WASHINGTON (November 6, 2003) -- The Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced winners of its 2003 Proclaim Awards honoring excellence in diocesan communications.

The awards were presented October 16, in St. Louis, during a luncheon at the Catholic Academy for Communications Arts Professionals Assembly (formerly known as Unda-USA.) This year marks 22 years since the awards program was established.

Twelve Proclaim awards and 13 Certificates of Merit were given to 19 dioceses throughout the United States.

Several dioceses in the East won multiple awards. The Diocese of Pittsburgh garnered two Proclaim awards, the Diocese of Greensburg, PA, two Certificates of Merit, and the Archdiocese of Hartford, one award and two certificates of Merit.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh won in the category of Other Print (brochures, posters, etc.) for "Catechism of the Catholic Church," that included a book to be used as a tool to assist pastors in improving Sunday homilies. The Pittsburgh Diocese's second Proclaim Award was in the category of Multimedia Campaigns. "Commitment and Covenant: Diocese of Pittsburgh Response to National Clergy Misconduct Problem" was developed to address concerns of diocesan priests and parishioners, and to educate/inform all diocesan publics about the meeting of bishops in Dallas in June 2002. The Greensburg Diocese received its first merit award in the category of Radio Programs for "Accent on the Air," a weekly radio newsmagazine program spotlighting stories of faith along one's journey of a lifetime. Its second merit award was in the category of Newspaper- Special Insert, Features or Series: for "Miracle at Quecreek," which told of Catholics of the diocese and their role in the coal miner's rescue and how faith helped people get through the crisis at Quecreek.

The Archdiocese of Hartford won three honors, two Certificates of Merit and a Proclaim Award. The Archdiocese was awarded the Proclaim Award in the category of Television Talk Shows for "On This Rock –MVP" a Saturday half-hour talk show for teens exploring messages of popular music. The first Certificate of Merit was in the category of TV Programs – Regular Series or Special, for "Crossroad Magazine," a weekly half-hour good news magazine program. A second certificate was awarded in the category of Regular Televised Masses for "Celebration of the Eucharist," a daily half hour TV Mass.

The Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, won a Proclaim award and a Certificate of Merit in two separate categories for their entry "Realfaith TV." The Proclaim award was in the category Computer/Internet for an interactive Web site created to enhance the TV program of the same name and give teens an opportunity to go deeper into issues discussed on the show by presenting informative articles, inspirational pieces, and relevant links. The diocese received a Certificate of Merit in the category of Television Talk Shows for "Realfaith TV – How to Choose Who to Date." This TV program designed for teens helps them deal with issues through a Catholic faith perspective.

Nominations were judged by representatives of Catholic and secular media. The Catholic Communication Campaign is an activity of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to develop programming, projects and resources to promote Gospel values through the media. The Campaign is funded through donations from parishioners nationwide. The US bishops created the CCC in 1978 and established the Proclaim Awards in 1981.

The complete list of Proclaim Award and Certificate of Merit Winners follows.

Certificate of Merit
Crossroads Magazine
Archdiocese of Hartford, CT

1B - TV Talk Shows
Proclaim Award
On This Rock - MVP
Archdiocese of Hartford, CT

Certificate of Merit
Realfaith TV - How to Choose Who to Date
Diocese of Trenton, NJ

1C - Regular Television Mass
Proclaim Award
The Catholic Mass
Diocese of Phoenix, AZ

Certificate of Merit
Celebration of the Eucharist
Archdiocese of Hartford, CT

1D - Special Television Mass
Proclaim Award
2002 Ordination to the Diaconate
Archdiocese of Detroit, MI

Certificate of Merit
Peace Be To You: Easter Vigil 2002
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA

1E - TV Public Service Announcements
Proclaim Award
No Worries
Archdiocese of Philadelphia, PA

2A - Radio Programs
Proclaim Award
Catholic Perspective
Diocese of Harrisburg, PA

Certificate of Merit:
Accent on the Air
Diocese of Greensburg, PA

2B - Radio Public Service Announcements
Proclaim Award
Certificate of Merit:
Mother
Diocese of Marquette, MI

3A - Newspaper General Excellence
Proclaim Award
Catholic Explorer
Diocese of Joliet, IL

Certificate of Merit
The Catholic Sun
Diocese of Phoenix, AZ

3B - Newspaper Special Inserts, Features or Series
Proclaim Award
Encountering Jesus
Archdiocese of Seattle, WA

Certificate of Merit
Miracle at Quecreek
Diocese of Greensburg, PA

3C - Other Print (brochures, posters, etc)
Proclaim Award
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA

Certificate of Merit
Blood of the Martyrs
Diocese of Lansing, MI

4A -Video Presentations
Proclaim Award
Founded in Faith, Tested by Time, Endowed for the Future
Archdiocese of Miami, FL

Certificates of Merit
Stand for the Protection of Children and Youth
Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD

4B - Computer/Internet
Proclaim Award
Diocese of Trenton Web site
www.realfaithtv.com
Diocese of Trenton, NJ

Certificate of Merit
New Web site for the Diocese of Brooklyn
www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org
Diocese of Brooklyn, NY

5 - Multimedia Campaigns
Proclaim Award
Commitment and Covenant: Diocese of Pittsburgh
Response to National Clergy Misconduct Problem
Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA

Certificate of Merit
One Bread ... One Body (Bishop Annual Appeal)
Diocese of Savannah, GA

6 - CCC Promotion
Certificate of Merit
CCC Promotion
Diocese of Providence, RI

For media inquiries, e-mail us at commdept@usccb.org
Department of Communications | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.