I have been reading, over the years, about the cover-up by the Church hierarchy,of rampant sexual abuse by priests throughout the world. I have placed that side by side with the Church's hypocritical stances on homosexuality and women's reproductive rights and looked forward to viewing this look inside the walls of the priesthood and of the Vatican.
"Mea Culpa Maxima" is a tour de force. Viewed through the prism of the deaf survivors of sexual predator, Father Murphy, throughout their childhood years at a school for the deaf, it is impossible to watch this without rage and sorrow. Rage at the Church hierarchy which sanctioned the abuse of children through silence and inaction, sorrow for the many thousands of children throughout the world who have seen their childhoods stolen from them.
The movie focuses primarily on the sociopathic predator, Murphy, who somehow talked himself into believing that he was helping these young boys to deal with their emerging sexuality, often within the privacy of the confessional. The commentary of the adult survivors is heartbreaking and riveting.
Thwarted at every turn, this band of survivors resorts to blanketing their community with "Wanted" posters, depicting Father Murphy as a serial child molester. The movie traces the elevation of Joseph Ratzinger, who received scores of reports of pedophilia, through the ranks of the Church, making a final stop as Pope.
The commentary of New York Times reporter, Lorie Goodstein, who began writing of this horror years ago, along with Church officials who were turned away by the Vatican when attempting to address these grievances and the attorney who ultimately filed a case against the Vatican and individual members of the Church hierarchy, turns this into a crime procedural that is both gripping and frustrating.
"Mea Culpa Maxima" merits not only the highest praise, but also deserves to be considered for every major award for a documentary offered by the major film academies.
"Mea Culpa Maxima" is a tour de force. Viewed through the prism of the deaf survivors of sexual predator, Father Murphy, throughout their childhood years at a school for the deaf, it is impossible to watch this without rage and sorrow. Rage at the Church hierarchy which sanctioned the abuse of children through silence and inaction, sorrow for the many thousands of children throughout the world who have seen their childhoods stolen from them.
The movie focuses primarily on the sociopathic predator, Murphy, who somehow talked himself into believing that he was helping these young boys to deal with their emerging sexuality, often within the privacy of the confessional. The commentary of the adult survivors is heartbreaking and riveting.
Thwarted at every turn, this band of survivors resorts to blanketing their community with "Wanted" posters, depicting Father Murphy as a serial child molester. The movie traces the elevation of Joseph Ratzinger, who received scores of reports of pedophilia, through the ranks of the Church, making a final stop as Pope.
The commentary of New York Times reporter, Lorie Goodstein, who began writing of this horror years ago, along with Church officials who were turned away by the Vatican when attempting to address these grievances and the attorney who ultimately filed a case against the Vatican and individual members of the Church hierarchy, turns this into a crime procedural that is both gripping and frustrating.
"Mea Culpa Maxima" merits not only the highest praise, but also deserves to be considered for every major award for a documentary offered by the major film academies.