VOA receives award for religion reporting
The Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) presented the award for Excellence in National Network/Cable News Religion Reporting in the broadcast category to Mike O’Sullivan of Voice of America. The 66th annual awards banquet recognized work published in 2014 by radio, local and national television including TV news magazines.
The award-winning report, “Relic of Saint Draws Catholics Worried About Immigration Issue,” focuses on a Roman Catholic saint who is a figure of devotion for those crossing the border into the United States is attracting believers concerned about the plight of undocumented immigrants.
Toribio Romo Gonzalez was a priest who died in the so-called Cristero War, a rebellion against Mexico’s anti-clerical government of the 1920s. Canonized as Saint Toribio in 2000, many Hispanic Catholics have come to view him as the patron saint of migrants. The relic of Saint Toribio now draws thousands to local churches.