Since 1950, sexual abuse has cost the Catholic Church over one billion dollars in legal

Transcription

1 Stacy Sullivan COM 270-McHale Critical Analysis of Deliver us from Evil Since 1950, sexual abuse has cost the Catholic Church over one billion dollars in legal settlements and expenses. Over 100,000 victims of clergy sexual abuse have come forward in the U.S. alone. And experts say that more than 80% of sexual abuse victims never report their abuse (Berg, 2006). In recent years, the light has been shone on the Catholic Church and their past cover ups of child abuse. The public typically views church and religion as something sacred, a place where everyone is safe. The social norm to keep the Catholic Church s reputation of being sacred and safe is what Amy Berg tries to portray in her documentary, Deliver us From Evil. Berg recounts the story of three adults who were abused as children by a priest of the Catholic Church from 1970 to Throughout each persons story, the pressure to conform to social norms plays a big role as to why the adults remained quiet about the abuse. Berg illustrates how the Catholic Church protected its leaders out of fear of social and political backlash from the public. One of the first stories discussed in the documentary, Nancy Sloan, is a perfect example of how the Church covered up an abuse case due to political and social fear from the public. Nancy talks about her abuse with Oliver O Grady and how it started, but what made the situation worse at the time, was a letter sent to her and her family from O Grady. He confesses to the abuse and apologizes, but when brought to the churches attention, was basically ignored. Berg shows clips from Monsignor Cain s deposition testimony, where he discusses Nancy s attempt at a meeting with O Grady in 86. In contrast to that, Nancy tells her own story of what happened

2 when she went to meet with Monsignor, where he admitted to her that he knew of the abuse. On camera, his answers are completely different from that of which he told Nancy, such as when he was asked if he knew of the abuse. Monsignor says he knew there were allegations against O Grady, but no definite truth. In an article by NBC Chicago news, author Mary Ahem states that concern for the priests reputation took precedence over their victims (Ahem, 2014, NBC NEWS). Throughout the documentary, Berg shows the audience how the Catholic Church covered up multiple abuse cases. When Nancy tried to speak out, the Church explained she was just a girl and she was too young to know the difference. To make matters worse, the church promised to give O Grady the help that he needed, in exchange for them not to press charges. This illustrates why the Catholic Church covered up Nancy s story because the backlash from society would have ruined their church and their name, so instead, they moved O Grady to another town almost 50 miles away, where he continued to abuse children within the Catholic Church. Different from the rest of O Grady s cases of assault, Adam s story touches on the relationship between his mother and the priest, as well as the abuse with Adam. O Grady slept with Adam s mother, in order to get to Adam and his brother. Berg highlights the permanent effects that the abuse had on Adam s life, as well as why the situation occurred. Adam s father talks about his faith in the Catholic Church, his expectations and beliefs that O Grady was one of the good guys. He found it almost impossible that a priest could harm anyone, let alone children. In the novel Slayer of the Soul: Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church, author Stephan Rosetti mentions the occurrence of abuse and how it is not pleasant to think of a 4-year-old girl forced to perform oral sex with her uncle. To protect ourselves from this horror, it is all too easy to imagine that if sexual abuse does occur, it happens in another city, in a different social class,

3 or to individuals who are, somehow, not like us (Rosetti, p.67, 1990). Many people in today s society will not talk about child abuse because we refuse to accept that it happens. Adam s father was unable to see O Grady as an abuser because he was not willing to accept the fact that it happened to his own son, and many others before him. After the abuse took place and tore the family apart, O Grady was moved again to another town instead of being punished and admitting to his crimes. The Catholic Church at the time was very aware of past allegations against O Grady, but did not accept that they were true. Again, Berg illustrates how the Catholic Church was unwilling to admit to the charges in fear of what the public, and Rome, would think. In an article by The Guardian, Public Affairs Editor Antony Barnett writes about the Catholic Churches past cover ups, stating that threatening excommunication to anybody who speaks out shows the lengths the most senior figures in the Vatican were prepared to go to prevent the information getting out to the public domain (Barnett, 2003). Adam s abuse was covered up by the Catholic Church just like all the others, in order for the church to remain in good standing with not only the public, but the Vatican as well. His story is another illustration of the Catholic Church s need to protect its leaders in order to avoid a scandal and public outrage. The last story Berg shows in Deliver us from Evil, highlights an abuse case that was never known until nearly 25 years later. Ann Jyono and her family talk about the years they supported O Grady and their continued beliefs that the allegations against him were false. At one point in the documentary, Ann s mother states he was the closest thing to God we knew (Berg, 2006). The Jyono family talks a lot about their faith with the Catholic Church, and how it was impossible that molestation and abuse charges could be true. Berg again highlights the idea of social norms playing a role in each families story. The idea of the church and religion being sacred is a social norm that is rarely ever challenged, and almost forces people to comply. Ann

