Reviews, Interviews , News, Commentaries, My Top 5 Movies, Best-Of Lists, Filmmakers of Faith, Film ForumMea Maxima Culpa
Does Gibney raise legitimate and grave questions about the handling—or mishandling—of the abuse on the local diocesan level and the accountability of individual prelates? Yes. And the movie is most compelling when keeping the victims front and center.
However, Gibney, an accomplished documentarian whose works include the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side and Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, veers into conspiracy-theory territory more befitting a Dan Brown novel than a serious investigation.
By Gibney's reckoning, the Murphy case is symptomatic of a policy of cover-up within the Holy See that leads "to the highest corridors of the Vatican." Moreover, he places Pope Benedict in the crosshairs, inferring the pontiff, at best, was asleep at the wheel, or at worst, complicit in obstructing justice in the Murphy and other molestation cases.
The truth is that the charges were first brought to the attention of then-Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, by Milwaukee's scandal-embroiled former Archbishop Rembert Weakland in 1996, decades after local Milwaukee law enforcement and diocesan officials already knew of the crimes and the statutes of limitations had expired under both civil and church law.
It also suggests that Cardinal Ratzinger, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), had jurisdiction over the case, when, in fact, the CDF's jurisdiction in these cases was not clarified until 2001. In any case, then and now, the primary responsibility in cases of abuse rests with the local bishop. (Meanwhile, Gibney resorts to sensationalism when he brings up the CDF's historical connection to the Inquisition, illustrating it with lurid images of torture.)
The film does admit that local legal authorities also failed to act, but insinuatingly identifies the Milwaukee district attorney at the time as a "devout Catholic." Less clearly presented is the fact that Rome did approve pursuing disciplinary action through a canonical trial, since some of the abuse had been connected to the sacrament of confession—an ecclesial crime for which there is no statute of limitations. Murphy died of natural causes during the proceedings.
Embracing a post-Watergate ethos of "cover-ups" and "smoking guns," Gibney paints these standard internal inquiries in conspiratorial shades. Much is made of "secrecy," when in reality the Church is hardly alone in requiring strict confidentiality in the investigation of alleged criminal activity—it's also part of the American justice system.
In breaking out the brickbats, the film also makes an ugly insinuation involving Pope John Paul II's support of disgraced Legionnaires of Christ founder Marcial Maciel. Gibney chooses his words carefully, but the implication is clear.
The Latest in Movie News, May 20, 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness
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Steven Mummy
David DiCerto reviews films for the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has skin in this game. He is in essence reviewing a film critical of his employer. I graduated from a Roman Catholic seminary. The sexual malfeasance amongst clerics revealed to date is only the tip of the iceberg. From my own experience, and that of numerous classmates, ordained or nor, "promised chasity" is a myth. Richard Sipe's estimate of those observing it is low. The well documented actions taken by Bishops - Ratzinger included - to shield clerical abusers from criminal prosecution were deliberate, coordinated, criminal and immoral acts designed to protect the "patrimony" of the church: money and unconditional reverence from their flock - the foundation of their exhalted positions. DiCerto's beef is really that the film masterfully called the church to task about that fact, without giving the misplaced "reverence" that caused the crisis in the first place.
Ronald Grim
I was once a believer, but after close examination of Christianity, its origins and evolution, and specifically after the continued atrocities uncovered in films like this, I have to come to the conclusion that the world would be a far better place without the bane of religion. There is simply no excuse for the protection of institutions and clergy that indulge and protect those that would harm a child. The fact that they actively covered it up defies the specific charge with which these people were entrusted – and if one does not think that is the case here and around the planet, you are not living in reality. Having two young children of my own, I struggle daily as my wife wants to bring them up in the Catholic faith. I am to the point that unless the Church reveals every single individual involved in these horrific crimes, and notifies the parishioners where they reside, that I would not expose my children to such risk.
Doris Brosnan
You made about as good a Catholic try as possible to try to criticize this film. The Vatican had a chance to participate, but as a Catholic in the Milwaukee Archdiocese I can tell you they generally say as little as they can on this issue. The bottom line is the facts are the facts, and the facts really aren't aggrandized in this film. I understand the "devices" documentary movies use. The grainy film was pictures of the priest and the kids, what else are they going to use. It all comes down to the testimony of these deaf people who were abused. It is powerful, it is real. That is why the archdiocese of Milwaukee has done everything in its power to avoid a trial. The Wall Street Journal quote is an interesting argument. But the facts are the Catholic church did zero forever, even though it was in their best interest to do more.