Boston College faculty honored by Catholic Media Association
A number of Boston College faculty members have received Catholic Media Association Book Awards, which honor authors, publishers, and editors who have made significant contributions to the Catholic literary landscape.
University Historian James M. O’Toole, Clough Millennium Professor in History Emeritus, was honored with a first place award in the category of Sacraments for his book For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America (Harvard University Press). The book details how confession became a defining rite for American Catholics—and then, beginning in the 1970s, all but disappeared.
Professor of Philosophy Peter Kreeft's Socrates Meets (Word on Fire) received first place honors in the category of Philosophical Studies and second place honors in the category of Religious Book Series. Kreeft’s eight-volume book series pits Socrates against history's most influential thinkers, including Machiavelli, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Freud.
Clough School of Theology and Ministry Professor of Systematic Theology and Professor Ordinarius Richard Lennan and co-editor Peter Joseph Fritz received an honorable mention for their book Karl Rahner: Spiritual Theology (Paulist Press) in the category of Spirituality Classical. Their volume, part of the publisher’s Classics of Western Spirituality series, makes Rahner's profound spiritual writings more accessible and shows how Rahner's theology and spirituality are deeply interconnected.
Assistant Professor of Theology Jos Moons, S.J., and co-author Kristin M. Colberg received an honorable mention in the category of The Future of the Church for their book The Future of Synodality: How We Move Forward from Here (Liturgical Press). The book explores the historical and theological roots of a synodal church and where the path of a new, inclusive listening church leads. The Future of Synodality was also honored by the Association of Catholic Publishers in their 2026 Excellence in Publishing Awards. The book was bestowed with a First Place Award in the Theology category.
A number of Boston College alumni also were honored with CMA Book Awards, including Christine Marie Eberle (Finding God Along the Way); Angela Franks (Body and Identity: A History of the Empty Self); Maureen H. O’Connell (Empowering People through Encounter); Jim Sano (Joline); Lindsay Schlegel (God’s Little Flowers); and David Farina Turnbloom (Liturgy or Worship for Liturgy in the Shadows of Trauma: Reckoning with the Roman Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis).
The CMA Book Awards are presented by the Catholic Media Association, a professional network of Catholic media and communications professionals across North America and beyond. The award winners were announced June 19 at the Catholic Media Association’s conference in Atlantic City.