EWTN Global Catholic Network awarded the 2025 Mother Angelica Award to former president Doug Keck for his decades of service and commitment to evangelization. Keck retired as EWTN president and COO in June after a 29-year career but remains as president emeritus and continues hosting shows like "EWTN Bookmark." The Mother Angelica Award is the network's highest honor, recognizing individuals who embody the spirit of faith and evangelistic zeal of foundress Mother Angelica. EWTN Chairman Michael Warsaw praised Keck for prioritizing the network's mission and never compromising the sharing of the Gospel. Keck joined EWTN in 1996, having previously worked in cable television, and was instrumental in launching several flagship EWTN programs.
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EWTN Global Catholic Network presented the 2025 Mother Angelica Award to Doug Keck on December 12, 2025, during a globally broadcast ceremony.1 2 3
This highest network honor recognizes individuals embodying Mother Angelica's faith, courage, and evangelistic zeal.1 2 3
Keck joined EWTN in 1996 after building cable networks like Sports Channel, Bravo, AMC, and CNBC in New York.1 2 3
He advanced to executive vice president and COO in 2009, then president and COO in 2013.1 2 3
Under Keck's leadership, EWTN became the world's largest Catholic media organization, expanding across TV, radio, digital platforms, and multiple languages.1 2 3
He launched key programs including Life on the Rock, The Journey Home, EWTN Bookmark, and The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.1 2 3
After 29 years, Keck retired as president and COO in June 2025, becoming president emeritus.1 2 3
He continues hosting EWTN Bookmark and co-hosting Father Spitzer’s Universe.1 2 3
EWTN Chairman and CEO Michael Warsaw praised Keck for prioritizing Gospel truth over views or clicks.1 2 3
Warsaw called him "more than deserving" of the award.1 2 3
Keck echoed Mother Angelica's call to "soak the earth with the truth of the Gospel."1 2 3
He urged Catholics to dedicate talents to the Gospel, saying, "You don’t bury what you’ve been given."1 2 3
The full ceremony, featuring tributes, is available on EWTN On Demand.1 2 3
Inaugurated in 2021 for EWTN's 40th anniversary, it honors Church contributions and new evangelization.1 2 3
Previous winners include Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Danny Abramowicz, and FOCUS co-founders Curtis and Michaelann Martin.1 2 3
EWTN operates 11 TV channels, radio via SiriusXM and affiliates, a top U.S. Catholic website, publishing, and news.1 2 3
Programming covers catechesis, devotions, news, talk shows, documentaries, and Church events for millions worldwide.1 2 3
How has Catholic media shaped modern evangelization efforts?
Catholic media has profoundly shaped modern evangelization efforts by serving as indispensable tools for proclaiming the Gospel in a digital age, fostering inculturation, and enabling the Church to engage contemporary culture directly. Drawing from papal exhortations and conciliar documents, this analysis reveals how media—ranging from traditional broadcasts to the internet—facilitates personal encounters with Christ, renews culture through witness and catechesis, and counters secular influences with the "civilization of love."
The New Evangelization, as articulated by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, emphasizes re-evangelizing cultures where faith has grown淡薄, with media emerging as a core method alongside witness and proclamation. Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi highlighted that modern social communications must be used "as from a modern pulpit," speaking to individuals through images and new techniques, while warning that the Church "would feel guilty before the Lord if she did not utilize these powerful means." This builds on Vatican II's call for profound Christian lives that evangelize through conduct, extended now to media where "human experience itself is an experience of media."
John Paul II formalized this in post-synodal exhortations, insisting that for the New Evangelization to succeed, the Church must master the "language, nature and characteristics of mass media" to achieve "genuine inculturation of the Gospel." In Ecclesia in America, he urged training pastoral workers, supporting production centers, and critical media education for the faithful, recognizing media's role in shaping culture and mentality. Similarly, Ecclesia in Asia and Ecclesia in Oceania called for diocesan media offices, national pastoral plans, and collaboration across faiths to embed spiritual values in media outputs. Benedict XVI echoed this in Verbum Domini, praising Catholic media presence and urging expertise in new media like the internet to make Christ's face visible amid billions of images, though always prioritizing real-world personal contact.
Catholic media influences evangelization through several interconnected channels:
Proclamation and Catechesis: Media transmits "fundamental teachings" systematically, forming Christian living patterns. Homilies, adapted via broadcasts, remain vital, but radio, TV, publications, and internet extend this "indispensable" preaching globally. John Paul II stressed that media must integrate the Gospel into the "new culture" of communications with "new languages, new techniques and a new psychology," turning entertainment and news into leaven for Gospel values.
Witness and Holiness: Beyond words, media radiates saints' lives and ecclesial beauty, attracting through "radiation, not irritation." It showcases sacraments as sources of new life, drawing viewers to the Paschal Mystery. Publications and programs foster "lively faith," influencing society as signs of Christian contribution.
Cultural Transformation: Media counters the "split between the Gospel and culture" by evangelizing areas like entertainment, where initiatives present biblical messages through cinema, theater, and TV, prompting reflection and wonder. In Oceania, it combats consumerism and violence in advertising, equipping youth with critical discernment rooted in human values.
Global Reach and Formation: The internet "carries religious information beyond all barriers," enabling a "worldwide network" for Christ's words to resound from "housetops." Pontifical documents advocate training Catholic journalists, publishers, and pastors for "deep understanding of the culture," ensuring fruitful presence without pitfalls.
These efforts culminated in calls for coordinated plans, like inter-American media coordination or Oceanic Catholic centers, ensuring the Church's voice is not "marginalized" in the media areopagus.
While transformative, media use demands caution. It must avoid mere propagation, instead entering culture sympathetically to "well up from the Church's active presence." Risks include indiscriminate use harming traditional cultures or promoting consumerism, necessitating "critical" evaluation in education. Personal contact and sacraments remain irreplaceable, as media alone cannot replace embodied encounter. John Paul II warned against random actions, urging "concrete and effective planning" to proclaim Christ boldly.
In summary, Catholic media has revolutionized evangelization by incarnating the Gospel in modern forums, from fostering conversions through personal digital encounters to building a "civilization of love" via cultural permeation. Rooted in papal magisterium, it calls all faithful—laity, clergy, professionals—to active, expert engagement, ensuring Christ's light shines in every screen and story.