A professor at the Catholic University of Taegu, writes in an opinion column of the Catholic Times about the American film Spotlight. The film was acclaimed as one of the best pictures of 2015 and received
many awards. Portrayal of the investigation by the spotlight team of the
Boston Globe on widespread child sex abuse in the Boston
area by Catholic priests was the story. At the presentation of the awards the director
said: "This Oscar amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican."
The
investigation began with the new managing editor of the paper in 2001. Mass media needs to help the readers with information that will
instruct, was his conviction. Independence of the paper
has to be maintained in the face of power and personal connections, and
this became the background for their efforts.
Two things
are suggested by the film: the role of religion and the press. Boston is
an area with many white Catholics. The spotlight team was uncovering
attempts to hide the truth with habits from the past and policies among a
readership that was largely Catholic. Of course the Church, lawyers,
doctors, competitive newspapers, Boston Catholics, friends of the
victims were part of the systematic disregard and coldness
concerning the issue and consequently the number of victims and suspects
continued to increase. All were in some way responsible.
Even
the Boston Globe paid no attention to what it knew, and helped to
ignore the issue. It was not a scandal only of the priests but of the of
policies of the church that systematically ignored the pathological
situation. It was an issue that the Vatican needed to be acquainted
with.
Hope was that the church with this sincere effort
of advice would recover its rightful place in society. A choice had to be made on what the press
needs to do and what it is doing.This incident
shows what was necessary. 'Reporting of garbage' should give way
to the reporting of truth was a message of the film.
Another
issue was the church's role and the way the hierarchical system works.
The system is to help Christians live a Christ-like life, and grow
spiritually. When some of the clergy are behaving otherwise the movie shows
what needed to be done. Church is there to help the
Christians and not to cover over the faults of the clergy. If we are
afraid of light on our faults we need to become more transparent.
The
writer was happy to see the response from the Vatican; it was a consolation. The movie is not Anti-Catholic. A Vatican Radio
commentator said the film helped the Church in the United States “to
accept
fully the sin, to admit it publicly, and to pay all the consequences.”
In conclusion, she says, we Catholics should not be afraid of criticism but need to look carefully at our wounds.
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