Deliver Us From Evil -Sexual Abuse in the Church

Amy Berg's Documentary of How the Catholic Church Dealt with Scandal

Oct 24, 2009

The legacy of a wealthy church invested in quelling scandal rather than supporting parishioners is the focus of Amy Berg's film, while revealing the cost for parishioners

In the film Deliver Us From Evil: Sexual Abuse in the Church, Amy Berg has effectively documented the anguish of centuries of sexual abuse done by clerics in the Catholic Church. It is a story of personal destruction, emotional pain, and institutional deception. The beautiful liturgy and stately domed cathedrals, the colorful stained glass windows and robed clerics are seen against the backdrop of an ugly, concealed truth.

Close up Interviews with a Catholic Pedophile Protected by his Religious Institution

Father Oliver O'Grady is a convicted pedophile who has been released from prison and deported to Ireland, where he roams freely among the citizens in his village. He does not have to report or submit to authority. On camera, he seems affable and honest, forthrightly explaining his attraction to very young children and admitting to his own transgressions. "I would label it love," he tells us sincerely. One of his victims, however, reacalls "severe pain" and then blacking out. The disparity between these two recollections holds a story of institutional "deception, perjury, denial" with thousands of charges of molestation against clerics of the Catholic Church and a charge of covering up knowledge of sexual abuse against Pope Benedict XVI, who was granted immunity from prosecution by President George W. Bush. Some estimate that over a half million American children were molested while the Catholic Church suppressed information that might have protected them.

Testimony from trials, individual interviews with professionals, and personal testimonials from the grown children who were raped and molested as well as their families gives great poignancy to this story. Historical information that goes back to the fourth century helps put this drama into context. The evolution of the priesthood to one of celibacy is presented as one that originally gave financial gain to priests, who at one time passed their wealth onto their own children. When priests became celibate, their wealth remained within the Church.

But for that wealth the Church and her parishioners have paid a heavy price. Was it the fault of the Church? The police who made deals that allowed the priests to continue working in the Church? The families who trusted and looked the other way when their children were taken by the priests? The government who excused the principals in charge? The Holy Father whose duty it was to protect the children in the Church? The sexualized priesthood that looks upon any form of sex as bad, rather than separating normal human sexuality from pedophilia? The Vatican, who scapegoated the homosexual priests while protecting the pedophiles? The people who damaged some of the clerics back in their own childhood and urged them into priesthood? The film is not judgmental but gives the viewer a full-bodied view of the complexities of the problem and the deep cultural roots of the problem.

The Catholic Church, Betrayed Trust, and the Life that Follows Priest Molestation

One of the most touching aspects of this film is the sensitive portrayal of individual victims and their families over the years since their assaults were discovered. Some of the children, were afraid to tell because of misinformation. The confusion and betrayal of innocence has damaged their entire lives and ability to have relationships. Some of the adult children are now atheists, others still faithfully attend their church and cling to hope for healing. The attorneys, many who continue criminal investigations or who are working to hold clerics such as Oliver O'Grady accountable in some way, express their own frustration with the cover-ups, the moving of known pedophiles from one community to another as children were being tormented.

One can only imagine how damaging the betrayal of trust must be, how deep the pain, when a child learns that their most trusted adult figures are capable of causing them so much pain. Two grown victims attempt at one point to go to the Vatican to ask for an audience, but they are turned away. That rejection, once again, by an institution where they so desperately need inclusion, is a sad statement about institutional versus human compassion.

One of the strengths of this excellent documentary is Berg's ability to humanize even the most abhorrent situations. Interviews with Oliver O'Grady reveal a damaged man, one whose own potential was truncated by predators. Yet O'Grady, who reveals much of himself in this film, seems to be incapable of perspective and unwilling to fully understand what he has done. The victimized families seem to hold nothing back; their full disclosure allows the viewer to deeply understand what these families have experienced. A moving film, one not to be missed.

The copyright of the article Deliver Us From Evil -Sexual Abuse in the Church in Documentary Films is owned by Barbara DeGrande. Permission to republish Deliver Us From Evil -Sexual Abuse in the Church in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.