UNITED KINGDOM
Huffington Post
Caroline Frost
Mark Ruffalo appears as genial an A-list actor as it’s possible to meet – polite, smiley, willing to chat fully and openly on many a topic – but his big beating heart for social justice is clearly not far below the surface.
On the subject of his Oscar-nominated film, ‘Spotlight’, the true story of how the Boston Globe’s investigative team of journalists exposed the appallingly widespread cover-up of paedophiliac abuse within the Catholic Church, Mark reveals his fury on reading the script was built on his long-held suspicion of diocese practices, dating back to his childhood in Wisconsin.
“A long time ago, I felt the Church I experienced wasn’t observing the teachings I’d read about. It happened to me very young,” he tells HuffPostUK.
“When I left my Catholic school, I was around 10 or 11 years old, and it started to unravel for me there. Kids pick up on things, if you’re interested and inquisitive. I was seeing things that were not in line with what I’d been taught about Jesus. It didn’t jive with me.”
Despite his growing cynicism for the church’s role in his small community, Mark credits those early teachings for what drives him to want to make a film like ‘Spotlight’ – “it’s a paradox I know,” he smiles.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.