-05 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

A US print edition of the Catholic Herald was launched on 16 November 2018 with board members, led by Sir Rocco Forte, travelling to Washington and New York for various launch events attended by leading Catholics in America. The ''[[New York Post]]'' reported how "Conservative British Catholics came to New York" and attended various events organised by [[Constance Watson]], great-granddaughter of Evelyn Waugh.

The US edition was closed<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rowan |first1=Nicholas |date=6 March 2020 |title=''Catholic Herald'' US to shut down offices |publisher=Washington Examiner |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/catholic-herald-us-to-shut-down}}</ref> during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] after churches closed and editor-in-chief [[Damian Thompson]] resigned due to differences over the U.S. edition's editorial direction. The Catholic Herald closed its Washington, D.C. offices in March 2020 as a result of US churches being closed during the pandemic. The Herald board then decided to re-invent itself as a monthly magazine of global influence taking advantage of digital subscription opportunities and focus on investment and growth in America.