July 13, 2020

The Linacre Quarterly Wins Six Catholic Press Association Awards

Philadelphia, PA- July 13, 2020— The Catholic Medical Association is proud to congratulate The Linacre Quarterly on winning six Catholic Press Association Awards.

 “I am delighted that the Catholic Press Association recognizes the fine work from the authors who make The Linacre Quarterly what it is,” said Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Golder, M.D., J.D. 

Four of The Linacre’s awards came from its special November 2019 issue on Brain Death.

 “I am especially pleased that of the six awards we received, four went tocontributions from our Special Issue on Brain Death, which encouraged a second look and new conversation about patients with catastrophic brain injuries.  We undertook the issue in hopes of fostering discussion both within and outside the Catholic community from medical, ethical, and theological perspectives. We wanted to make sure to ask new questions and to present divergent viewpoints. I’m glad to know that the Catholic Press Association thinks we did it pretty well,” said Dr. Golder.   

“In addition, Deacon John Travaline’s article on the dangers of technocratic medicine is both insightful and cautionary. Father James McTavish reminded us that Catholic medicine is–and should be–different because of what we believe.” 

“At its core, The Linacre Quarterly embodies the work and mission of the CMA and we are proud and blessed that the hard work of our editors and authors has been recognized once again in this meaningful way,” said CMA President Dr. Michael Parker.

Details of the awards are as follows: 

Best Guest Column/Commentary 

First Place: “The Trouble with Anaesthetizing the Dead” by William Perez, MD, MA Best Editorial ·     

Honorable Mention: “Exploring the Life Death Divide, Questions Remain Long After the Harvard Criteria” by Barbara Golder, MD, JD, Deacon John M. Travaline, MD, Sister Mary Diana Dreger, OP, MD 

Best Essay – Scholarly Magazines 

 First Place: “Does It Matter How We Die? Ethical and Legal Issues Raised by Combining Euthanasia and Organ Transplantation” by Margaret Somerville, AM, FRSC, DCL·     

Third Place: “The Moral Dangers of Technocratic Medicine” by John M. Travaline, MD 

Best Feature Article – Scholarly Magazines ·     

First Place: “Humility Before the New Scientific Evidence: We No Longer Have Moral Certainty that “Brain Death” is True Death” by Irene Alexander, PhD·     

Second Place: “How Should My Practice of Medicine Be Different Because of My Catholic Faith?” by James McTavish, FMVD, MD 

The Linacre Quarterly is the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association and has been continuously published since 1934. Dedicated to medical ethics, The Linacre provides a forum in which faith and reason can be brought to bear on analyzing and resolving ethical issues in health care, with a particular focus on issues in clinical practice and research.  

In addition to awards earned by The Linacre Quarterly, CMA Members, Dr. Richard Fehring, Dr. William Williams, Dr. Marguerite Duane and Dr. Kathleen Ravielle, won a Catholic Press Award for their piece “Humanae Vitae, 50 Years Later: Embracing God’s Vision for Marriage, Love, and Life, A Compendium” (Edited by Theresa Notare, The Catholic University of America Press). The award was second place in the Anthology category.