NAPLES (FL)
Naples Daily News
By Janine Zeitlin
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
When Jason Berry started digging into the case of a Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse in Cajun country two decades ago, he found a thread common in scandals he has written about in the years since.
Cover-ups, secrecy and a divide between the people and church governing powers were discovered, said Berry, a 56-year-old journalist, in an interview from his New Orleans home.
“What these many abuse cases are about are two intertwined stories. One is about a pathologically driven priest and the other is about a bishop whose idea of power is based on complete fidelity to the system,” he said. “Each one of these stories is about a conflict between monarchy and democracy.”
Berry co-wrote “Vows of Silence” and was the author of “Lead Us Not into Temptation” — two lauded books probing sexual abuse by priests and how the Catholic Church responded.
Voice of the Faithful, a national group formed to respond to the scandals, is hosting Berry at a 7 p.m. public talk Thursday at St. John the Evangelist Church, 625 111th Ave. N., in North Naples.