JASON BERRY

2005 JASON BERRY — Jason Berry’s Vows of Silence, a film based on his book, co-authored with Gerald Renner, won the Best TV Documentary Award at the 2008 Mexico City International Documentary Film Festival. The film follows the Vatican investigation of accused sex abuser Father Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ. It is based on a 2004 book of the same title, for which Berry and Renner received the Fund’s 2002 annual book award. In December 2004, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ordered an investigation of Maciel. The film follows the investigation through Ratzinger’s election as Pope Benedict XVI, and his decision in 2006 to remove Maciel from active ministry. In 2009 the Vatican opened an investigation of the entire religious order. The film has been shown on pay-per-view in Italy, with airdates in Spain and Ireland.