Jason Berry - Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II

JASON BERRY has produced an award-winning film documentary based on Vows of Silence. His previous books include the highly praised Lead Us Not into Temptation and Up from the Cradle of Jazz , a history of New Orleans music. He was the recipient of an Alicia Patterson Fellowship for reporting on political demagogues, and a Guggenheim Fellowship for a history of jazz funerals. He writes for many publications and appears often on national television. He lives in New Orleans and is a 1971 graduate of Georgetown.

GERALD RENNER (19322007) was a veteran journalist at The Hartford Courant , where he was a staff writer specializing in religious news, issues, and trends. Later a freelancer, he was the recipient of a Templeton Prize for religion writing from the Religion News Association, a John Hancock Award for deadline reporting, and several investigative reporting awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists. Before joining the Courant , Renner was editor and director of Religion News Service in New York and a vice president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He lived in Norwalk, Connecticut, and was a 1959 graduate of Georgetown.

T HE WORK that led to this book began in 1996 with a joint assignment at The Hartford Courant , thanks to the then editor, David Barrett, and the managing editor, Clifford Teutsch. We appreciate the careful attention that Teutsch, Stephanie Summers, and Claude Albert gave to editing our report published in February of 1997. Staff writer Helen Ubias graciously translated several documents. Gerald Renner also wishes to thank Bernard Davidow, a tireless editor of features and news, for his constant encouragement and many courtesies both before and after Renners retirement from the Courant in April of 2000.

The National Catholic Reporter has been in the forefront of covering the church for many years and has been an important outlet for both of us. To publisher Tom Fox, editor Tom Roberts, and the former managing editor Pamela Schaeffer, we appreciate the support for articles that developed into chapters of this book. We owe a special debt to John L. Allen Jr., the newspapers Vatican correspondent and a distinguished writer, for his professional generosity and peerless insight into the affairs of the Holy See. Thanks as well to NCRs Boston correspondent, Chuck Colbert.

We are most grateful to the Fund for Investigative Journalism, in Washington, D.C., its board members, and the director, John Hyde, for a timely research grant, and for the assistance provided, through the Fund, by Lisa Romero, communications librarian, associate professor of library administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

To literary agent Deborah Grovesnor of Bethesda, Maryland, major thanks.

It has been a pleasure to work with Frederic Hills, our editor at the Free Press; his fine copy editor, Chuck Antony; and his colleagues, especially Martha Levin, Carisa Hays, Cassie Dendurent, Paul OHalloran, Robert Niegowski, and Andrea Au.

Father Thomas Doyle was unstinting in his generosity despite the demands made on his time for interviews in person, by telephone, and by e-mail. His sister Kelly Doyle Tobin graciously shared family memories, as did his cousin Sharon Doyle, with the family genealogy.

Professor Jos de Jess Barba Martin has been a diligent guide through the labyrinth of the Legion of Christ; we admire his tenacity and thank him for his goodwill.

There are others who took courageous stands, without whom this book would never have been written: the Reverend Flix Alarcn, Sal Barrales Arellano, Alejandro Espinosa Alcal, Arturo Jurado Guzmn, Fernando Prez Olvera, Jos Antonio Prez Olvera, Juan Vaca, and the late Juan Manuel Fernndez Amenbar.

Many people provided information from within the church, particularly in Rome, who asked not to be identified. We thank them for leading us to the right questions. Three canon lawyers who spoke on the record were of great assistance: Monsignor Brian Ferme, an Australian, the dean of the canon law faculty at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome; Monsignor Kenneth Lasch, the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Mendham, New Jersey; and the Reverend Antonio Roquei of Mexico City.

We are especially grateful for what we learned from Father Alberto Athi, Isaac Chute, the late Father Peter Cronin, Federico Dominguez, Kevin Fagan, Glenn Favreau, Tony Fernandez, Rollin and Ruth Lasseter, Paul Lennon, Father Rogelio Orozco, and Rafael Garcia-Zuazua.

