The Dallas Morning News
04:23 PM CDT on Friday, May 13, 2005
By ROBIN GALIANO RUSSELL / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Cardinal Bernard Law, recently criticized for leading a memorial Mass in Rome for Pope John Paul II, is one of the central figures in a Showtime original film premiering May 21.
The film, Our Fathers, takes an agonizing look at the damage done by sexually abusive priests in the archdiocese of Boston. The exposure of the scandal is foreshadowed by the film's opening, taken from the Gospel of Luke: "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known."
The film, is based on Newsweek journalist David France's book Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal .
The docudrama depicts the anguish of victimized boys who become dysfunctional and wounded adults. It also captures the grief experienced by the cardinal himself for not dealing with priests who molested children under his watch. Christopher Plummer gives a subtle but exquisitely tormented performance as he faces victims' support groups and angry parishioners.
The film centers on attorney Mitchell Garabedian, victims who come forward to tell their story, reporters at The Boston Globe and, Cardinal Law.