In his latest book,
The Catholic Advantage: Why Health, Happiness, and Heaven Await the
Faithful (2015),
Dr. William A. Donohue, President and CEO of the
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Right (USA), states
“Not all Catholic heroes become saints, and not all whose
sufferings bring solace to the afflicted achieve sainthood. There are some,
however, whose spiritual journey merits them being declared Venerable, a status
short of sainthood. One of the most interesting persons to achieve this level of
recognition is Matt Talbot, known as the patron of
alcoholics.”
The four page section about Matt can be read (within Chapter 4:
Coping with Adversity) at
https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFoBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT94&dq=bill+donohue++matt+talbot&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2TQkVe-eFszuoASoy4CICQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%20matt%20talbot&f=false.
Other sections of this book can also be previewed.