Mary Jo McConahay

My Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-15/united-states-conference-catholic-bishops-pope-francis-pastoral-care-abortion Trouble with the paywall? Try: https://sports.yahoo.com/opinion-catholics-pope-francis-wing-100018413.html A wonderful review of Playing God by Tom Roberts https://www.ncronline.org/culture/book-reviews/playing-god-traces-history-catholic-conservatism-gone-extreme Born in Chicago, Mary Jo McConahay is an award-winning reporter and documentary filmmaker who covered the wars in Central America and economics in the Middle East. A graduate of the University of California in Berkeley, she has traveled in seventy countries and covers Latin America as an independent journalist. She wrote "Playing God, American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right" after being appalled by seeing Christian symbols amid those perpetrating violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She wrote "The Tango War" because she has been fascinated by the history of World War II since childhood, when she listened to the stories of her father, a veteran U.S. Navy officer. "Riveting..."--The Wall Street Journal. Her "Maya Roads" earned the Grand Award, Society of American Travel Writers; International Book Awards Winner in three categories -- Autobiography/Memoir, Best New Nonfiction, Best Travel Essay Book; the Independent Publishers' Award Gold -- Best Travel Essay Book; National Geographic Traveler Book of the Month; Northern California Book Awards, Best Creative Nonfiction. For Maya Roads and other writing, McConahay was named Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in the genre. "Ricochet" earned a Global Ebook Award for Autobiography/Memoir. McConahay is an Alicia Patterson Foundation Reporting Fellow. She lives in San Francisco.