Media Advisory: Wake Forest University hosts Jason Berry, Vatican expert, author and investigative journalist
In the year since taking over an embattled Catholic Church, Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through the world with his humility, his candor and his apparent fervor for change in the Catholic community and inside the Vatican itself. Few journalists know better the challenges facing the new pope than Jason Berry, an author, investigative journalist and documentary film producer from New Orleans. Berry will discuss those challenges in the context of recent church history in a special presentation at Wake Forest University on April 2 at 6:30 p.m. in Broyhill Auditorium of Farrell Hall. A question-and-answer period will follow Berry’s talk. The event is free and open to the public.
A graduate of Georgetown University, Berry has been covering the church and its myriad scandals and crises for more than 25 years. He has gained prominence for his pioneering investigative reporting into sexual abuse in the priesthood, his coverage of the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and his reporting on the Vatican’s investigation of American nuns accused of “radical feminism.” He is the author of “Render Unto to Rome: The Secret Life and Money in the Catholic Church” and co-author of “Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II.” His 1992 book on the clergy abuse crisis, “Lead Us Not Into Temptation” is still used in many newsrooms.
Berry was a co-producer of the February 25, 2014 PBS Frontline special Secrets of the Vatican.
Berry comes to Wake Forest as a guest of the journalism program in its affiliation with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, D.C., which has supported Berry’s reporting. Berry’s talk, “Pope Francis and the Church at the Crossroad of Reform,” promises to be as timely as it is topical, brimming with insight and perspective that only a keen, well-sourced journalist can bring to such a story.
More information about Jason Berry is available at: www.jasonberryauthor.com
About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.
