Deliver Us from Evil

[Jeff Lebowski]

I am really into documentaries these days. A few weeks ago I finally got around to renting "Deliver Us from Evil":

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814075/

I had read lots of rave reviews, but the thought of watching a documentary about a child-molesting priest didn't seem to appealing to me. But I finally checked it out and I am glad I did. One of the better documentaries I have ever seen.

This is the story of Oliver O'Grady; an Irish priest who worked at various parishes in California in the 70's. At each location he would molests kids (and sometimes have sex with adults also). Once discovered, he would simply be moved down the road to a new parish and the cycle would start over again.

So what makes this interesting/worth watching?

1. Much of the movie is based on interviews with O'Grady (now living as a free man back in Ireland). On the surface, he seems like a kind old man. But to hear him calmly and casually talk about his past in detail is chilling. It is an fascinating portrait of evil.

2. The movie features a catholic priest named Thomas Doyle who has been agressive in challenging the church on how they deal with abuse cases like this. He also campaigns against celibacy for priests. The manner in which he interacts with both the church and victims is quite inspiring. I suppose the juxtapositioning of Doyle and O'Grady adds to the effect. He seems like a hero.

3. The movie is a sobering study of the abuse problem in the catholic church. If half of the claims in the movie are correct, then the scale of the problem is staggering.

The movie is not for everyone. But I highly recommend it.

[Tim]

Just got done watching it. It's available for streaming on Netflix. I agree with all of your points. A powerful documentary. The portrayal of O'Grady was haunting. Doyle is indeed a hero.

I grew up in southern California and remember my parents talking about how much they respected Roger Mahony. I remember when he was raised to the Cardinalate, and how I thought he seemed like a warm, caring man. This documentary has torn away most of that impression. His naivete on the topic is more than convenient -- he knew. He had to have known. There's no way he couldn't have known. And he has a responsibility to protect his parishioners, but he's chosen to go the opposite way, to protect the order and the organization. That is sickening.

Mark my words: If this kind of thing happened in our church and the Church leadership turned even the slightest bit of a blind eye to it, I'd resign from the church in a New York minute.

[TripletDaddy]

I posted a review of this film over a year ago on CG but it didn't generate much discussion. I figured the subject matter may have been too raw or that my review sucked.

It is good to see that others have found this film. I thought it was really interesting and terribly sad at the same time.

http://cougarguard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18112&highlight=deliver+evil

[Jeff Lebowski]

I posted a review of this film over a year ago on CG but it didn't generate much discussion. I figured the subject matter may have been too raw or that my review sucked.

It is good to see that others have found this film. I thought it was really interesting and terribly sad at the same time.

http://cougarguard.com/forum/showthr...t=deliver+evil

Nice review. I must have missed that.

It's obvious that I need to become a better student of your posts.

[TripletDaddy]

Nice review. I must have missed that.

It's obvious that I need to become a better student of your posts.

It takes a long time to really understand me.

My wife is a great example. Married for over 10 years and she still says stuff like, "what are you talking about?," "you aren't making any sense," "I don't appreciate it when you are yelling," "what are you doing with that knife?" etc..