The Communications Office of the Diocese of Burlington received ten awards from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada during a July 2 online awards ceremony, including a prestigious second place in the Best Diocesan Magazine category.

This is the fourth year in a row Vermont Catholic magazine has been recognized as one of the best diocesan magazines in the United States and Canada.

“I could not be prouder of this team,” Editor Ellen Kane said of her staff.

Vermont Catholic Art Director Mary-Margaret Carroll earned praise with an honorable mention in the Graphic Artist/Designer of the Year Award in an all-member division.

“Vermont Catholic is blessed with a dream team that is motivated by mission and consistently produces excellent work,” Kane said. “Not only has this team produced another award-winning magazine filled with inspirational stories and articles about the power and importance of faith, but during the pandemic they have been working overtime to keep Vermont Catholics connected through live-streamed and online Masses, adoration, rosary and faith-engagement opportunities. I could not be prouder of this team.”

The other eight awards are:

Best Regular Column (family life), Magazine Division, “Counselor’s Corner,” by Sharon Trani, second place

Best Website — Magazine or Newsletter — second place in an all-member division

Best Essay, Kay Winchester, Magazine Division, third place

Best Annual Report, Vermont Catholic Community Foundation, Magazine Division, third place

Best Regular Column, Bishop’s Column in a Diocesan Magazine, Bishop Christopher Coyne, honorable mention

Best Reporting of Social Justice Issues, Stephanie Clary, Magazine Division, honorable mention.

Best Diocesan Appeal, Development Department, honorable mention.

Best Press Release “Sins of the Past,” Bishop Coyne, honorable mention.

According to the Catholic Press Association website, the purpose of the Catholic Press Awards is to acknowledge the outstanding work of its publisher and communication members as they strive to further the mission of the Church. “On a daily basis they inform, inspire and educate readers keeping them connected to their faith and telling the story of the Church. It is those contributions that are recognized through these awards,” it explains.

In a message to the Catholic Press Association, Pope Francis said, “The theme you have chosen for this year’s Conference – Together While Apart – eloquently expresses the sense of togetherness that emerged, paradoxically, from the experience of social distancing imposed by the pandemic. In my message for last year’s World Communications Day, I reflected on how communication enables us to be, as St. Paul says, “members of one another” (cf. Eph 4:25), called to live in communion within an ever-expanding network of relationships. Because of the pandemic, all of us have come to appreciate this truth more fully. Indeed, the experience of these past months has shown how essential is the mission of the communications media for bringing people together, shortening distances, providing necessary information and opening minds and hearts to truth.”

He continued, “Communication, we know, is not merely a matter of professional competence. A true communicator dedicates himself or herself completely to the welfare of the others, at every level, from the life of each individual to the life of the entire human family. We cannot truly communicate unless we become personally involved, unless we can personally attest to the truth of the message we convey. All communication has its ultimate source in the life of the triune God, who shares with us the richness of His divine life and calls us in turn to communicate that treasure to others by our unity in the service of His truth.”

The next Catholic Press convention is scheduled for June 15-18, 2021, in Baltimore.