Gerald Renner, Journalist Who Exposed Priest Abuse Dies
Gerald Renner, long-time religion reporter for the Hartford Courant, died yesterday after battling cancer. Renner teamed up with Jason Berry to expose the priest sex abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic Church in America. After Hartford Archbishop John Whealon commented on the conservative, secret nature of the Legionaries of Christ, Renner began investigating the religious order who had headquarters in Connecticut. What he found was the beginnings of the sexual abuse crisis in the United States. In 1996, he authored an in-depth expose of the Order's founder Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado and how he had abused seminarians. In 2004, he co-authored with Jason Berry, "Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II."
As we reflect on the life of this journalist, we should remember he was a friend to the survivor of priest sex abuse. He was never afraid to expose the truth no matter how powerful were the evil forces lurking in the shadows. He was a great man and a friend to the survivor movement. He will be missed.