5 Take-aways from Spotlight
Saturday night my husband and I went to see the movie "Spotlight." It is a film about The Boston Globes uncovering not only the priest-abuse scandal but the system that covered up and perpetuated the abuse of children by pedophile priests. It has been haunting my thoughts since that time. Here are five things about the movie that will stay with me.
The theater was packed. And I don't just mean full; almost every seat was taken in the entire theater. While this is not about the movie exactly, it did draw my attention. I was surprised to see so many people spend their Saturday night watching a movie with such a dark and difficult topic. Clearly, the abuse that happened is significant, impactful, and pervasive in the lives of real people. After the final credits showing all the diocese around the world that had similar cover-up scandals, we all left the movie theater in silence.
3 years and $20,000. At the time of the investigation (2001) in Boston, the statute of limitations on child molestation was 3 years. And, there was a charitable organization cap of $20,000 for law suits. That means most of the early cases were settled out of court, without any records, for a minimal amount of money. The silence was kept.
"If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a village to abuse one." This is a quote from a lawyer who was representing those abused. I wonder how many people turned their head, who didn't look, who didn't want to see. I consider how many mothers, otherwise loving and kind, didn't believe their children because they couldn't take 'Father' off of his pedestal long enough to see the painful truth crying in front of them. The children's voices were silenced.
The Church's culture of secrecy. A man who had done years of research on priest pedophiles said that because roughly half of priests do not live a celibate lifestyle, the Church has developed a culture of secrecy and covering up 'indiscretions.' This is the perfect breeding ground for pedophiles. And priests who did speak out with concern about what their brother priest were doing were threatened, punished, and silenced.
We can never be silent again. Being heard is essential to creating change. This is why organizations like SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and Call To Action and the many Catholic reform organizations. Even though a layer of institutional dysfunction has been removed, the hierarchy of the Church is ensconced in secrets, loyalty, and closed systems. This issue is not about individual priests and bishops (there are a lot of good and faithful men out there); rather, it is about systemic issues - how we do things, what we are used to, what we don't even notice. Our work is far from finished. Together, our voice is louder and stronger. As the People of God, we cannot be silent ever again.