4 and her family were both influenced by social norms of the Catholic Church, which kept them silent. In a scholarly review by David Pilgrim, called Child Abuse in Irish Catholic Setting, he talks about reasons why children and families were conflicted at reporting child abuse. He stated As a result, some have noted that clerical abuse may create a special trauma bond, constantly implicating the victim s allegiance and sense of responsibility (Pilgrim, p. 408, 2012). Since the topic of religion is very controversial, it s a difficult idea to express within our society because of the social norms we associate it with. Berg illustrates this perfectly through Ann s story and her inability to confide in her parents about the abuse that occurred 25 years ago. Ann felt conflicted with her responsibility to the church, her family, and also the shame that would occur had she filed a report against O Grady. Even though Ann s case had nothing to do with the Church s cover ups, it did deal with social norms and the backlash that comes from going against societies expectations. Lastly, Berg pulls the documentary together by having her three main characters meet and try to raise awareness about their abuse. Ann, Nancy and Adam are brought together, and decide that a trip to the Vatican is the only way to make the Catholic Church see that what happened to them and children around the world. Although they went to Italy, the Church refused to see or hear from Ann, Nancy and Adam. Not only did this reinforce Berg s telling of the Catholic Church cover ups and fear of social backlash, but it confirmed to all three victims that the Church had some knowledge of the events. It s unfortunate to watch the church deny the families access, but almost expected with all that happened from in California. In a review, writer Edward Douglas mentions how the victims try to get a letter to the new Pope, who ironically is the same man who was in charge of investigating improper sexual behavior by priests while he was a Cardinal (Douglas, 2007). The irony of this and the political scandal of

5 Florida Congressman Mark Foley allegations of child abuse, have caused people to reconsider their beliefs and thoughts towards the Catholic Church. As more and more cases of abuse are brought to the Church s attention, we see the Church s need to cover up and deny any allegations throughout the entire film. Berg successfully showed her audience three enthralling stories of abuse and the influence social and political norms had on their lives, and tied them together with a final bang. The Pope s refusal to see the families further implicated Berg and the audiences views on the Catholic Church, and reaffirmed my personal belief that social norms caused the Church to cover up hundreds of abuse cases to protect their leaders. Overall, Deliver us from Evil was successful in showing the world and its audience the affects and outcomes from abuse and the Catholic Church s unwillingness to take responsibility for their leaders actions. The film looks at more than the influence of social norms, but the main focus in my opinion is how the social norms played a role in a religious setting. Our society doesn t like to discuss certain topics such as politics and religion because of their controversial nature. Berg eloquently tied together the movie, from the three main characters stories, to interviews with the abuser himself. As well, she talks to many professionals in the field to get their perspectives on the issue. Many families denied Berg s request to be in the documentary, further illustrating how hard it is for people to admit to the world that they or their family members were abused. Being Catholic myself, this documentary was hard to watch and fully accept because in my mind, priest have always been the good guys. It opened my eyes to how serious this issue was and still is to this day, as well as the impact social norms play in society. This issue is still unresolved, but stories such as Berg s are a start to understanding the underlying issues that plague our society and how we can fix them.

6 References Ahem, M. (2014, January 22). Chicago Archdiocesan Files Reveal Extent of Sex Abuse Cover Up.. Retrieved, from html Barnett, A. (2003, August 16). Vatican told bishops to cover up sex abuse. Retrieved from Berg, A. (Director). (2007). Deliver us from evil : Lionsgate. Douglas, E. (2007). Coming Soon.net [Review of the Documentary Deliver us from Evil]. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from Pilgrim, D Child Abuse in Irish Catholic Setting: A Non-Reductionist Account. Child Abuse Review, Vol. 21, DOI: /car.2239 Rosetti, S. (1990). Children as Victims of Sexual Abuse. Slayer of the Soul: Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church (). Mystic, Conn.: Twenty Third Publications.