What do you know about the Spotlight movie?

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dixieagle said:
We seem to understand that part differently. My take is that the new editor, Marty Baron, was in no way afraid of being critical of Cardinal Law, but senses that the story was much bigger than just Law, and was, in fact, a systemic problem. They were, sadly, right.

9/11 was such a big story that it drained resources from everything else they were doing. And then, they wanted to be sure that they’d done all their homework - crossed all the Ts and dotted the Is - so that the story couldn’t be dismissed as flawed. It was too important that they get it right.

I think that the important thing to the Spotlight team was the enormity of the story; if there had been systemic abuse and coverups in, for example, the public school system, they would have pursued it aggressively, as well. The fact that it was the Church, which is supposed to do God’s work on earth, made the whole thing particularly odious and shocking.
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that was my take as well.
 
I just saw the movie with my husband and it shook me to my core. I found myself fighting back tears thinking that the church I was raised in and that I have continued to support could be quilty of such systemic abuse and corruption. I happen to reside in the St. Paul Diocese of Minnesota, so this movie really hit home. Our diocese has been dealing with similar scandal and our Archbishop who was complicit in the whole thing, finally stepped down. It makes me sick to think that this is not an isolated case. I think of all the times that our priests have been moved out of our parishes and can’t help but wonder why? The movie stated that 6% of all Catholic priests are guilty of sexual misconduct and even more startling was that 50% do not remain celibate while in the priesthood. If there was ever an argument for allowing priests to marry, there it is. Maybe then the church could really move forward and rid itself of the sick culture that has plagued it for far too long!
 
smos said:
I just saw the movie with my husband and it shook me to my core. I found myself fighting back tears thinking that the church I was raised in and that I have continued to support could be quilty of such systemic abuse and corruption. I happen to reside in the St. Paul Diocese of Minnesota, so this movie really hit home. Our diocese has been dealing with similar scandal and our Archbishop who was complicit in the whole thing, finally stepped down. It makes me sick to think that this is not an isolated case. I think of all the times that our priests have been moved out of our parishes and can’t help but wonder why? The movie stated that 6% of all Catholic priests are guilty of sexual misconduct and even more startling was that 50% do not remain celibate while in the priesthood. If there was ever an argument for allowing priests to marry, there it is. Maybe then the church could really move forward and rid itself of the sick culture that has plagued it for far too long!
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I am not one that believes this happens because priests are celibate.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I am not one that believes this happens because priests are celibate.
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Maybe, maybe not. But as God created us, it is not natural for us to deny the basic primal sexual desires that we were created with. Couple that with the fact that we are all prone to sin, and therein lies the problem. Unfortunately, the priesthood has been used as an escape for many sexually confused men and homosexuals. With good intention, they enter the priesthood thinking that their sexual desires will just go away or that God will cure them. God did not intend that priests should be celibate as in Leviticus, he outlines the rules for married priests, yet the church thinks that these scandals are going to just go away, while maintaining the status quo? I just think it’s time we stop going against God and allow priests to be married and stop the celibacy charade that’s been going on for far too long.
 
smos said:
Maybe, maybe not. But as God created us, it is not natural for us to deny the basic primal sexual desires that we were created with.
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So…what about those who are single? Are you saying they should be indulging their appetite?

What about the fact that Jesus himself commended celibacy? Don’t you think that he would know if it was as dangerous as you are suggesting? Obviously not everyone is meant to be celibate, but “he who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
Couple that with the fact that we are all prone to sin, and therein lies the problem.
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How do you explain the fact that the vast majority of sexual predators are usually married? That doesn’t line up with what you are saying. They were not celibate, and yet they still abused children. The fact is, if a person is tempted to this sin, being married will not make a difference. This whole idea shows a very low view of sex and human nature in general. As if men are animals that need a release and if they aren’t getting it from a woman then they’ll find something else. This is simply false.
Unfortunately, the priesthood has been used as an escape for many sexually confused men and homosexuals. With good intention, they enter the priesthood thinking that their sexual desires will just go away or that God will cure them.
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This is true, and they should not have joined the priesthood, but it doesn’t follow from this that celibacy is the root of the problem, or that being married would have changed anything. Those men who had urges to molest children needed psychological help. Whether they were married or not would not have changed anything.
God did not intend that priests should be celibate as in Leviticus, he outlines the rules for married priests, yet the church thinks that these scandals are going to just go away, while maintaining the status quo? I just think it’s time we stop going against God and allow priests to be married and stop the celibacy charade that’s been going on for far too long.
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Going against God? It was Jesus himself who recommended celibacy. And St. Paul, author of more than half the New Testament, also did. The Church instituted the discipline as a way for priests to more closely conform to Christ. It is anything but going against God.

Celibacy is a beautiful gift to the Church, please don’t denigrate it and call it a “charade.” It gives men and women the freedom to serve God completely. The celibate shows the world that sex is not the greatest good we can have, and that our ultimate fulfillment is not found in any other person, but in God.

Celibacy is not a charade, it’s a sign pointing to our ultimate destiny in heaven, one that we desperately need in our sex-obsessed world.
 
