A case for religion journalism

August 14, 2025 | 6:30 p.m.– 8 p.m.

St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church
89 St. George Street, Toronto

A public panel Aug. 14 will feature several award-winning veteran journalists who will discuss the state of religion journalism today, its needfulness for society and its pertinence in the current media landscape.

The panel titled, “The Case for Religion Journalism,” will be held at St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church Aug. 14, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by light refreshments at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto.

The event has been organized in the context of the “God in the City” intensive Catholic journalism course, offered by Canadian Catholic News (CCN) in Toronto, Aug. 10-16.

Co-Sponsors

Barb Fraze

Barb Fraze has won awards for her reporting but is happiest when she is editing. She started as a copy editor at the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, then served as the editor (and staff) of a small Indianapolis weekly before joining the now-closed Catholic News Service in Washington. She spent decades on the international desk, coordinating coverage with the Rome bureau and a network of international correspondents. She currently freelances, and she says as an editor she likes spinning straw into copper and silver into gold. She is the 2023 recipient of the Catholic Media Association’s St. Francis de Sales Award, which recognizes “outstanding contributions to Catholic journalism.”

Michael Higgins

Dr. Michael W. Higgins is a documentarian, biographer, public intellectual, columnist, distinguished professor emeritus (Sacred Heart University), president and vice-chancellor emeritus (St. Jerome’s University), and author of several books — most recently, The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis. Dr. Higgins currently holds the role of Basilian Distinguished Fellow of Contemporary Catholic Thought at St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.

John Longhurst

John Longhurst is the religion reporter and columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and the religion commentator for CBC Manitoba Information Radio. He also writes for Canadian Affairs, Anabaptist World and Canadian Jewish News. In 2024, he was appointed to the Order of Canada for his interfaith reporting that can “reduce hate and to help readers see the humanity in every person.” In 2021, he received the Manitoba Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Inter-religious Understanding for his work, and was acknowledged by ARCCC for his Distinguished Contribution to Religious Communications in Canada in 2006. He has authored two books and has served on several professional associations for journalists and communicators.

Paul Schratz

Paul Schratz has over 40 years’ experience in journalism, having worked as a reporter, photographer, editorial page editor, columnist, and editor at daily and weekly newspapers in Ontario and British Columbia. He started with the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 1997, serving at various times as communications director and editor of The B.C. Catholic, his current position. He is also editorial and outreach manager for Canadian Catholic News, overseeing news and social media strategies, fundraising, and outreach initiatives.

Michael Swan

Michael Swan worked on struggling, small-town dailies from the Kenora Daily Miner and News to the Guelph Mercury and the Oshawa Times. After spending a year teaching English at a Chinese university, another year studying theology at Regis College, then two years trying to be a Jesuit, he found refuge at The Catholic Register, where he spent 25 years writing about people, things, places and events the church cared about. In his retirement, he freelances for the Jesuits and for Canadian Affairs.