EWTN News portal reports that the EWTN Global Catholic Network received more than 75 awards at the 2026 Catholic Media Awards, including 30 first-place honors across its divisions — EWTN Digital, EWTN Studios, EWTN Publishing, and EWTN News. The awards, announced at the Catholic Media Conference held June 16–19 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, recognized coverage of the death of “Pope” Francis, the election of “Pope” Leo XIV, and the lives of persecuted Christians. Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN, stated that the honors reflect his team’s dedication to creating opportunities for people “to encounter Jesus Christ and His Church.” The awards span categories from social media and video production to book publishing, photography, and journalism in English and Spanish. This spectacle of self-congratulation by the conciliar sect’s most powerful media apparatus reveals not fidelity to Catholic truth, but the triumph of modernist apostasy dressed in the language of evangelization.
The “Church” That EWTN Serves: An Abomination in the Holy Place
To understand the true significance of these awards, one must first identify what EWTN actually is and whom it serves. EWTN — the Eternal Word Television Network — is not a Catholic institution in any meaningful theological sense. It is the premier media arm of the conciliar sect, the post-Vatican II structure that has occupied the Vatican since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958. Every single “pope” EWTN has covered, celebrated, and promoted — from John XXIII through Leo XIV — is a usurper of the Chair of Peter, a manifest heretic, or both.
The article proudly notes EWTN’s coverage of “the death of Pope Francis” and “the election of Pope Leo XIV.” Let us be precise about what this means. Jorge Mario Bergoglio — the antipope known as “Francis” — was a manifest heretic whose entire pontificate constituted a public assault on Catholic doctrine, from his endorsement of civil unions to his restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass. That EWTN devoted extensive, celebratory coverage to his death and funeral is not journalism; it is liturgical participation in the cult of modernism. The network treated a heretic’s passing as though it were the death of the Vicar of Christ, thereby demonstrating its own complete alienation from the true Faith.
As for Leo XIV — Robert Francis Prevost — the article celebrates EWTN’s “live coverage of the election of Pope Leo XIV” and its publication of a hagiographic volume titled “Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope.” The use of the papal title without quotation marks in EWTN’s own publication is itself a confession: this network recognizes the conciliar usurpers as legitimate. It is, therefore, formally cooperating with heresy. The 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 188.4, states that “every office becomes vacant by the mere fact and without any declaration by reason of tacit resignation… if the cleric publicly defects from the Catholic faith.” A manifest heretic — and every conciliar antipope has taught heresy publicly — ceases to be Pope by that very fact, as St. Robert Bellarmine teaches: “A Pope who is a manifest heretic, by that very fact ceases to be Pope and head, just as he ceases to be a Christian and member of the body of the Church” (De Romano Pontifice, II.30). EWTN’s recognition of these men as “popes” places the network squarely outside the Catholic Church.
The Language of Apostasy: “Encounter” and “Real Presence” Without Doctrine
Michael Warsaw’s statement deserves careful scrutiny. He said the awards reflect his team’s work “to create opportunities for people around the world to encounter Jesus Christ and His Church” and to ensure “that the truth of the Gospel and the Real Presence of Christ are accessible to the faithful.”
The word “encounter” is a hallmark of modernist theology. It was central to the Bergoglio pontificate’s lexicon — the language of experience over doctrine, of feeling over truth. The Catholic Church does not speak of “encountering” Christ as though He were a stranger to be met at a conference; she speaks of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacraments, and the obedience of faith. The true “encounter” with Christ is in the Eucharist — but only when the Eucharist is confected validly and received worthily, which requires a true Mass and a true priest. EWTN, by its own admission, operates within the conciliar structures where the Novus Ordo Missae — a Protestantized fabrication — has replaced the immemorial Roman Rite. To speak of “the Real Presence of Christ” while promoting a liturgy designed by a committee that included six Protestant observers, under the direction of the crypto-Masonic Annibale Bugnini, is either ignorance or deception.
Warsaw further stated that EWTN is committed to “meeting audiences wherever they are, through both traditional and emerging platforms.” This is the language of marketing, not of the Gospel. Our Lord did not say, “Go and meet audiences wherever they are”; He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). The mission of the Church is not to adapt to the world but to convert it. Pius XI, in Quas Primas (1925), declared that “the Kingdom of our Redeemer encompasses all men” and that “rulers of states… must fulfill this duty themselves and with their people, if they wish to maintain their authority inviolate.” EWTN’s mission statement is the antithesis of this: it seeks not the reign of Christ the King but the relevance of a media corporation.
The Awards Themselves: A Catalogue of Conciliar Devotion
The specific awards received by EWTN are revelatory. Consider the categories:
Best Video — Hot Topic — Pope Francis: The winning entry, “Before Francis, Who Was Bergoglio?,” was called “one of the strongest entries in this year’s awards” by the judges. This is a hagiographic treatment of a man who publicly contradicted Catholic teaching on marriage, the death penalty, the salvation of non-Christians, and the nature of the Church itself. The Syllabus of Errors of Pius IX condemned the proposition that “the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization” (Proposition 80). Bergoglio’s entire pontificate was precisely such a reconciliation. That EWTN produced a celebratory film about him — and that the Catholic Media Awards recognized it as exemplary — demonstrates that the entire conciliar media ecosystem is closed to the truth.
