Canadian Catholic News (CCN) won its first journalism awards since launching its new website in 2025.
The awards were conferred by the Canadian Christian Communicators Association (CCCA) at the association’s annual conference, held in Toronto, May 13-15, for work published last year.
Quinton Peralta-Greenough won first place in the opinion writing category for “What is faithful citizenship in a ‘culture of death?’” Judges commended Peralta-Greenough, a doctoral candidate in political theory at the University of Toronto, for his “clear, concise, and well-written” essay, and his “great use of scriptures that are often seen as conflicting.”
They praised him for tackling “a tough topic” with “evident compassion for those who oppose the biblical view of the dignity of life,” and urged him to “please keep writing!”
Lee Purcell won third place in the feature series writing category for two articles he wrote about renowned Macedonian Canadian iconographer Georgi Danevski and the artist’s work at St. Clement of Ohrid Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral.
Judges said the “standout strength” of “Icons and skylines: Orthodox church unveils new icons that ‘speak to the heart’” is how Purcell “uses art to explore bigger ideas like identity, faith, and community in a diverse city.” They said “Pigment, prayer and grace: a bridge across traditions” “does this well too, with a nice balance of detail and personal connection.”
Purcell, a writer and communications instructor, wrote these articles as part of CCN’s weeklong “God in the City” Catholic journalism seminar in Toronto last August. He has been a regular contributor to CCN since the seminar. “God in the City” will be offered again in Toronto this year, Aug. 9-15.
This year’s CCCA conference gathered more than 50 editors, publishers, writers and communicators from Canada and the United States. It was held jointly with Associated Church Press. CCN board member and outreach director Paul Schratz represented CCN at the conference.
Sessions addressed artificial intelligence, polarization, audience development, journalism and collaboration, under the theme, “Reaching Across Divides.”
The next conference will be held in 2028. The date and location are to be determined.
