‘The Reckoning’: AP event to examine accountability in clergy abuse crisis
The state of the clergy abuse crisis across the globe and the effectiveness of measures taken by the Catholic Church since it vowed to end the scourge of abuse nearly two decades ago will be examined at an Associated Press panel discussion on Tuesday, Dec. 3, in New York.
Powerful AP photographs of survivors of clergy abuse also will be on display at the event at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
David Gibson, director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture, will lead a robust conversation among participants who range from a survivor of clergy abuse to a representative from the Archdiocese of New York.
Award-winning AP journalists who have contributed to the months-long investigative series titled “The Reckoning” will also join the discussion. The AP stories focus on top church officials and whether they have been accountable for the transgressions that happened under their watch.
Panelists include:
- Robert S. Bennett, former federal prosecutor and defense attorney in Washington and former member of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Minors.
- Juan Carlos Cruz, Chilean survivor of clergy sex abuse and advocate for survivors.
- Edward T. Mechmann, director of the Archdiocese of New York’s Safe Environment Program.
- Michael Rezendes, AP investigative reporter and former member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe Spotlight team.
- Nicole Winfield, AP Vatican correspondent, whose reporting on the sex abuse scandal by Chilean clergy led to an unprecedented mass resignation of church officials.
AP images of survivors of clergy sex abuse from Guam to Mississippi by AP photojournalists David Goldman and Maye-E Wong will be on display at the event. Wong’s photography, titled “Sundays After,” was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation.
“Reckoning with clergy abuse: Is the Catholic Church falling short on its commitments?” is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by The Associated Press and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
The discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. ET.
For tickets: http://apne.ws/QamZy94