Best Use of Live Video in Social Media: Awarded for coverage of “Living the Moment After the Habemus Papam, from St. Peter’s Square.” The Habemus Papam announcement is a solemn moment in the life of the Church — when a new Successor of Peter is presented to the world. But when the man announced is not the Pope but a usurper, the coverage of his “election” is not journalism but complicity in a fraud against the faithful. The Catholic Media Awards thus honored EWTN for its role in legitimizing an antipope.
Best Multimedia Package — News and Best Social Media Campaign — General Interest: These were awarded for coverage of the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference, which “featured Pope Leo XIV’s historic first digital encounter with young U.S. Catholics.” The phrase “digital encounter” is itself symptomatic: the conciliar sect has replaced the sacramental life with virtual experiences. Where the true Church offers Confession, the Most Holy Sacrifice, and catechesis, the conciliar structures offer livestreams and social media campaigns. That this was deemed award-worthy reveals the depth of the apostasy.
The Gabriel Awards: Competing with Secular Media on Secular Terms
The article notes that EWTN won at the Gabriel Awards, “which includes competition with both secular and religious media.” This is presented as a mark of prestige. In reality, it is a mark of capitulation. The Catholic Church does not compete with secular media; she teaches, governs, and sanctifies. The moment a Catholic institution measures itself by secular standards — and is judged by panels that include non-Catholic media professionals — it has already abandoned its supernatural mission.
The winning entry, “Christians Fight To Survive: ISIS in Iraq,” is described as having “garnered over a million views on YouTube alone.” The emphasis on view counts and digital metrics is itself a confession of priorities. The true Church does not measure success in views but in souls saved. St. Pius X, in Lamentabili Sane Exitu (1907), condemned the modernist proposition that “the Church is an enemy of the progress of natural and theological sciences” (Proposition 57) and that “contemporary Catholicism cannot be reconciled with true knowledge without transforming it into a certain dogmaless Christianity, that is, into a broad and liberal Protestantism” (Proposition 65). EWTN’s entire model — competing for audiences on secular platforms, measured by secular metrics, judged by secular standards — is the living embodiment of this condemned proposition.
The National Catholic Register and the Illusion of Catholic Journalism
The National Catholic Register, EWTN’s newspaper, received 17 awards including 10 first-place honors and was named Best Catholic Newspaper for the sixth time in the last decade. It won first place for reporting on “the Jubilee Year” — that is, the 2025 Jubilee of Hope proclaimed by the conciliar sect under Leo XIV.
The true Jubilee is a sacred institution of the Catholic Church, rooted in Scripture and governed by precise canonical norms. The conciliar “Jubilee” is a public relations exercise, a branding opportunity for the post-conciliar structures. That the Register won awards for covering it is equivalent to a newspaper winning awards for covering the activities of a corporation that has stolen a family’s ancestral home — the coverage may be technically proficient, but it legitimizes the theft.
The Photographer of the Year: Documenting Apostasy
Daniel Ibáñez, EWTN’s “papal photographer,” was named Photographer of the Year. The judges noted that “each photo is thoughtfully framed and immediately connects with the audience.” Ibáñez’s primary subject is the conciliar antipope — the man occupying the Vatican. His photographs are used to create the visual narrative of legitimacy for the post-conciliar usurpers. In the true Church, the papal photographer documents the Vicar of Christ. In the conciliar sect, the “papal photographer” documents a heretic and creates images that reinforce the illusion of his authority. This is not art in service of truth; it is propaganda in service of apostasy.
The Deeper Malice: EWTN as the Conciliar Sect’s Ministry of Information
The article concludes by noting that EWTN is “now in its 45th year” and is “the largest Catholic media organization in the world,” broadcasting in “more than 160 countries and territories” through 11 global TV channels, radio services, websites, and publishing divisions.
This global reach is precisely what makes EWTN so dangerous. It is not a small operation with limited influence; it is the paramasonic structure’s primary instrument for shaping the narrative of the conciliar revolution. Every award it receives reinforces its credibility among the faithful who do not yet understand that the post-conciliar structures are not the Catholic Church. Every “first-place” honor from the Catholic Media Awards — an organization composed of and judged by conciliar media professionals — is another link in the chain of deception.
Pius IX, in the Syllabus of Errors, condemned the proposition that “the Church has not the power of defining dogmatically that the religion of the Catholic Church is the only true religion” (Proposition 21). EWTN, by its consistent promotion of ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, and the conciliar religion of man, has spent decades acting as though this condemned proposition were true. Its awards are the rewards of fidelity — not to the Catholic Faith, but to the conciliar revolution.
Conclusion: The Whore of Babylon Has Good PR
The 75-plus awards received by EWTN at the 2026 Catholic Media Awards are not a sign of Catholic vitality. They are a measure of the thoroughness with which the conciliar sect has captured the means of communication within the visible structures of the Church. Every award category — from papal coverage to social media campaigns, from youth conferences to jubilee reporting — corresponds to an aspect of the post-conciliar apostasy. The judges who awarded these honors are themselves participants in the same system. The metrics by which success is measured — views, engagement, innovation — are the metrics of the world, not of the Church.
The true Catholic Church endures — not in the awards ceremonies of Atlantic City, not in the studios of Irondale, Alabama, but in the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith, who attend the true Mass, and who reject the conciliar usurpers and all their works. Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus — outside the Church there is no salvation. And the conciliar sect, for all its awards and view counts and global reach, is not the Church. It is the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (Matthew 24:15), and EWTN is its most accomplished herald.
Source:
EWTN wins more than 75 awards at 2026 Catholic Media Awards (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 23.06.2026