The annual conference of the Australasian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) took place this month when more than 50 Catholic editors and people working in Church communications came together in Perth.
This year’s conference theme focused on the words of Pope Francis from his 2023 World Communications Day message: Speaking with the Heart: The Truth in Love (Eph 4:15). In his message, Pope Francis encourages Catholic media professionals to communicate with “open heart and arms”. “We are all called to seek and to speak the truth and to do so with charity.”
The 2023 ACPA Awards were announced at the conference dinner on 7 September at The Westin. The awards recognise excellence in Catholic magazines, newspapers and digital publications across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. The awards were presented by Perth’s Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB.
The premier award, the Bishop Philip Kennedy Memorial Award for Overall Excellence, was won by the Catholic Standard, published by the Archdiocese of Hobart.
The Good Oil won the category Best Content – Climate and Environment for Debra Vermeer’s story, Good Samaritan community in Bacolod launches eco-restoration project.
Commenting on The Good Oil’s entry, the judge said:
“This is an outstanding description of a local, grassroots-led community initiative to improve the natural environment and reduce waste in the Philippines, led by volunteering mothers in the Good Samaritan Outreach Centre in Bacolod. Beginning in 2020 with local efforts to minimise plastic waste, it has now received funding to renovate the local park. The park is a much-needed green space in an area of increasing pollution and is helping to build up community around the outreach centre.”
Project Samaritan (known locally as Project Bayanihan) has received funding from the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific as part of the Creators of Hope initiative, which aims to highlight individuals or teams of youth across the Asia Pacific engaged in ecological service projects that are having a significant impact on their communities.
To read the full list of ACPA award recipients, click here.
The Good Oil is the e-journal of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. The editorial focus is on news, feature and opinion articles, and reflective content which aims to nourish the spirit, stimulate thinking and encourage reflection and dialogue about issues of the day from a Christian, Catholic, Good Samaritan perspective.
The Good Oil is published on the third Wednesday of each month (except January) by a small editorial team. We are grateful to our contributors who so generously gift their writing talents to the publication. We also want to thank our readers for your continued support.
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This article was published in the September 2023 edition of The Good Oil.
