The Catholic Weekly’s journalism has won two prizes at the 2023 Australasian Catholic Press Association Awards.
The 2022 vocations lift-out featuring Sydney’s Dominican Sister Mariam Assaf took out the award for the best print advertising feature or supplement, and a feature article by Marilyn Rodrigues on the David’s Place community at the inner city parish of St Canice’s was highly commended in the social justice category.
Judges said the TCW Vocations supplement was “everything an advertising feature should be” with “beautiful photography throughout, engaging stories telling many different vocation journeys and well-designed adverts.”
Mrs Rodrigues’ article, titled “Friends, a home and acceptance,” highlighted the spirituality and bonds of friendship between Sue Buckingham and her David’s Place regulars.
Judges said the story used photography well and “revealed both the plight of the marginalised and poor, but also the importance of faith.”
Editor of The Catholic Weekly, Adam Wesselinoff, said Mrs Rodrigues’ story was an example of the strong social justice focus of the newspaper.
“The Catholic Weekly has a well-earned reputation for tough reporting on life issues. But Marilyn’s commendation shows that a good Catholic newspaper should be a seamless garment, upholding the dignity of each unfolding life, as well as the sacredness of conception and natural death,” Mr Wesselinoff said.
The Catholic Weekly sales and marketing manager Steve Richard thanked the supporters of the 2022 Vocations guide and paid tribute to “extremely talented and dedicated,” graphic designer Renate Cassis who has also worked on previous ACPA award-winning advertising magazines and supplements.
Co-founder of David’s Place, Sue Buckingham, said she was pleased that the spiritual home and network for vulnerable people and their friends had been recognised.
“When church affiliation today is very much an optional choice, vibrant Eucharistic communities are going to become increasingly important,” she said.
The awards were announced at a dinner at the Westin Hotel in Perth on 7 September at the conclusion of the annual ACPA conference.
The top gong for Catholic media across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific was taken out by Archdiocese of Hobart’s monthly newspaper The Catholic Standard which received the Bishop Kennedy Award for overall excellence in a Catholic publication.
Around 50 Catholic media and communications professionals attended the conference with the theme ‘Speaking with the Heart: “The Truth in Love” (Eph 4:5)’, inspired by Pope Francis’ message for the 57th World Day of Social Communications in May.
Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB presided at the conference Mass held at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth, and delivered the keynote address at the ACPA awards evening.