Mea Maxima Culpa - Silence in the house of God

[cinemabon]

That HBO should bring out this movie and two days later Cardinal Ratzinger (aka, the Pope) should resign should come as no coincidence to the thousands of victims around the world who have suffered at the hands of priests. American documentary film director Alex Gibney who is quickly becoming one of the most important documentary filmmakers of this generation has given us the most pervasive and thorough examination on the subject of the church's involvement with covering up sexual abuse - abuse that goes back not decades but literally hundreds of years, documented, filed, and stored at the Vatican. The film concentrates on a few cases in particular - the Lawrence Murphy case, where Father Murphy raped deaf boys, starting in the 1950's and continued for the two and a half decades; also the case of Tony Walsh, the so-called singing priest. Cardinal Ratzinger was appointed by the previous Pope, John Paul II, to "handle" all complaints and cases, which he did by consolidating them into one office that catalogued every complaint going back decades. Not only did the Vatican know about cases in a variety of countries but they systematically covered up the allegations by placing blame on others and hiring PR firms to divert public opinion. The case against the Vatican is quite damning and I would highly recommend this film. In particular is the troubling connection between the Catholic church and Evangelical church in America that supported them to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - names like Santorum, Bush, and many others were connected to Father Marcial Maciel, a special assistant to both John Paul and Ratzinger. Maciel it turns out was not only addicted to morphine, he abused both boys and girls, including two daughters he sired through two outside families he had on the side! The widespread abuse, the cover up, the money involved is nauseating.

[Chris Knipp]

Many thanks for the heads up on this, cinemabon. Obviously a must--see and though I've seen it mentioned I had let it slip from mind. There is so much talk about Catholic priests' sexual abuse of children it's getting overwhelming, and now last week the historic and unique in 600 years resignation of Pope Benedict, obviously related, another stunner.

MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD (2012) (Alex Gibney 2012) according to IMDb debuted at Toronto 9 September 2012 and was then reviewed by one of VARIETY's current star writers Justin Chang. His opening summary:

Weaving a uniquely devastating account of priestly pedophilia into an excoriating indictment of the entire Vatican power structure, "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" is an expansive and authoritative study of the widespread practice and concealment of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Alex Gibney's typically well-assembled, meticulously researched docu occasionally falters with over-aestheticized reconstructions of his subjects' experiences, an unnecessary touch in light of their brave, chilling testimony and the horrific scope of the personal and institutional corruption conveyed here. Hard-hitting synthesis of established facts and new interviews merits theatrical exposure before its 2013 HBO airings.

He summarizes some of the cases as you do, cinemabon.

MEA MAXIMA CULPA officially opened in the US 16 Nov. 2012. In the UK it opened 15 Feb. 2013. Metacritic rating 73. I'd agree Gibney is one of the best American documentary filmmakers, not fast becoming, he is now. My admiration for TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE is unbounded. It is a milestone and a reference point for any critique of American foreign policy. Apropos of the UK release of the new film three days ago there's a Guardian review by Philip French that's on a page with links to other related articles including an interview with Gibney about the film.

Does anybody remember the searing Canadian two-part TV films THE BOYS OF SAINT VINCENT? That was before I was writing reviews on the Internet, but I found it a very disturbing and powerful miniseries that got some theatrical exposure (that's how I saw it) and was included in critics' annual Ten Best lists.

[cinemabon]

It's amazing that at a time when few in the media were making films on the subject, The Boys of St. Vincent seems to have spoken up on the subject of this despicable tragedy. Whereas pederasty was once the butt of jokes in the general media ("Uncle Al, the kiddies pal," or "Uncle Ernie" from Tommy) when those who had been violated started to come forward with their accounts, the jokes stopped and lawsuits flew left and right.

I find the cover up inside the Catholic church the most appalling. As was brought out in the documentary, "These were men who were supposed to be god-like; they had the power to change bread and wine into the body of Christ. We used to get down on our knees and cross ourselves in their presence," an Irish parishioner. My skepticism over deities was only reinforced by the centuries of buggery and pursuit of profit by a bunch of hooligans in the name of Jesus.

[Johann]

The priests or clergymen or "holy" men who sexually abuse children are what True Believers call "WOLVES", and the Bible warns about them.

I had a priest (right here in Toronto) tell me that "The Master is Gone", when I asked why the Bible doesn't particularly leap off the page to me.
He actually told me "the Master is gone". No True Believer would ever say something like that.
I brought it up to another pastor in another church and he was horrified.
I also asked how can one be "Christ-like" in this day and age when the ones who are in power today are worse than the Romans of Jesus' day?
He gave me a cool quote:
The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisest human., and "it pleases God to do it this way".

Those who will be cast into a Lake of Fire will accept their fate. And those who are God's people will also accept theirs.
I like that a lot.
That is a kind of religion I can get behind.