The Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) pays tribute to Jaime L. Cardinal Sin and Saint John Paul II as it celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Cardinal Sin and Saint John Paul II figure prominently in a photo exhibit showcasing milestones in the four decades of CMMA.
Sin, an esteemed azzwwwrchbishop of Manila, is remembered with love and joy as the leader who established the CMMA in 1978, describing the awards as “a tribute to those who serve God through the media.”
The CMMA, likewise, has fond and proud memories of how twice its awarding ceremonies were graced by the presence of John Paul II, one of history’s most beloved popes and now a saint whose holiness inspires the faithful.
The two great men of the Catholic Church are the most important individuals shown in a panel exhibit featuring posters and photographs showcasing some of the highlights of the 40-year history of the CMMA. Also displayed in the exhibit are the winners of the CMMA and their winning works.
The cardinal had established the CMMA in 1978, when he was then on his fifth year as archbishop of Manila. With the awards, he honored the men and women of the media who had made outstanding contributions through their respective fields of communication to the country and the Church.
Then-Pope John Paul II, on the other hand, had two times personally handed the CMMA plaques to winners. The first was on February 21, 1981, when he came to Manila to beatify Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, and to bring his message to the faithful in other parts of the country. He arrived in Manila on February 17, 1981, and left on February 22, 1981.
Besides in Manila, he celebrated Mass and spoke to huge crowds in the cities of Cebu, Davao and Bacolod, the town of Morong in Bataan and Baguio City.
The second time the pope handed out the awards was in the course of his visit for the World Youth Day celebration in 1995. He stayed in the country from January 12 to 16, 1995. He presented the CMMA to winners on February 15 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), where he also celebrated a Mass to commemorate the fourth centenary of the Archdiocese of Manila and the Dioceses of Cebu, Caceres and Nueva Segovia.
Photographs of these CMMA occasions are among 40, one for each year, displayed in the panel exhibit unveiled on May 12 to kick off the celebration of the organization’s 40th anniversary, which culminates with the CMMA ceremonies in November.
For its initial showing, the exhibit was held at the Arzobispado in Intramuros, Manila, along with the celebration of World Social Communications Day by the Commission on Social Communications of the Archdiocese of Manila.
Fr. Jerome Secillano, parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Sampaloc, Manila, shared a reflection on Pope Francis’s message for World Communications Day, which has the theme “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32), against fake news and journalism for peace.
D. Edgard A. Cabangon, chairman of the CMMA, thanked the Archdiocesan commission on Social Communications for sharing its event with the CMMA for the soft launching of its anniversary.
“The CMMA, as a project of the Archdiocese of Manila established by our late beloved Cardinal Sin, shares the Commission’s desire to put communications and the mass media at the service of Christian values,” Cabangon said.
Under the current guidance of Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, Cabangon said the current board of trustees and officers of CMMA would strive to uphold Cardinal Sin’s vision of encouraging the media to exercise their responsibility in contributing to full human development and the uplifting of social values and norms.
Fr. Joselito Buenafe, trustee and chairman of CMMA Production, expressed the hope that those who viewed the CMMA panel exhibit, mass media workers in particular, would be encouraged to promote truth in their works.
Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, founder of the ALC Group of Companies, served as president and chairman of the CMMA since 1999, when he was appointed by Cardinal Sin, until he passed away in March 2016.