A.W. Richard Sipe is a former priest and psychotherapist and expert in clergy sex abuse. He has an extensive website and has written the book Celibacy, Sex and the Catholic Church. Another book by Daniel Crozzens is Sacred Silence: Denial and Crisis in the Church. I believe we’re still in denial, holding onto something that is doing our church great harm. The celibacy requirement was man made for self serving reasons, to end nepotism in the early church. If 30-50% of Catholic priests are homosexual, which has shown to lead to failures in adultery, fornication and sexual abuse of children, not to mention discouraging heterosexual men from entering the priesthood, why do we cling to something that has created a culture that is harming the church?
 
smos said:
A.W. Richard Sipe is a former priest and psychotherapist and expert in clergy sex abuse. He has an extensive website and has written the book Celibacy, Sex and the Catholic Church. Another book by Daniel Crozzens is Sacred Silence: Denial and Crisis in the Church. I believe we’re still in denial, holding onto something that is doing our church great harm. The celibacy requirement was man made for self serving reasons, to end nepotism in the early church. If 30-50% of Catholic priests are homosexual, which has shown to lead to failures in adultery, fornication and sexual abuse of children, not to mention discouraging heterosexual men from entering the priesthood, why do we cling to something that has created a culture that is harming the church?
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30-50% are homosexual!? :eek: those numbers sound too high! I thought it was 3-6%.
 
7_Sorrows said:
30-50% are homosexual!? :eek: those numbers sound too high! I thought it was 3-6%.
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Unfortunately, the 6% is the estimated number of priests who act out sexually against children and young adults. I’m a life long Catholic but I can’t bury my head in the sand any longer. See this movie! It’s not a hit piece. It’s well done and accurate. What is portrayed has gone on in my parish, my diocese and my son’s Catholic University. This problem is real!
 
smos said:
Unfortunately, the 6% is the estimated number of priests who act out sexually against children and young adults. I’m a life long Catholic but I can’t bury my head in the sand any longer. See this movie! It’s not a hit piece. It’s well done and accurate. What is portrayed has gone on in my parish, my diocese and my son’s Catholic University. This problem is real!
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I DID see the movie and I did not come away with 30%-50% of priests are homosrxual. I am not a cradle Catholic and I converted around the time the sex abuse scandal was breaking news. I believe it is a problem that needs to be talked about among Catholics and I am not burying my head in the sand.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I DID see the movie and I did not come away with 30%-50% of priests are homosrxual. I am not a cradle Catholic and I converted around the time the sex abuse scandal was breaking news. I believe it is a problem that needs to be talked about among Catholics and I am not burying my head in the sand.
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I realize you saw the movie, and I wasn’t accusing you of burying your head in the sand. I apologize if it came off that way. I’m just encouraging everyone to see the movie and to have an open mind about the magnitude of the problem. The 30-50% doesn’t come from the movie, however it is from the researcher in the movie A.W. Richard Sipe. I was stunned by the percentages in the movie so in wanting to validate them myself, I went to the source. He has an extensive website and body of work.
 
smos said:
I realize you saw the movie, and I wasn’t accusing you of burying your head in the sand. I apologize if it came off that way. I’m just encouraging everyone to see the movie and to have an open mind about the magnitude of the problem. The 30-50% doesn’t come from the movie, however it is from the researcher in the movie A.W. Richard Sipe. I was stunned by the percentages in the movie so in wanting to validate them myself, I went to the source. He has an extensive website and body of work.
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I was not offended by what you said or that you were directly speaking to me. I would like to read a book by this man. Is his research trusted ny the church?
 
7_Sorrows said:
I was not offended by what you said or that you were directly speaking to me. I would like to read a book by this man. Is his research trusted ny the church?
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He’s a former priest and psychotherapist/expert in clergy sex abuse. He is legit and can be trusted. Check out his website. It’s quite extensive.
 
I did see this last night…very disturbing as I thought it would be but I’m glad I watched it. The nauseous feeling will eventually go away.
I still hear about cases, old and new, but nothing like that and I hope they are dealt with much more swiftly than in the past. It’s sad…beyond feeling devastated for all the Catholics who were hurt and emotionally damaged for life, I felt for the good priests who really weren’t addressed. That wasn’t the point of the movie. But I thought a very sad line was when Mark Ruffola’s character was sad because he thought he’d go back one day…and now.? I’ve seen that myself with many acquaintances. Trust is hard to recover for any relationship but I tell people, don’t push God out of the picture, this was human free will and sin, don’t leave your belief, and look to leaders like Pope Francis that will hopefully keep honest dialogue going and breath fresh air into an institution that lost so much with many bad decisions, deceit and pride. You can’t rush healing though, with God’s grace, I pray many will find peace.
 
smos said:
I just saw the movie with my husband and it shook me to my core. I found myself fighting back tears thinking that the church I was raised in and that I have continued to support could be quilty of such systemic abuse and corruption. I happen to reside in the St. Paul Diocese of Minnesota, so this movie really hit home. Our diocese has been dealing with similar scandal and our Archbishop who was complicit in the whole thing, finally stepped down. It makes me sick to think that this is not an isolated case. I think of all the times that our priests have been moved out of our parishes and can’t help but wonder why? The movie stated that 6% of all Catholic priests are guilty of sexual misconduct and even more startling was that 50% do not remain celibate while in the priesthood. If there was ever an argument for allowing priests to marry, there it is. Maybe then the church could really move forward and rid itself of the sick culture that has plagued it for far too long!
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Marriage doesn’t cure pedophilia.
 
PNEUMA said:
Marriage doesn’t cure pedophilia.
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But I think that if a priest were married and had kids, he and his wife would be keeping a very close watch on Fr. Questionable. In protecting their own children, they’d also be protecting others.
 
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