c. 2006 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) A scene near the end of “Deliver Us From Evil,” Amy Berg’s disturbing new documentary on clergy sexual abuse, should be burned into the mind of every Catholic bishop: Bob Jyono sits on a sofa beside his daughter Ann, 39, who was regularly raped between the ages of 5 and 12 by the Rev. Oliver O’Grady. He blurts out in anguish, “There is no God. I do not believe in a god. All right?” Ann bursts into tears, covering her face with both hands.
The scene crystallizes one of the most tragic aspects of the Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal: By tolerating abuser priests, a bishop whose job is to nourish the faith of his people can be responsible for destroying it.
A sober movie that asks tough questions, offers incisive portraits of victims and perpetrators, and conveys the necessary context should be mandatory viewing for bishops. Regrettably, “Deliver Us From Evil” is not that film. Rather, its biases and arguments are mirror images of the ones deployed by those who defend the church’s behavior in the abuse scandal.
The centerpiece of the movie is Berg’s stomach-turning interviews with O’Grady, an admitted abuser. But when the film tries to tell the wider story of clergy abuse, it relies almost entirely on commentators with ties to victims’ advocacy groups _ especially plaintiffs’ attorneys _ who have a vested interest in some facts and conveniently ignore others.
Their grasp of theology and history often seems tenuous. One talking head explains the depth of ecclesial alienation felt by victims like this: “The church teaches that the only way to salvation if you are Catholic is through the church, and if you are not in communion with the church you are damned to hell.” This grossly incomplete rendition of Catholic doctrine is offered by John Manly, a victims’ lawyer. Patrick Wall, the only person identified as a “theologian” in the film, offers no corrective to Manly’s distortion. Why would he? He is a paid consultant to Manly’s law firm. The film doesn’t disclose that information.
The film’s factual errors are exacerbated by its sensationalist flourishes. Jeffrey Anderson, a lawyer for hundreds of victims, makes claims such as, “Every day, every week, I learn of another child … offended by a cleric who hasn’t been disclosed before this day.” He says, “Thousands of offenders yet to be exposed and disclosed (are) still roaming the churches and landscapes in the U.S. and … tens of thousands worldwide.”
But in 2005, 532 of 42,000 U.S. priests were credibly accused of abuse, several cases going back decades. This is still far too many, but it represents a 30 percent drop in accused priests from 2004, a statistic no one in the film mentions. These figures can’t be taken as definitive _ it can take years for victims to come forward _ but neither should they be disregarded.
“Deliver Us From Evil” ignores the institutional church’s most significant response to the 2002 revelations of clergy abuse. The U.S. bishops commissioned a landmark study of priestly abuse between 1950 and 2002, made public in 2004, by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and overseen by an unprecedented lay review board. Their follow-up study continues.
The film also makes no mention of the bishops’ 2002 “zero tolerance” remedy for clergy sexual abuse. When correctly followed, the policy means that credible accusations against a priest now result in immediate removal, a ban on clerical dress or public ministry, and removal from the priesthood if the accusations prove true.
Neither does the film acknowledge the church’s massive efforts to educate church employees, students and parishioners about sexual predators, as well as to put in place screening measures to keep children safe.
No doubt the challenge of putting together such a film when key parties refuse to cooperate is daunting. Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, whose filmed deposition is used in the movie, wouldn’t participate; neither would the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
But the time and effort Berg put into obtaining hours of footage with O’Grady makes it difficult to understand why she didn’t include at least one independent commentator. The final frame of the film reads: “The Catholic Church declined to be interviewed for this documentary.” Which part? The lay review board? Its chairwoman told me none of its members was contacted by the filmmakers.
Revelations about sexual abuse in the church will continue, along with the devastation in the lives of far too many people. We need to know more about what clergy abuse does to victims and how bishops have failed to respond. What makes “Deliver Us From Evil” finally so disappointing is that its biases, errors and utter lack of balance will bring an easy dismissal of the victims’ claims from those who most need to see it. As a result, “Deliver Us From Evil” may do more harm than good for the cause it seems to care so deeply about.
(Grant Gallicho is associate editor of Commonweal magazine.)
KRE/PH END GALLICHO
Editors: To obtain a photo of Gallicho and photos from “Deliver Us From Evil,” go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search for “Deliver.”
Note: “Deliver Us From Evil” opens Friday, Oct. 27, in Detroit, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and St. Louis. The film opens in Chicago and Portland on Nov. 3, and in Cleveland and Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 10.
