And the winner is …

Elizabeth Scalia has posted a typically generous roundup of winners at last night’s Catholic Press Association awards. It was great to be included in such a stellar group (which embraces, among so many others, Elizabeth Scalia herself, who won first place for her column in Our Sunday Visitor!)

You can find a complete list of winners at the CPA website.   

I wish Elizabeth had been able to make it this year, because I would have loved to hear what she had to say, and write, about one of the remarkable moments at the awards banquet: the keynote by Helen Alvaré.

I’ll say at the outset: the speech had some flaws. It had nothing to do with the media or communication or the press, and it was burdened by a lot of statistics and figures that might have benefited from PowerPoint (or an editor). Alvaré herself is not the most polished of speakers, either. The address felt more like a loosely structured college lecture, with a lot of footnotes. But none of that, in the end, seemed to matter. Those in the banquet room were spellbound. She offered a searing indictment of the HHS mandate, with particular attention to contraception and the harm it causes women. She brought the crowd to its feet.

The next morning, while checking out, people were still talking about her speech. Helen Alvaré had quite an impact.

And she could also have an impact on Catholic journalism. In April, she was added to the roster of columnists at America magazine. As editor Matt Malone noted at the time:

“The appointment of Helen Alvaré is part of our continuing commitment to leading the conversation about faith and culture in the United States,” said Father Malone, “and to include more voices of women in our pages and a greater variety of voices from the Catholic world. Ms. Alvare’s scholarship and advocacy are well known and universally respected in the Catholic community.”

An accomplished public figure, Ms. Alvaré is currently a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law.  She also serves as chair of the Catholic Women’s Forum, as a consultor for the Pontifical Council of the Laity, an advisor to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and as an ABC news consultant. She cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations on matters concerning women and the family.

I have a feeling we may hear her name mentioned a lot at next year’s awards—maybe as a winner.