October 29, 2018

First ‘Healing the Breach of Trust’ event to be moderated by New York Times’ Douthat

Four leading religion reporters will gather at The Catholic University of America to discuss the role of the media in investigating, reporting, and framing the public’s understanding of the sexual abuse crisis in the Church.

Ross Douthat (The New York Times) will moderate the event, which will feature Elizabeth Bruenig (The Washington Post), J.D. Flynn (Catholic News Agency), and Chris White (Crux). It will take place on Monday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. in Heritage Hall, which is located in Father O’Connell Hall on the Catholic University campus.

The discussion, hosted by the University’s Institute for Human Ecology (IHE), is the first of a series of planned conferences titled “Healing the Breach of Trust: Laity, Leadership, and the Crisis.”

“Our goal is to to provide opportunities for constructive and frank conversation between bishops, priests, and laypeople so we can better understand the causes of this crisis and work towards solutions,” said IHE Executive Director Joseph Capizzi.

The November event will provide context for three conferences in the spring that will address the proper role of laity in the Church, the factors that led to the sex abuse crisis, and how the laity and the clergy can work toward renewal together.

“The crisis has damaged the trust laity have — and need to have — in Church leadership,” said Catholic University President John Garvey. “Here at The Catholic University of America, we are in a unique position to assess the current breach of trust that has shaken the laity, and to outline a path forward together with the bishops.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information or to RSVP, visit  https://ihe.catholic.edu/event/healingthebreach/ or contact ihe@cua.edu.  

MEDIA: To schedule an interview or attend this event, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at communications@cua.edu or 202-319-5600.