Catholic Voice wins awards for excellence in reporting

The Catholic Voice won two first place awards for reporting at the recent Catholic Media Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, sponsored by the Catholic Press Association.

Stories by former News Editor Joe Ruff won two awards for the newspaper – one, an article on the death penalty in Nebraska and another, a feature on a Salvadoran refugee. Both were published last year.

The first story, “Weighing Public Safety, Justice, Mercy” (Aug. 3, 2018), examined the death penalty issue in Nebraska in light of Catholic teaching and the impending execution of convicted murderer Cary Dean Moore. It won in the Best Reporting of Social Justice Issues – Life and Dignity of the Human Person category.

The second story, “Salvadoran Woman Finds U.S. Safe Haven” (Jan. 19, 2018), won in the category of Best Reporting of Social Justice Issues – Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. The story profiled a woman fleeing gang violence in her home country; her long, difficult journey to gain asylum and forge a new life in the United States; and the support she experienced from her faith and the help of other people of faith.

Ruff is now news editor at The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.