By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi, Feb 18, 2020: The Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA), a premier organization of Catholic journalists, dailies and periodicals, will hold its 25th National Convention of Christian Journalists in New Delhi.

The Feb 29 event at Don Bosco Center, Okhla, has chosen the theme “Journalism today: Pragmatism Triumphs over Principles.”

Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro will open the convention’s silver jubilee.

ICPA president Ignatius Gonsalves will preside over the opening function.

Archbishop Anil J. Thomas Couto of Delhi will deliver the keynote address followed by the benedictory address by Bishop Salvadore Lobo of Baruipur, Ecclesiastical adviser to the ICPA.

Father Stanely Kozhichira, president of SIGNIS India, will offer felicitations.

Retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph will be the chief guest at the annual ICPA Award function.

Peace activist Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, Emeritus of Guwahati, will receive ‘Louis Careno Award for Excellence in Journalism’ for his bold writings against communalism and fundamentalism that now seem to gain ground globally.

The Louis Careno Award for excellence in journalism is a joint venture of the Mumbai province of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the ICPA, which was founded in 1964 by Jesuit Father John Barrett, an American, belonging to the Patna Province.

ICPA also annually awards the best journalism in Hindi and journalism for SC/ST rights. These will be announced by next week.

Father John Deepak Sulya will receive the Swami Devanand Chakkungal award for his contribution to Hindi literature.

The Divine Word Father Sulya, based in Indore, through his writings, has made the Word of God as comprehensible as possible in the current literary Hindi that would be appropriate and understandable not only to Catholics but people of other faiths.

He uses the literary genre that flows smoothly, using words that are delicately and specifically chosen not to hurt the cultural sentiments of the local population.

Father Santosh Kumar Digal, a member of Matters India Editorial Board, will receive the best reportage on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Award which is a joint venture of the ICPA and the Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

Other speakers include H K Dua, former Member of Parliament and former chief editor, Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Tribune, M K Venu, founding editor, The Wire, TK Rajalakshmi, senior deputy editor, The Frontline, Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, writer and human rights activist and Rohit Wellington, senior news editor and anchor, NDTV.

The first national convention was the brainchild of Father D Amudhan, a writer from Tamil Nadu,, who was the ICPA secretary at that time. The UCAN (Union of Catholic Asian News) India team in Delhi collaborated.

The ICPA was a member of the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP) based in Geneva, Switzerland. At present, UCIP does not exist.

ICPA was also a member of the South Asian Catholic Press Association (SACPA), affiliated to UCIP, composed of representatives of the National Catholic Press Associations of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.