We also thank Detective Sergeant Dan Anderson, Lisa Bastian, Melissa Cook, Diane Dougherty, Barbara Felix, Sue Greve, the Helmueller family, Tyler and Julia Kohl, Colleen Kunnuth, Susan McDermott, Maria Morales, Theresa Murray, Angela Naples, Gerry Neely, Dr. Henry and Lisa Perez, Maggie Picket, Rex and Maurine Smith, Diane Stinger, Patricia Swanson, Indra Turnbull, and David and Sue Youngerman.

Veteran correspondent and author Robert Blair Kaiser, who covered Vatican II for Time and writes for Newsweek , was most generous in guiding us to sources. Other correspondents in Rome who helped include Robert Mickens of the English Catholic weekly magazine the Tablet; David Willey of the BBC; Judy Harris; Sandro Magister of Lespresso; Peggy Polk of Religion News Service; Eduardo Lliteras, who reports for Milenio and other Mexican publications; Philippa Hitchen of Vatican Radio; and Delia Gallagher of Inside the Vatican.

Flavio Viscardi was invaluable as a researcher into sexual abuse reporting in the Italian press, and for providing translations. Thanks also to Fabrizio Tonello.

Ann Rodgers-Melnick, religion reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , went far beyond courtesy to share her experiences reporting a complicated canon law case. In reading our manuscript she offered many insightful comments. In like measure, we wish to thank Joe Rigert, a distinguished investigative reporter, recently retired from the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis.

For assistance in understanding texts in Spanish, thanks to Blanca Anderson, Mary Frances Berry, and Paul Lennon. For translation assistance, Nela Garcia-Zuazua. For translation from Germanand for her own reporting on events in Austria and Germanythanks to Professor Ingrid Shafer of the University of Arts and Sciences of Oklahoma.

The Austrian journalist and Tablet correspondent Christa Pongratz-Lippitt was generous in providing research on Cardinal Groer.

Among other colleagues who facilitated our research we are particularly grateful to Carl Cannon, now a White House correspondent for the National Journal.

Two journalists who have since died were of great assistance, in different ways: Richard Baudouin, a courageous editor at the Times of Acadiana , and Jonathan Kwitney, one of the finest investigative reporters of his generation, author of an excellent biography of Pope John Paul II.

In more or less alphabetical order, we wish to thank these colleagues:

ABC News, correspondents Bill Blakemore and Brian Ross; chief investigative producer Christopher Isham; senior producers Rhonda Schwartz and Richard Harris; producers Jill Rackmill and Madeline Sauer. Associated Press, Rachel Zoll. The Boston Globe , Ellen Barry, Matt Carroll, Michael Paulson, Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes, Walter V Robinson, Stephen Kurkjian, and Charles Sennott. The Boston Herald , Robin Washington. The Boston Phoenix , Kristen Lombardi. Canadian Press , correspondent and author Darcey Henton. Catholic New Times in Toronto, editor Ted Schmidt. Catholic News Service, David Gibson and John Thavis. The Chicago Tribune , Todd Lighty and Elizabeth Taylor. The Cleveland Plain Dealer , James McCarty. The Dallas Morning News , Brooks Egerton and Rod Dreher. Dayton Daily News , Vince McKelvey. Los Angeles Times , Gary Spiecker and Glenn Bunting. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Marie Rohde and Meg Kissinger. Newsday , Carol Eisenberg. The New York Times , Sam Dillon. The New Orleans Times-Picayune , Lolis Elie, James Gill, Bruce Nolan, and at Gambit Weekly , Clancy DuBos and Michael Tisserand. Religion News Service, Peggy Polk. Rolling Stone , Bill Tonelli. San Francisco Weekly , Ron Russell. Vancouver Sun , Douglas Todd. The Wall Street Journal , Jose de Cordoba. The Washington Post , Alan Cooperman and Caryle Murphy. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette , Kathleen Shaw.