The Linacre Quarterly Wins Catholic Media Awards

The Catholic Media Awards for 2025 are in and once again, The Linacre Quarterly was well represented.  It was good to see our expertise in in-depth analysis and editorial comment rewarded.  It is so very nice when others in the field also recognize the excellence of our contributors.

By Barbara Golder, M.D.

The Catholic Media Awards draws entries that range from local diocesan newspapers to America and The National Catholic Register.  As we say in the South, we are in high cotton indeed, among fellow competitors who are the best of the best.

We won awards in the following categories:

Second Place, Best Editorial: Infinite Dignity of the Human Person: Implications for Health Systems, by Matthew Dernbach.. Perhaps the best perspective Catholics have to offer in the shaping of health care is the emphasis on human dignity.  Matthew Dernbach lays it out well.

Third Place, Best Editorial: Challenges, Conflicts and Opportunities by Barbara Golder.  With modern rhetoric as strident as it is, Catholics can help shape the conversation by how we model discussion.  We can further turn down the rhetorical heat by offering our expertise in medical science to help dispel misconceptions.

 

Honorable Mention, Best Editorial: Returning to Prayer by Michelle Stanford and Barbara Golder.  Our current CMA president reminds us that a  return to the basics of prayer is essential for Catholics in all walks of life, but especially for those in health care.

First Place, Best Essay, Professional and Special Interest Magazine: God and the Imperfect Practice of Medicine by Tod Worner.  Don’t miss this beautiful meditation on the practice of medicine, warts and all.

Second Place, Best Essay, Professional and Special Interest Magazine:  Christ the Physician:  A Theologial Framework for Healing in Catholic Health Care by Columba Thomas, OP. Fr. Columba Thomas   considers how Catholic health care is distinctly positioned to continue Christ’s work of bodily and spiritual healing through medical and sacramental approaches.

Honorable Mention, Best writing-Analysis: Positive and Negative Rights of Conscience: Balancing When Rights Conflict by Cynthia Jones-Nosacek.  Respect for individual conscience remains a critical issue  for Catholic physicians, and Cynthia Jones-Nosacek explores how both a just and a civil resolution of conflict between conscience rights can be achieved.

The Linacre Quarterly continues on course as an award-winning publication of national importance. Spread the word and share your copies with colleagues who might not be familiar with it or the great work done by the Catholic Medical Association. Don’t forget to direct them to the online site (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/LQR) where the award-wining articles will be available open access for a limited time.

Dr. Barbara Golder is the editor of the Linacre Quarterly. The Linacre Quarterly (LQ) is the oldest continuously published bioethics journal in the United States. As the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association, LQ explores issues at the interface of medicine and religion, focusing on bioethics and also exploring medical topics which have an ethical dimension.