The Catholic Weekly has won Best Column at the 2026 Australasian Catholic Press Association Awards for a selection of work by former weekly columnist Monica Doumit.
The winning entry comprised three columns: ‘Celebrating women as women,’ reflecting on the distinctive gifts and call to holiness of women; ‘Pope Francis and preaching to the choir,’ an assessment of the late pope’s challenge to practising Catholics; and ‘The cult is in the eye of the beholder,’ examining the implications of government intervention in religious belief and practice.
The newspaper was also named runner-up for Best News Content for its coverage of the Bondi memorial and Best Supplement for its special commemorative magazine marking the death of Pope Francis. The Catholic Weekly managing editor Marilyn Rodrigues congratulated Doumit on the recognition.
“These three columns show why Monica’s voice has been so valued by our readers,” she said.
“She could write with warmth and insight about the vocation of women, offer an original and balanced assessment of Pope Francis, and tackle complex questions of religious freedom with clarity.
“Her writing was always unmistakably hers – intelligent, faithful and fearless, but also generous towards those who might disagree. This award is a fitting recognition of her exceptional contribution to The Catholic Weekly and its readers over 13 years.”
Doumit retired her weekly column after being appointed chancellor of the Archdiocese of Sydney in January, although she aims to contribute occasionally to the newspaper.
“We miss her weekly voice in the paper but are delighted that her gifts continue to serve the church in Sydney in her role as archdiocesan chancellor,” Rodrigues said.
The awards were presented during the ACPA conference in Christchurch on 27 August, recognising excellence in Catholic journalism and publishing across Australia and New Zealand.
Broken Bay News, the magazine of the Diocese of Broken Bay, received the Bishop Philip Kennedy Memorial Award for Overall Excellence. Judges praised its disciplined design and highlighted its May edition commemorating Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV. Dunedin Bishop Michael Dooley presented the award to editor Katrina Lee.
ACPA president David Ahern congratulated Broken Bay News and the other award recipients, including Brisbane’s The Catholic Leader which received awards for news content, feature content and headline writing.
Other winners included Tui Motu InterIslands, Kete Kōrero, Common Home TV, Horizons, Catholic Life, Melbourne Catholic, Catholic Outlook, The Southern Cross, Eureka Street, The Record Magazine and the Australian Jesuits.
The awards concluded a two-day conference based on Pope Leo XIV’s message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, themed ‘Preserving Human Voices and Faces.’
“This has been a wonderful conference in Christchurch, and we look forward to the congress in Melbourne in 2027,” Mr Ahern said.
Long-serving Tui Motu InterIslands editor Sr Ann Gilroy, who will retire at the end of the year, was awarded life membership of ACPA in recognition of her contribution to the association.
